# data[].attributes.headline
Quick Write Prompts for All Content Areas 

# data[].attributes.subject
Quick Write Prompts for All Content Areas 

# data[].attributes.headline
What are the literacies within the disciplines? 

# data[].attributes.subject
What are the literacies within the disciplines? 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
12. Culturally Responsive Disciplinary Literacy Strategies Instruction – Steps to Success: Crossing the Bridge Between Literacy Research and Practice

# data[].attributes.headline
Disciplinary Literacy A Shift That Makes Sense

# data[].attributes.subject
Disciplinary Literacy A Shift That Makes Sense

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Disciplinary Literacy: A Shift That Makes Sense

# data[].attributes.headline
List of Reading Like a Historian Lessons

# data[].attributes.subject
List of Reading Like a Historian Lessons

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
List of Reading Like a Historian Lessons | Stanford History Education Group

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our lessons and assessments are available for free download once you've created an account.

# data[].attributes.headline
Carnegie Report-Reading in the Disciplines: Challenges of Adolescent Literacy

# data[].attributes.subject
Carnegie Report-Reading in the Disciplines: Challenges of Adolescent Literacy

# data[].attributes.headline
Dr. Tim Shanahan Explains What is Disciplinary Literacy

# data[].attributes.subject
Dr. Tim Shanahan Explains What is Disciplinary Literacy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. Tim Shanahan - What is Disciplinary Literacy?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dr. Tim Shanahan gives his expert opinion on Disciplinary Literacy in this exclusive podcast with the CEEDAR Center.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A guide for the perplexed

At one time or another, when face-to-face with a poem, most everyone has been perplexed. The experience of reading a poem itself is as likely to turn us off, intellectually or emotionally, as it is to move us. Unless patronized by celebrities, set to music, accompanied by visuals, or penned by our own children, poems do a terrible job of marketing themselves. All those ragged lines and affected white spaces make them appear as though they should be treated only as pieces of solemn art. Look but don't get too close, and definitely don't touch.

But what if the fine art of reading poetry isn't so fine after all? What if the predicament about poems is precisely our well-intentioned but ill-fitting dispositions toward reading them?

Here are 20 modest proposals toward rethinking the act of reading a poem.

1. Dispel the notion that reading poetry is going to dramatically change your life. Your life is continually changing; most of the time you're simply too busy to pay enough attention to it. Poems ask you to pay attention-that's all.

2. When you read a poem, especially a poem not meant to be a "spoken word" poem, always read it out loud. (Never mind what they said in grammar school-to subvocalize so that you won't bother your peers.) Your ear will pick up more than your head will allow. That is, the ear will tell the mind what to think.

3. Try to meet a poem on its terms not yours. If you have to "relate" to a poem in order to understand it, you aren't reading it sufficiently. In other words, don't try to fit the poem into your life. Try to see what world the poem creates. Then, if you are lucky, its world will help you re-see your own.

4. Whether or not you are conscious of it, you are always looking for an excuse to stop reading a poem and move on to another poem or to do something else entirely. Resist this urge as much as possible. Think of it as a Buddhist regards a pesky mosquito. The mosquito, like the poem, may be irritating, but it's not going to kill you to brave it for a little while longer.

5. People will tell you there are two kinds of poems: the "accessible poem" whose intent and meaning are easy to appreciate, and the "obscure poem" whose intent and meaning are difficult to appreciate. It's up to you how hard you want to work.

6. If you don't know a word, look it up or die.

7. A poem cannot be paraphrased. In fact, a poem's greatest potential lies in the opposite of paraphrase: ambiguity. Ambiguity is at the center of what is it to be a human being. We really have no idea what's going to happen from moment to moment, but we have to act as if we do.

8. A poem has no hidden meaning, only "meanings" you've not yet realized are right in front of you. Discerning subtleties takes practice. Reading poetry is a convention like anything else. And you learn the rules of it like anything else-e.g., driving a car or baking a cake.

9. As hard as it sounds, separate the poet from the speaker of the poem. A poet always wears a mask (persona) even if she isn't trying to wear a mask, and so to equate poet and speaker denies the poem any imaginative force that lies outside of her lived life.

10. When you come across something that appears "ironic," make sure it's not simply the speaker's sarcasm or your own disbelief.

11. "Reading for pleasure" implies there's "reading for displeasure" or "reading for pain." All reading should be pleasurable: Like sex, it pleases to a greater or lesser degree, but pleasure ultimately isn't the only point.

12. A poem can feel like a locked safe in which the combination is hidden inside. In other words, it's okay if you don't understand a poem. Sometimes it takes dozens of readings to come to the slightest understanding. And sometimes understanding never comes. It's the same with being alive: Wonder and confusion mostly prevail.

13. Perform marginalia. Reading without writing in the margins is like walking without moving your arms. You can do it and still reach your destination, but it'll always feel like you're missing something essential about the activity.

14. There is nothing really lost in reading a poem. If you don't understand the poem, you lose little time or energy. On the contrary, there is potentially much to gain-a new thought, an old thought seen anew, or simply a moment separated from all the other highly structured moments of your time.
Try to see what world the poem creates. Then, if you are lucky, its world will help you re-see your own.
15. Poetry depends on pattern and variation-even non-linear, non-narrative, anti-poetic poetry. By perceiving patterns and variations on those patterns, your brain will attempt to make order out of apparent chaos. "Glockenspiel," "tadpole," and "justice" have ostensibly nothing to do with each other, and yet your brain immediately tries to piece them together simply because they are there for the apprehending.

16. As your ability to read poems improves, so will your ability to read the news, novels, legal briefs, advertisements, etc. A Starbucks poster a few years ago read: Friends are like snowflakes... each one is unique. How true. But isn't snow also cold and ephemeral? Let's hope our friends are not.

17. Reading poetry is not only about reading poetry. Its alleged hermetic stylizations of syntax and diction can enhance your awareness of the world, even those things that don't deal directly in words. A dress, a building, a night sky-all involve systems of pattern-recognition and extrapolation.

