Pedagogical Retooling in Mathematics, Languages,

and Science for Junior High School

 Utilizing Disciplinary Literacy in Attaining
Independent Reading and Writing
(Adapted from Developing Strategies for Science Disciplinary Literacy:
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information,
a Trainer’s Training Resource Package by Ma. Alicia Bustos-Orosa, PhD)
PREPARED BY:

MARIA CECILIA ALMARIEGO-ATOK

Master Teacher I
Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science
Division of City Schools- Valenzuela
Department of Education- National Capital Region
 Is this true in your classroom?
1. Nowadays, students seldom read hard bound books?
2. Students appreciate more reading wattpads, manga, fashion
magazines than reading newspapers, science magazines,
texts embedded with numbers, figures, statistics, historical
maps, graphs, and dates?
3. Students have a hard time comprehending science-based,
historical-based, mathematics-based, and current events-
based texts?
 ? What can be the
possible, functional, and
sustainable interventions?
Graphix

How can the

teacher help?
 6

1. explain the limitations of lectures in

engaging students in learning;
2. describe the underlying strategies in close
Session
Objectives reading in understanding disciplinary texts;
3. recognize the need for instructional
scaffolding in involving the students in
cooperative learning activities;
4. point out the strategies which attract
students in reading and writing activities;
5. schematize ways to scale up and scale
down reading and writing strategies which
fit the varied types of learners.
 7

1. Map the needs of the students and their level of

competencies.

2. Engage the students in fun and creative learning—

reading and writing.
Possible
Solutions 3. Help the students understand and apply the
different strategies in reading disciplinary texts.

4. Modify the reading and writing strategies which fit

their respective interests and levels of
understanding.

5. Inculcate in them the value of literacy in all subject

areas.
Differentiated Multi-Disciplinary
Group Dynamics

Boracay,
goodbye?
Directions:
1. Group yourselves into five (5).

2. Read the texts about the Boracay Island. Then, pick a job from
the list given. Your task is to report to the community what
environmental problems had happened to Boracay Island.

3. Based on your chosen job, what insights can you share with
other people? For example, if you were a scientist, how would
you communicate about Boracay’s environmental problems in a
scientific way? As a blog writer, how would you write about the
problem for the people to understand? Or as an economist,
what would you communicate about the island’s environmental
problems?
 J O b T i t l e s
1. The Economist
2. The Scientist
3. The Blog Writer
4. The Utility Man
5. The Historian
6. The Resort Business
Owner
 Reading Texts: Boracay Island
From the Philippine Statistics Authority Table 1. Visitor Arrivals and Receipts in
Boracay Island (Department of Tourism)
A vast clear blue sea, powdery white sand,
and rays of yellow sunshine is the perfect
Year Visitor Arrivals % Earnings in
combination that entice tourists to the world- Change Pesos

renowned Boracay Island, notwithstanding the

many other activities and services, such as Foreign Domes
tic
Overse
as
Total

snorkeling, island hopping, boat sailing, spa and Filipino

s
massages resorts, and many more, which excite
the adventurous spirit or tired soul. It’s no
surprise, therefore, if this beach capital of the 2001 76,475 188,33 0 264,80 15.21 4,868,053,
2 7 003.80
Philippines has never been failed by tourists for
the last 10 years.
2005 155,74 321,89 21,820 499,45 16.49 9,181,717,
Revenue wise, in 2010, Boracay generated Php 4 3 7 813.80

14.33 billion from 779,666 visitors. This translates

to an average of Php 39.26 million per day. 2008 197,37 404,80 32,080 634,26 6.29 11,659,910
Compared to the previous year, tourist receipts 6 7 3 ,434.20

grew by 20.03 percent, second highest rate of

2010 278,53 474,09 27,038 779,66 20.03 14,332,911
increase so far in the 10-year period from year 1 7 6 ,944.40

2001.
Environmental issues have been hounding Boracay for 20 years
Inquirer Research April 04, 2018

Coliform bacteria scare and other environmental issues have been hounding Boracay Island
in Aklan province over the past 20 years, mostly blamed on inadequate septic and sewage
systems.

Because of the drop of tourist arrivals in 1997 due to the increase in coliform levels, Boracay
built a potable water supply system, sewage treatment plant and solid waste disposal system
that was run by the Philippine Tourism Authority.

Seven years later, in 2004, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
reported that the coliform crisis persisted as not all businesses on the island comply to the
sewage system.

At that time, only 50.5 percent of hotels and restaurants and only 24.9 percent of the house-
holds had installed pipelines connecting to the centralized sewage treatment plant that began
operations on the island in 2003.

In 2009, after waters off Boracay were contaminated with fecal coliform generated by human
wastes, Boracay Island Water Co. won the contract for the project to give Boracay improved
supply of potable water and efficient sewage system.
1. Was the activity fun?
2. What are the challenges that you encountered
during the activity, say you are a teacher and say
you are a student? Cite at least three.
3. What could be the most effective way to address
each of the challenges? Cite one and expound.
4. How would you make this activity appropriate for
your learners? You may scale it up or scale it down.
5. What do you think are the distinctive characteristics
of this activity in relation to the session’s topic.
 Meaning
DISCIPLINARY
LITERACY

Importance
 16

Disciplinary Literacy
Refers to the specialized
ways of knowing and
communicating in the
different disciplines to
make meaning.