18. The very best way to read a poem is perhaps to be young, intelligent, and slightly drunk. There is no doubt, however, that reading poems in old age cultivates a desire to have read more poems in youth.

19. Someday, when all your material possessions will seem to have shed their utility and just become obstacles to the toilet, poems will still hold their value. They are rooms that take up such little room. A memorized poem, or a line or two, becomes part internal jewelry and part life-saving skill, like knowing how to put a mugger in an arm-lock or the best way to cut open a mango without slicing your hand.

20. Reading a good poem doesn't give you something to talk about. It silences you. Reading a great poem pushes further. It prepares you for the silence that perplexes us all: death.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A guide for the perplexed At one time or another, when face-to-face with a poem, most everyone has been perplexed. The experience of reading a poem itself is as likely to turn us off, intellectually or emotionally, as it is to move us.

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Teach Students to Think Like Scientists

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Teach Students to Think Like Scientists

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Teach Students to Think Like Scientists

# data[].attributes.headline
Four Steps to Get You Reading Like a Historian

# data[].attributes.subject
Four Steps to Get You Reading Like a Historian

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Video Playlist: Four Steps to Get You Reading Like a Historian

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reading Like a Historian is a strategy developed by Stanford University in which students approach history by reading primary source documents.

# data[].attributes.headline
Disciplinary Literacy: Why It Matters and What We Should Do About It (National Writing Project)

# data[].attributes.subject
Disciplinary Literacy: Why It Matters and What We Should Do About It (National Writing Project)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Disciplinary Literacy: Why It Matters and What We Should Do About It

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Disciplinary Literacy definition -
In Wisconsin, "disciplinary literacy is defined as the confluence of content knowledge, experiences, and skills merged with the ability to read, write, listen, speak, think critically and perform in a way that is meaningful within the context of a given field."

For music this definition supports the continual building of skills, knowledge, and techniques while continuing to focus on the art form's elements. Music instruction offers students the opportunity to explore, create, and respond through a variety of multi-sensory modes.

L iteracy is one of many tools that can assist in developing music skills and knowledge. Literacy tools can assist students in:

developing music vocabulary;

deciphering the graphic representation of sound called notes; and

navigating a composition by understanding the musical road maps.

8 Steps to Building Art Knowledge through Literacy (Template)

1. Build prior knowledge.

2. Build specialized vocabulary.

3. Learn to deconstruct complex visual representation of ideas.

4. Use knowledge of artistic elements and genres to identify main and subordinate ideas within a piece.

5. Articulate what the graphic representations mean within a work or ideas to support its main components.

6. Pose discipline relevant questions.

7. Compare artistic elements of the work to other work.

8. Use reasoning within the discipline (i.e., what counts as evidence to evaluation claims).

The reconstruction of music knowledge and skills may occur through literacy, physical, verbal, movement, or aural skills. Instructional examples and resources are included within the Fine Arts Pedagogy site for your classroom use.

For more examples of application in music education, visit:

Videos focused on arts use for each of the disciplinary literacy tools - Click on the box to see each video.

Eight Steps to Building Literacy in the Arts - Template for educators to consider using within their review of informational text resources.

Music Pedagogy - This Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction site provides articles, videos, and other resources that help build and deepen artistic ability through activities such as the Disciplinary Literacy (DL) Tools of: reading, writing, listening, speaking, thinking critically, and performing.

Arts Skills Map from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Bloom's Taxonomy Music Table Tent - This table tent can be used with multiple media through critique. It incorporates each of the six areas of Bloom's Taxonomy: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaulation, as they relate to the arts. Consider using this resource for students to use, discuss, and grow their use of vocabulary and ability to apply artistic concepts.

Wisconsin DPI Text Type - This document lists informational text types, which includes images common in art, music, theatre, and dance.

Reading with Complex Texts (Example of utilizing a music video to analyze the composer/performer's intent and song meaning.)

Visual Literacy Across the Curriculum (4 minutes) and Visual Literacy in the Classroom (14 minutes) - These videos offer a deeper explanation of what visual literacy is and application to real world experiences.

Vocabulary Lists for Music

Wisconsin Art Education Association - ArtTimes articles

Wisconsin Disciplinary Literacy

For questions, concerns, or suggestions, please contact Julie Palkowski, Fine Arts and Creativity Education Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

"I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose." - Ludwig van Beethoven

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Disciplinary Literacy definition - In Wisconsin, "disciplinary literacy is defined as the confluence of content knowledge, experiences, and skills merged with the ability to read, write, listen, speak, think critically and perform in a way that is meaningful within the context of a given field."

# data[].attributes.headline
This is Disciplinary Literacy (book to purchase)

# data[].attributes.subject
This is Disciplinary Literacy (book to purchase)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Available Formats

ISBN: 9781506306698

Paperback

Suggested Retail Price: $21.95

Bookstore Price: $22.36

ISBN: 9781506326955

Electronic Version

Suggested Retail Price: $24.95

Bookstore Price: $19.96

Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email sageheoa@sagepub.com. Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html.

Foreword by Carol Ann Tomlinson

Chapter 1. Literacy Within the Disciplines

Chapter 2. Reading Within the Disciplines

Chapter 3. Writing Within the Disciplines

Chapter 4. Inquiry Within the Disciplines

Chapter 5. Collaborative Learning

Chapter 6. This Is Disciplinary Literacy

This book is up to date with the current research and thinking about literacy in content areas )"disciplinary literacy") other than English / language arts. It is succinct, unpretentious, reader friendly, and teachers will likely relate to the content more so than the content reading texts we have used in the past. The text includes multiple examples of how literacy is related to and used by professionals in each of the disciplines.

Affordable and comprehensive. Will work well with our secondary students as the ideas address some of the comments they have up front, such "but I don't teach reading." And it address each disciplinary area in detail.

I feel it covers all that needs to be addressed to prepare my students to be great science teachers.

Common questions and answers (FAQs) regarding each chapter topic

Mixed into every chapter are "Spotlight on______" , a feature that takes readers inside science, math, social studies, history and ELA classes to see the practices in action.

Sample activities related to the topic of each chapter. Each activity includes the following sections.

How it Works (including examples)

Why it Works (research and reasoning behind activity)

Extend and Adapt (other ways to use the resource or activity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Available Formats ISBN: 9781506306698 Paperback Suggested Retail Price: $21.95 Bookstore Price: $22.36 ISBN: 9781506326955 Electronic Version Suggested Retail Price: $24.95 Bookstore Price: $19.96 Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email sageheoa@sagepub.com.

# data[].attributes.headline
Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines (book to purchase)

# data[].attributes.subject
Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines (book to purchase)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Being literate in an academic discipline means more than simply being able to read and comprehend text; it means you can think, speak, and write as a historian, scientist, mathematician, or artist. Doug Buehl strips away the one-size-fits-all approach to content-area literacy and presents a much-needed instructional model for disciplinary literacy, showing how to mentor middle and high school learners to become "academic insiders" who are college and career ready.

You can create a quote by adding products to your cart and selecting Quote in checkout.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines, Second Edition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Being literate in an academic discipline means more than simply being able to read and comprehend text; it means you can think, speak, and write as a historian, scientist, mathematician, or artist.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teacher 1: The Common Core highlights that every teacher is a reading and writing teacher in their discipline. I think this idea is important in combination with the best practices for content area learning. My main interest in this is based on helping students who struggle to learn to read in early grade levels, and, as a result, can quickly get behind when "reading to learn" in the secondary grades. Teacher 2: What is the place of disciplinary literacy in elementary school? I am also aware of the work of Nell Duke and the importance of informational text with young children as well as the significance of teaching academic vocabulary and scaffolding its use by the children. Teacher 3: I very much like your explanation of Content Literacy vs. Disciplinary Literacy. With this in mind, how would you best support kindergarten-first grade teachers in the area of Disciplinary Literacy? Non-fiction informational texts, read alouds, inquiries, academic vocabulary, learning to read charts, photos etc. ...The ways to scaffold Disciplinary Literacy are much more clear to me as the children move up the grades. Teacher 4: What would you say are some current best practices for secondary content area literacy?
Shanahan responds:

One hears the term disciplinary literacy a lot these days. That's because the Common Core standards (CCSS) address the teaching of disciplinary literacy (as do non-CCSS states like Texas and Indiana).

Of course, the term is often misused. Disciplinary literacy is based upon the idea that literacy and text are specialized, and even unique, across the disciplines. Historians engage in very different approaches to reading than mathematicians do, for instance. Similarly, even those who know little about math or literature can easily distinguish as science text from a literary one.

Fundamentally, because each field of study has its own purposes, its own kinds of evidence, and its own style of critique, each will produce different texts, and reading those different kinds of texts are going to require some different reading strategies. Scientists spend a lot of time comparing data presentation devices with each other and with prose, while literary types strive to make sense of theme, characterization, and style.

The idea of teaching disciplinary literacy is quite different from the long promoted content area literacy teaching. The latter has often championed the disciplinary literacy notion, but the result has been an emphasis on general comprehension skills and study skills, rather than apprenticing young readers into reading like disciplinary experts. K-W-L, three-level guides, Frayer model, 4-squares, etc. are all great teaching tools-they can enhance kids learning from text, but you are unlikely to find chemists or historians who use those approaches in their work. Thus, content area reading aims to build better students, while disciplinary literacy tries to get them to grasp the ways literacy is used to create, disseminate, and critique information in the various disciplines.

This can get pretty confusing. Educators have a tendency to latch onto new terms without developing much of an understanding of them. These days many teachers think disciplinary literacy is just the cool new term for content area reading. Even some "scholars" are playing this game; grabbing onto family resemblances and seeing identical twins.

For example, Cyndie Shanahan and I studied chemists and learned the key information that they looked for when reading chemistry text and some of the techniques they used for making sense of that information. They even provided us with cogent explanations of why their approaches were beneficial, given the purposes of their inquiry and the nature of their texts.

We turned that into a method that chemistry students could use to summarize information in a chemistry-centric way. Some "scholars" decided such charting made disciplinary literacy the same as content area reading (since it often recommends charts, too), ignoring that the categories of disciplinary-specific information were the essential element, and not the piece of paper on which the kids were recording the information (Dunkerly-Bean & Bean, 2017).

Not surprisingly, since disciplinary literacy is a relatively new thing for schools, there is a flood of questions about it. And, because the research is lagging classroom demand, there is only a trickle of research-based answers to provide. Much of what O will write here will be based on my own personal experiences (teaching and co-teaching middle school and high school classes in various disciplines).

So what are the big issues in implementing disciplinary literacy?

First, reading has to be a big part of students' disciplinary classes. I can't think of anything more fundamental. If there are not real reasons to read in these classrooms, then there is no reason to teach disciplinary literacy or for kids to try to learn it. I do not believe that teachers of biology, algebra, American History, British Literature, economics, or any other subject in the curriculum should be deterred from teaching their subject matter. But part of that teaching should come through text.

What too many teachers do is to seek ways to avoid text. A biology textbook is hard to read, 15-year-olds struggle with it, so teachers present the pertinent information some other way: Powerpoint lectures, dumbed-down study sheets, etc. Those teachers often tell me that students have the option of reading-though why they would, given that all the test answers are provided fully digested, I can't imagine.

Even math classes should include reading. I don't mean story problems, though they have their place. I mean that kids should be reading theorems, problem explanations, formulas, proofs, and whatever mathematical information is appropriate. "But my students aren't good readers?" I get it... and, yet, it is hard to see how avoiding math reading could possibly improve that situation.

In the elementary grades, making sure that kids are reading about geography, economics, history, culture, biography, environmental science, life science, physical science, music, art, and current events is really important. Building kids' stores of knowledge in those areas and giving them practice dealing with that kind of language and content is imperative. Stories are great, but a narrow diet of stories alone can make you sick.

Second, if students are to read, there needs to be text... disciplinary appropriate text. That means in a history class it is essential students be given opportunities to pore over conflicting evidence and alternative points of view. That doesn't mean that history textbooks have no place, only that students need chances to evaluate primary and secondary texts, too.