Encompasses the idea that

students need to be taught
specialized routines.
(Jetton & Shanahan, 2012)
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TYPES OF DISCIPLINARY LITERACY TEXTS

Expository Argumentative Instructional Narrative
Textbooks Opinions/ Editorial Training Manuals Auto (biographies)
Reports Speeches Contracts History
Tourist Guides Advertisements User Guides/ Manuals Correspondence
Product Specifications Political Propaganda Legal Documents Curriculum Vitae
Product Service Journal Articles Product Service Memoirs
Descriptions Descriptions
Magazine Articles Government Documents Recipes News Articles
Company Profiles Legal Documents Essays
Legal Documents Tourism Guides Interviews
Agenda Correspondence Agenda
Essays Essays
Interviews Reviews
Government Documents Memoirs
News Articles
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Types of Disciplinary Texts

What research says …
“Text comprehension can be improved
by instruction that helps readers use
specific comprehension strategies”.

(National Reading Panel, 2000, p. 41)

Video of Dr. Ma. Alicia Bustos-Orosa
 21

STRATEGIES IN DEVELOPING DISCIPLINARY LITERACY

1. Instructional Scaffolding-
It is a strategy that
provides the necessary
support for students,
while still fostering
independent learning
and a deeper
understanding of the
material. (Fink, 2003)
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Frey & Fisher’s GRRIF Model (2006)

2. GRRIF-
This acronym stands
for Gradual Release of
Responsibility of
Instructional
Framework

22
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3. Close Reading-
It is a thoughtful, critical
analysis of a text that
focuses on significant
details of patterns in order
to develop a deep precise
understanding of the text’s
form, craft, meanings, etc.
Integral to Close Reading is
the process of asking and
answering Text-Dependent
Questions (TDQs).
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S
 25

Let us watch
a video
What is close
reading?

With Dr. Timothy

Shanahan
 26

Close Reading
Let’s
in a Science
watch a
Classroom video.
 27

4. Collaborative Learning- … then the

It is important to provide argument
opportunities to learn naturally follows
literacy as part of the that literacy and
whole-class group as well literacy learning
as in small groups with MUST ALSO BE A
SOCIAL PROCESS.
partners or on an
(Blumer 1969)
individual basis”.
(First Steps Literacy, Department of Education
and Training Western Australia, 2004, p.152)
How do we extend the learning of complex texts?
Through Collaborative Learning

• Information Circles
• Think-Pair-Share
• Buzz groups
• Jigsaw groups
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5. TDQs-
It privileges the text itself
and what students can
extract from what is before
them.

The art of questioning is

very important for learning.
30
6. Teacher Modelling-
It is an instructional
strategy in which
the teacher demonstrates
a new concept to students
and the students learn by
observing.

Haston (2007), “Whenever

a teacher demonstrates a
concept for a student,
that teacher is modelling”.
 32

Let’s watch a
video.
How do we model
reading strategies?
Key components of teacher
modelling:
(Fisher & Frey, 2015)

• Use “I” statements

Metacognitive strategies
(because, why, or how
thinking happens)
 34

Modelling
Reading
Strategies:

How to Design
Think-Alouds
(Fisher & Frey, 2015)
7. Explicit Vocabulary Teaching Strategies-
Explicit vocabulary instruction is important for
adolescent students because of the
interrelationship between vocabulary and
comprehension; vocabulary is a strong predictor
of how well a student will comprehend.
(Mary Curtis, 2009)
Examples:
context clues
focusing on root words
prefixes and suffixes
graphic organizers
 37

What other literacy skill should students

learn across the curriculum?
 38

Reading and Writing Connections Across the Curriculum

Writing Activities as Pre-Reading:
1. Guided Reading
2. Learning Logs
3. Quick Writes
4. Structured Note-Taking
Writing Activities as Post-Reading
Reviewing and Summarizing Strategies:
1. Microthemes
2. Paragraphed Frames
3. Text Boxes
 42

Activity 1
Procedure in the Differentiated Group Dynamics:
1. Form a group with (five) 5 or so members.
2. Do the Activity Sheets:
2.1. (Group 1) Affix and Fix
2.2. (Group 2) TDQs (Railroad Cat)
2.3. (Group 3) Learning Log-STROMPTS /
Word Sort
2.4. (Group 4) Role Cards/ Paragraph Frame
2.5. (Group 5) Quick Writes and Structured Note
Taking/ Micro-themes
 43

Activity 2: Think, Write , Rise, and Share

Write your insight/s about the session on a
colored paper. Paste the leaves on the “Tree of
Wisdom”. Then, share your insights to the
class.
2.1. How could the knowledge learned be
helpful in developing independent
readers and writers?
2. .2. What are the challenges the group
thinks will hinder or slow down
the attainment of the ultimate goal of
this LAC session, which is
developing independent readers and
writers?
 44

Complete this: Think About

1. I have learned from

this session that …

2. I realize now that

teachers ...

3. I am still not so sure

about ...

4. I am so sure about …
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