Science reading is less about alternative perspectives and more about accurate information carefully grounded in the observations and experiments that identified it. Accordingly, science information tends to be expressed in a multiplicity of forms (e.g., prose, tables, charts, formulae, photos), often within the same account-in part this is done because of the inadequacy of language to precisely summarize findings.

Students need opportunities to work with these alternative forms and to see more than science textbooks (not for alternative information, but to see how scientists report their findings). I taught a group of high-schoolers to read Watson & Crick's landmark report of their discovery of the structure of DNA. Man it was tough slogging-for them and for me, but we got there, and the kids were enthusiastic about results (they asked their real teacher if they could do more of that).

A counter-example. Last year, I was co-teaching some math classes. The math textbook had been written purposely to place as little reading demand on students as possible. The math book was largely a collection of math problems, without explanation (the teachers capably provided that). That book not only failed to provide kids with opportunities to read math, but the parents hated it because if their children didn't understand the math, they couldn't help them to figure it out.

Elementary textbooks and tradebooks often report content information, but they rarely do so from a disciplinary perspective. Historical accounts tend to tell stories rather than revealing controversies, disagreements, or the use of evidence. Science accounts often provide terrific explanations of scientific phenomena, but without much revelation of how this information came into being. And, how often are younger children exposed to literary criticism as opposed to literature.

My point isn't necessarily that such texts should be included in the elementary curriculum, but if they aren't then it doesn't make a lot of sense to try to engage them in disciplinary approaches. Those only make sense when one is reading works that have a definite disciplinary cast or when one is engaged in disciplinary inquiry that includes reading. Until such texts become available-and that could be earlier, but often isn't until middle school-satisfy yourself with exposing students to lots of informational texts and the knowledge they represent.

Third, disciplinary classes should have a deep dedication to imparting the content of the subjects to students, including information about the nature of inquiry in those fields. What does it mean to work as a historian, scientist, geographer, mathematician, or literary critic? What do they read and why? How do they report their results? What constitutes evidence in their field of study? What does criticism look like?

Some curriculum experts believe that means students have to be engaged in inquiry themselves in the various fields. I like that idea, and it often makes sense. Labs are common in high school sciences, though the lab reporting too often seems distant from how scientists report their findings. In history classes, it has become much more common to see students reading text sets that expose them to conflicting accounts (e.g., History Scene Investigations), so kids can weigh in on contested issues in history.

But inquiry is not without problems (I've yet to see a text set that shows students how historians take into account the economic or geographic antecedents of historical events).

Inquiry can be cumbersome and time consuming; it always requires a wise balance of content coverage and the appreciations to be derived from hands-on investigation. And, there are disciplines that simply aren't amenable to inquiry-math is particularly knotty in this regard (making me wonder if math isn't different than the other disciplines in that having students acting like nascent mathematicians might not have the same payoffs as trying to read like scientists or literary critics).

In the elementary school, it makes great sense to emphasize learning as well, and there will be times when inquiry is the way to go. (There might be wonderful benefits for writing reports of various types, but such reports tend not to be disciplinary by nature-a report on photosynthesis written by a fourth-grader is going to be more about finding facts in various sources than about reporting scientific information in the way a scientist would).

However, again, that doesn't mean there is no place for such work in an elementary classroom. Engaging students in trying to solve various kinds of quantitative problems and writing about these explorations makes a lot of sense. Having kids observing some natural phenomenon or conducting an experiment and reading about the phenomenon understudy to combine this information coherently could be very powerful.

The point is that content and inquiry are the point-and that disciplinary literacy should emanate from the demands of that content and inquiry. There will definitely be more opportunities at some levels than at others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teacher 1: The Common Core highlights that every teacher is a reading and writing teacher in their discipline. I think this idea is important in combination with the best practices for content area learning.

# data[].attributes.headline
Literacy Leadership Brief: Content Area and Disciplinary Literacy Strategies and Framework

# data[].attributes.subject
Literacy Leadership Brief: Content Area and Disciplinary Literacy Strategies and Framework

# data[].attributes.headline
Steps to Success: Crossing the Bridge Between Literacy Research and Practice

# data[].attributes.subject
Steps to Success: Crossing the Bridge Between Literacy Research and Practice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
According to McConachie and Petrosky (2010), disciplinary literacy refers to "the use of reading, reasoning, investigating, speaking, and writing required to learn and form complex content knowledge appropriate to a particular discipline" (p. 16). Research has recently been conducted within the area of disciplinary literacy which holds the potential to inform content area teaching. An account of this research will be presented next, followed by a discussion of the application of content area instruction.

Disciplinary Literacy Research

Current research has begun to focus on the use of discipline specific literacy strategies to improve both literacy and content area learning (Jetton & Shanahan, 2012; Moje, 2007, 2008; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008, 2012; Shanahan, Shanahan, & Misischia, 2011). Discipline specific strategies can be added to the use of more generalizable comprehension strategies to reflect how disciplinary experts actually navigate and learn from reading texts in various disciplines (Shanahan et al., 2011).

Shanahan and Shanahan (2008) described the need for secondary teachers to teach the use of disciplinary literacy strategies to students, based on a two-year literacy initiative they undertook to explore the reading demands of various content area disciplines. Shanahan and Shanahan described preliminary findings of a study involving the analysis of how disciplinary experts read texts in their fields. For instance, based on observations of the experts thinking aloud as they read texts, Shanahan and Shanahan described how much intensive rereading mattered when mathematicians read texts in their field. An example provided is how words such as "the," "a," and "of," which are normally not very meaningful, take on great significance when reading mathematics texts (see Table 2). Comprehension of mathematical texts also required being solution-focused and vigilant to detect and fix any comprehension problems.

Observations of chemistry experts' reading showed the need to divide attention among many different representations of information, including charts, graphs, symbols, and words written in texts. Alternatively, historians appeared more contextually-focused. Knowing who an author was and the nature of the source material were observed to be essential for interpreting information read in historical documents. Unlike mathematicians and chemists, historians did not focus as much on facts or solutions but on making judgments and assessing credibility.

When Shanahan and Shanahan (2008) discussed teaching generalizable comprehension strategies in content areas, they found that individuals in their participant sample were not interested in teaching students how to "read," which was similar to findings in the study by O'Brien et al. (1995). As a result of discussions with content area experts, Shanahan and Shanahan (2008) identified strategies that were more discipline specific, to which content area experts reacted more positively.

Table 2 summarizes ways that reading and writing across the disciplines are unique, and by analyzing how literacy happens within disciplines, more specialized strategies and approaches to learning can be created. Notice how in Table 2 the literacy features and demands of mathematics and science appear to overlap more with each other than with history, English, and the arts. In spite of certain similarities, the ways that mathematics, history, science, and arts texts are accessed, viewed, read, discussed, debated, critiqued, and written about often require the use of specialized strategies that differ from strategies used to comprehend narrative fiction. The strategies used depend, at least in part, on the nature of the texts and knowledge traditions associated with the various disciplines.

Mathematics

Texts are typically concept and idea densea

Function words ("the," "a," "of") and symbols (+, ∑ ) have specific meaninga,c

Every word and symbol mattersa,c

Numbers may be uninterpretable without unit labels (meters)

Many technical words contain Latin or Greek roots and have specialized meaning, such as "trigonometry"b

Many visual representations

Make meaning from every word, symbol, and their relationsa

Intensive reading and rereading to analyze detailsa

Get more than just the "gist"; precision/error free focusa

Identify all parts of words and their meaning

Divide attention across multiple representations of contenta

Switch strategies when reading prose, graphs, equationsa

Use mathematically-specific text features to make meaning

Construct proofs and deconstruct principlesa

Focus on what is actually in the texta; authorship is less of a concern

Science

Texts are typically concept and idea densea

Letters and numbers (H₂O) have unique meaningsa

Numbers may be uninterpretable without unit labels (grams)

Many technical words contain Latin or Greek roots that not only reveal meaning but help to enable scientific classificationsb

Descriptions of procedures and testing of hypothesesa

Many visual representations

Analysis of procedures/performances, such as lab experiments

Make meaning from every word and symbola

Close reading and rereadinga

Focus on order of proceduresa

Conduct and record observations/lab experiments; critique procedures used by othersd

Detect and correct errors

Analyze key words and word parts for identification and classificationa purposes

Divide attention across multiple representations of contenta

Use scientific (and sometimes mathematical) text features to make meaning

History

Texts contain historical events, which vary in concept and idea densitya,e

Authorship central to interpretation of textsa,b,h

Contextual factors are key (who, what, where, and when), along with the author's purpose/perspectivea

Specialized terms such as "oligarchy" signal classification systems (e.g., forms of government)a

Culturally specific words have specialized meaninge

Information related to timelines and datelinesa

Analyze details related to the sources of information and why they were documenteda,e

Close reading, often across multiple documents/sources and in reference to one another (i.e., corroboration)a,e,h

Analyze specialized words for meaning and at cultural, emotional, and cognitive levelsa,e

Analysis of documents (who, what, where, and when) is a primary method used to study texts a

Use historical text features to make meaningh

Intense critique of sources of textse

English

Texts from genres such as novels, poetry, plays, and dramasf

Contextual factors are key (who, what, where, and when), along with considering the author's purpose/perspective

Figurative language (e.g., metaphor, irony) and other abstractions used by authorsh

In analysis of texts, use of specialized terms such as "denouement"

Attend to characteristics of genres and their conventions (plot, setting, characters, conflict)

Determine the "gist" and analysis of details

Adjust speed of reading based on diverse genre and dialect features (poetry and drama vs. prose)

Analyze figures of speech in reference to contexth

Manage ambiguity and make inferencesf,h

Reconstruct story elements when presented nonlinearly

Use of specialized text features to make meaning

The Arts

Texts include photographs, paintings, sculptures, sheet music, exhibits, and performancesg

Specialized materials such as canvases, acrylic paints, color wheels, musical instrumentsg

Specialized terms such as "overture," "octave," "Cubism," "collage," "hue," and "gild"

Culturally specific words that have specialized meanings from languages other than English, such as "adagio" and "pirouette"

2/4 and 4/4 designate rhythms, and many symbols ( ♯, ♫) have specialized meaningg

Greater emphasis on listening, speaking, viewing, and performance aspects of literacyg

Deconstruct ideas represented by design elements and principles, such as space, texture, color, shape, movement, rhythm, and balance related to visual arts, music, and danceg

Frequent rehearsal and/or practice of artistic expressions based on modeling by peers, teachers, and other expertsg

Make meaning of words and concepts from languages other than English

Use of technical and specialized text features to make meaning

Note. Although English may include narrative and informational texts, informational texts are not included in the English section of the chart.
a Mathematics, science, and history features and strategies adapted from Shanahan and Shanahan (2008).
b Mathematics, science and history features and strategies adapted from Shanahan and Shanahan (2012).
c Mathematics features and strategies adapted from Siebert and Draper (2012).
d Science features and strategies adapted from Shanahan (2012).
e History features and strategies adapted from VanSledright (2012).
f English language arts features and strategies adapted from Hicks and Steffel (2012).
g Arts features and strategies adapted from Moxley (2012).
h Mathematics, science, history, and English features and strategies adapted from Moje (2007).

Differences in literacy-related knowledge traditions become most obvious when considering violations of these traditions. For example, what if the following sentence were encountered in a chemistry textbook:

The despondent chemist tenuously grasped the test tube and lifted it feebly over the dancing blue flame of the Bunsen burner, fluttering the cylinder back and forth like a tiny flag signaling his surrender to the very science he was studying.

Why is this funny? Because it reflects a clear violation of disciplinary communication style associated with chemistry. This same feeling of awkwardness can happen when someone tries to use a strategy that supports comprehension in one discipline but not in another. For example, if an author began a chapter on disciplinary literacy with the phrase, "This chapter focuses on different approaches to disciplinary literacy strategies instruction that content area teachers can use to maximize students' understanding of content in academic disciplines," students would likely appreciate the explicit guidance of what will be discussed. Conversely, if an author started a novel with the sentence, "This is a story about a boy whose dog dies after being bitten by a rabid wolf," no one would want to read it because the ending is revealed before the story even begins-a clear violation of novel writing conventions. And finally, consider the physics textbook beginning with the phrase, "Once upon a time." It is not that the sentences and phrases used above are technically incorrect; they just do not conform to the communication traditions associated with the corresponding discipline.

Incorporating Disciplinary Literacy Strategies into Content Areas

This chapter will now turn to providing examples of disciplinary literacy teaching and learning in action. The examples are not meant to encompass all of the dimensions featured in Table 2 or represent all content areas but are intended to contextualize selected specialized strategies relevant to mathematics, science, history, and the arts. Examples related to English are also provided in Table 2 as a comparison to other disciplines.

Mathematics

How do mathematicians learn about their discipline? They do a lot of reading and writing (Siebert & Draper, 2012). Recall from Table 2 that what makes learning mathematics and comprehending mathematics texts challenging is the fact that they are concept and idea dense, and they also require attention to many unique features within the texts. Mathematics texts do not just involve reading word problems but require translation and decoding of innumerable symbols that take up very little space but still carry a great deal of meaning. In addition, students must constantly use visual literacy strategies to make meaning of charts and graphs that are also dense. Given some of the differences in both text features and the ways that mathematics is discussed and written about, it makes sense why using only generalizable comprehension strategies such as graphic organizers and making predictions would not be sufficient to make meaning of mathematics texts.

When a mathematics teacher asks students to read a text to learn how to graph (x,y) coordinates, the text the students read would likely span very few pages. The ratio of words to symbols would be different than texts in most other disciplines, and unlike when reading English, history, or arts texts, reading about graphing (x,y) coordinates does not require the same type of thinking about the author's purpose. The mathematics text probably contains a heading that summarizes what that section is about-perhaps something not very surprising like, "Graphing (x,y) Coordinates." Not all students pay attention to text features such as chapter titles or headings because they may not realize these features reveal the big picture of what is coming. Their lack of attention may stem from being used to seeing chapter numbers in narrative texts with no title or vague titles such as, "Chapter 6: Fading Away." Students may mistakenly believe that titles are not that important in revealing what a text is about, but in many disciplines, including mathematics, chapter titles and section headings are essential for directing attention and self-monitoring comprehension.

Across disciplines, titles and headings will likely differ, but what they have in common is that they give the reader a preview of what is coming. Ignoring text features can leave readers without a needed foundation to organize their thinking. Consider the following example. Suppose students are asked to examine two sets of numbers: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 and 1, 4, 9, 16, 25. Students begin to notice that each set contains five numbers, they are all 25 or less, and most of them are odd. But if they notice the heading preceding the number sets- Prime Numbers and Squares -the students will be immediately oriented to the meaning of the number sets (provided they know or are taught what prime numbers and squares are).

Teachers who model how to read headings in mathematics texts and discuss the importance of this reading behavior are preparing their students to comprehend complex texts. In addition, teachers who model mathematics specific literacy strategies require students to do some reconceptualizing of what a "text" actually is (Siebert & Draper, 2012). Recall that in Chapter 1, text was defined quite broadly as including not only printed documents like stories and articles but also diverse modes of communication, which in this case, include mathematical symbols, graphs, charts, equations, questions, and exercises. Because text features in mathematics may be different from text features in other disciplines, reminding students to "read every word" in a math text may not be good advice if texts do not contain very many words. Students who approach reading mathematics texts like they approach reading a novel will miss many important features designed to direct their attention and ease their learning. Perhaps the reminder to "read and interpret every feature of texts" is better advice.

Because students may not understand the role of all of the text features they encounter in reading within specific disciplines, teachers can explicitly show students how to make meaning of these features. Students may need to look at an example problem many times before they understand how to transfer the learning to a new problem. Looking back and forth at components until comprehension is solid is a great strategy to use in this situation, whereas, looking back at the same paragraph in a novel 20 times would probably not be a good strategy to apply. This is why teachers must teach disciplinary literacy strategies according to the processes and procedures that make sense, based on the conventions and content of their disciplines (Moje, 2007).

It should be noted that strategies such as the ones described above are not limited to traditional texts such as textbooks but lend themselves well to digital texts, which may also include applications (apps) and videos (Draper, Broomhead, Jensen, Nokes, & Siebert, 2010). Students may require different types of modeling to know how to access and interpret text features found in these media. An example includes showing students how to display a figure and its companion explanation using a split computer screen so looking back and forth is easier.

History

How do historians learn about their discipline? They do a lot of reading and writing (VanSledright, 2012). Reading historical texts is central to gaining an understanding of the past and its implications for the future. To some, it may seem as if historical documents largely resemble texts students encounter in English, but readers must approach some history texts in markedly different ways (see Table 2). Texts read in a history class may include sentences and paragraphs but also may include many visuals, such as charts, figures, and even photographs of clothing (Campbell, 1996), since meaning can be made of each of these visual representations. Historical texts reveal the author's perspective and context, with more emphasis on these attributes than occurs in most other disciplines. A person who writes history also shares his or her attitudes, culture, biases, political and/or religious beliefs. Similarly, a person who reads history filters what is read according to his or her own attitudes, culture, biases, political and/or religious beliefs. So reading history without connecting the "who, what, where, and when" of the information to the person who created it, and to the person reading it, is like finding a bottle of soda on the ground and just opening it up and drinking it. Historians are especially reluctant to consume things when they do not know where those things came from.

Like mathematicians, historians use specialized strategies to make meaning of texts they read (VanSledright, 2012). Think for a moment about a history teacher handing students a copy of a document discussing Prohibition, for the purpose of generating debate about the legalization of marijuana in the United States. Prior to reading the document, the teacher would likely direct students to determine who wrote it, as well as to note the year the document was written to contextualize it within the attitudes, beliefs, and customs of that time period. Next, the teacher might ask students to read the document to get the gist of what is communicated, and then reread the document while analyzing the information from varying perspectives. Each idea would be carefully considered in reference to the author, the time of the writing, the issue, and through the lens of today. In effect, literacy instruction in history involves a great deal of contextualization of every fact, opinion, word used, and perspective of those who lived before and after an event that took place.

Science

How do scientists learn about their discipline? They, like mathematicians and historians, do a lot of reading and writing (Shanahan, 2012). Mathematics and science actually share some important characteristics in reference to strategies students can use to understand what they read, write, and discuss in science classes, so it is useful to borrow from the mathematics strategies previously discussed (see Table 2). For example, science also uses many symbols, graphics, and charts that require focused processing of visual information, as well as words, sentences, and paragraphs. For subjects which are more classification oriented, there are additional strategies worth discussing to help students make meaning of what they read.

Just as in the section of this chapter discussing mathematics and history where ideas of what a text is needed to be broadened, with science, ideas about what a text is need to be extended even further. Visual literacy strategies are needed for looking through a microscope at a cell and labeling the mitochondria and are also needed during the dissection of a frog, while students try to find, label (and spell!) the pancreas. Are magnified cells and frogs "texts"? If students are asked to make meaning of them, then arguably they are. What is more, students may be required to view many of these texts concurrently, so rather than just looking back and forth between words and figures in a text, biology students may be required to divide their attention across a textbook, a frog body, a microscope, a lab packet, and more.

One troubling aspect raised by Shanahan (2012) about the way science is taught in some schools is when teachers completely avoid the use of science texts because teachers believe that the texts are too difficult for students to understand. As an alternative, teachers may choose to present content using other means, such as orally or by facilitating discussions. A danger to this approach is that students may never become skilled at reading and interpreting science texts if they do not have opportunities to engage in reading about science. Furthermore, avoiding the use of science texts limits students' ability to learn more about science outside of these contexts (i.e., college and career settings).

An alternative to avoiding the use of science texts was teaching students how to read and understand them, using some of the same disciplinary literacy strategies experts use. Science texts often contain unique features, such as dense classification charts based on nominalized terms. Nominalization is when words such as "dissolve" become more abstract by the addition of endings which turn verbs into nouns (dissolu tion; Shanahan, 2012). Similar to mathematics texts, readers of science texts must switch strategies when going from sentences and paragraphs to viewing formulas or graphics to reading paragraphs again. Differences in the density of idea units (sometimes referred to as "lexical density"; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008) can make scientific texts especially challenging for students to read and remain motivated to understand.

An example of this difficulty with reading dense science texts is discussed by Moje (2007), who described a student's reaction to such an encounter. The student shared, "You read the whole section [of a biology book] and you're like, okay, you gotta read it four times just to understand it a little bit" (p. 34). The student then remarked, "It's just written the way adults read it.... And they have the knowledge to do that.... And they write it in their own language that only them can understand" (emphases in original; p. 34). The student continued to describe how all of the big words and adult language made the texts inaccessible to her to the point that "it gets you brain dead" (p. 34). This student's reaction to the challenges of reading texts in the disciplines provides support for the need for explicit instruction related to how to navigate disciplinary texts.

The Arts

How do artists, musicians, and dancers learn about their discipline? They engage in reading and writing like other content area experts; however, many specialists in the arts also spend considerable time engaging in and viewing creative expressions of their disciplines (Moxley, 2012), perhaps in slightly different ways than what has been described so far. In the arts, the idea of what constitutes texts needs to be broadened once again to include even more diverse modes of communication such as paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, dance movements, and musical performances. Teaching a student to play a musical instrument would likely not involve poring over textbooks and articles and then writing a research paper about playing the instrument. Instead, the student would likely view a model of someone playing the instrument so that he or she could carefully observe body movements, postures, and the creation of music. Reading about how to place a violin under the chin, versus viewing a picture or even experiencing an expert placing the violin under a student's chin, provide vastly different information to a novice musician. In addition to modeling, teachers of music observe a student practicing the instrument and provide frequent feedback to help the student progress in learning. When considering examples such as these, it is easy to see how important certain aspects of literacy are to the arts, such as viewing and performing.

Disciplinary literacy in the arts makes unique demands on teachers and students, with examples included in Table 2. Specialized materials do not include supplies such as Bunsen burners or graphing calculators but include materials like paints, sheet music, and color wheels. As in many other disciplines, learning in the arts requires focused processing of visual and/or auditory information, as well as the integration of that information with other print-based modes of communication, such as articles, books, reviews, and concert programs. An important aspect of musical and performing arts is engagement in rehearsals, which involve repeated practice that culminates in performances that eventually meet standards to be more formally shared with others. Just as the work of a student learning science may reach a certain standard to be presented at a science fair or conference, the work of individuals in the arts often culminates in the creation of portfolios, exhibitions, or stage performances.

The specialized nature of literacy in the arts can again be understood by considering violations of conventions within the discipline. Recall our despondent chemist who was waving his test tube in surrender. Imagine if he decided to express the findings of his experiment by engaging in interpretive dance or by breaking into song! Likewise, imagine an audience's reaction if a performance artist approached a podium to give a long speech describing a series of dance movements. Teaching students about various modes of expression in the arts and other disciplines does not mean unnecessarily restricting their response patterns but involves helping them understand what their response patterns mean within each discipline.

Teachers in the arts can guide students in using literacy strategies to learn within their discipline. For example, a text feature in theater might include the placement of masking tape on a stage to signal location of movement. While some students may be able to deduce the meaning of this cue, other students may need more direct teaching to comprehend the meanings of arts-based terms and symbols, such as stage tape. For this type of instruction to occur, it may be helpful for theater teachers to think about a stage as a text and how stage tape acts as a text feature that has specialized meaning that can be taught. Likewise, thinking about other arts-based texts such as photographs, color wheels, and musical scores can help prompt teachers to explain the meaning of discipline specific text features such as color, space, texture, and movement (Moxley, 2012).

In summary, texts in mathematics, history, science, and the arts have many unique features that potentially pose challenges for students trying to gain understanding of the discipline specific content these texts contain. It is for this reason that teachers need to address the challenges these texts pose through the teaching of literacy strategies, including disciplinary literacy strategies, to scaffold learning. Although it is not realistic to expect secondary students to become disciplinary experts (Heller, 2010), it is realistic for students to engage "in the kinds of knowledge production and representation, on a limited scale, of course, that members of the various disciplines enact on a regular basis" (Moje, 2010, p. 275). Both teachers and secondary students need to think about, learn, and try out specialized literacy strategies to communicate and learn within and across the disciplines.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Steps to Success: Crossing the Bridge Between Literacy Research and Practice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
According to McConachie and Petrosky (2010), disciplinary literacy refers to "the use of reading, reasoning, investigating, speaking, and writing required to learn and form complex content knowledge appropriate to a particular discipline" (p. 16). Research has recently been conducted within the area of disciplinary literacy which holds the potential to inform content area teaching.

# data[].attributes.headline
On Your Feet Guide to Disciplinary Literacy in Mathematics (purchased item)

# data[].attributes.subject
On Your Feet Guide to Disciplinary Literacy in Mathematics (purchased item)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Available Formats

Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email sageheoa@sagepub.com. Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The On-Your-Feet Guide to Disciplinary Literacy in Mathematics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Available Formats Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email sageheoa@sagepub.com. Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information.

# data[].attributes.headline
Disciplinary Literacy in Math (video 50 min)

# data[].attributes.subject
Disciplinary Literacy in Math (video 50 min)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Disciplinary Literacy in Mathematics | Learning Hub

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reading, writing, and other communication in science requires the use of unique vocabulary. Teachers need to understand how to make this vocabulary accessible to students and how to have them consistently use it in authentic contexts. Part of disciplinary literacy instruction in science is supporting students in being able to communicate like scientists, which means they need to use the language of science.

# data[].attributes.headline
Disciplinary Literacy in Science Presentation

# data[].attributes.subject
Disciplinary Literacy in Science Presentation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
27 June, 2017 Timothy Shanahan This presentation explores the role of vocabulary, language, and graphics in the reading of science. Featured Publications 10 Things Teachers Should Know about Rea... Timothy Shanahan Adolescent Literacy Instruction Timothy Shanahan 7 Paths to Improved Reading Comprehensio... Timothy Shanahan One of the world's premier literacy educators.

# data[].attributes.headline
On Your Feet Guide to Literacy in Science

# data[].attributes.subject
On Your Feet Guide to Literacy in Science

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Available Formats

Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email sageheoa@sagepub.com. Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The On-Your-Feet Guide to Disciplinary Literacy in Science

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Available Formats Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email sageheoa@sagepub.com. Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information.

# data[].attributes.headline
On Your Feet Guide to Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.subject
On Your Feet Guide to Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The On-Your-Feet Guide to Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
All On-Your-Feet Guide orders receive FREE SHIPPING! Use code SHIPOYFG at check out.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Event Description

The WAEA conference hosts multiple sessions for art educators. Register for the conference and join us for Disciplinary Literacy in the Arts, facilitated by Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Arts and Creativity Education Consultant, Julie Palkowski, PhD. This interactive session will include activities that support the use of disciplinary literacy tools- writing, reading, thinking, listening, speaking, and performing to deepen student arts learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The WAEA conference hosts multiple sessions for art educators. Register for the conference and join us for Disciplinary Literacy in the Arts, facilitated by Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Arts and Creativity Education Consultant, Julie Palkowski, PhD. This interactive session will includ…

# data[].attributes.headline
Disciplinary Literacy in Physical Education

# data[].attributes.subject
Disciplinary Literacy in Physical Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Achieving Physical Education Standards Through Literacy

Physical Skills + Knowledge + Confidence + Motivation + Opportunities = Physical Literacy

What is Physical Literacy?

"Physical literacy can be described as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life." (Whitehead, 2014)
"Individuals who are physically literate move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that benefit the healthy development of the whole person." (Physical and Health Education Canada)

Physically literate individuals consistently develop the motivation and ability to understand, communicate, apply, and analyze different forms of movement.

They are able to demonstrate a variety of movements confidently, competently, creatively, and strategically across a wide range of health-related physical activities.

These skills enable individuals to make healthy, active choices that are both beneficial to and respectful of their whole self, others, and their environment.

UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL LITERACY
Understanding Physical Literacy Toolkit
NATIONAL SHAPE STANDARDS
Standard 1. The physically literate individual demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.
Standard 2. The physically literate individual applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance.
Standard 3. The physically literate individual demonstrates the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness.
Standard 4. The physically literate individual exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others.
Standard 5. The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.

WI STATE STANDARDS
Standard 1: Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.
Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.
Standard 3: Participates regularly in physical activity.
Standard 4: Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
Standard 5: Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.
Standard 6: Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.

Let's Break it Down!
Let's take a closer look at a few of the critical terms that are essential to the definition of physical literacy and consider what they mean:
Wide variety - Physical literacy is not about excellence in just one sport or activity; it's about competence in a full range of activities, such as dance, gymnastics, outdoor pursuits, or general fitness and exercise activities. All of these are part of the puzzle and contribute to the development of a physically literate individual.
Confidence/Competence - These two terms are interrelated. Skill development improves confidence; in turn, the boost in confidence improves the actual use of those skills.
Health-related - This term refers to fitness, including strength, flexibility and endurance. These are not only important building blocks to all the other skills, but also to overall health.
Lifespan - Physically literacy doesn't stop when a child leaves school! Just like reading and writing, physical literacy continues to be developed and improved. This physical development is for a lifetime; the health benefits continue well beyond a person's formative years in school.

Physical Literacy Ideas
- Word Wall or Question of the Day
- Game Play Analysis
- Create a Peer Skills Assessment Rubric - Have students create a skills rubric and subsequently have them use it to assess a peer integrating key terminology and skill components
- Read Station Cards and Perform that Skill or Create Station Cards with Multiple Level of Difficulties
- Reading/Analyzing Nutrition Labels
- Have Students Keep Daily Fitness Logs - Identify Opportunities for Activity outside of School
- Read, Record, and/or Analyze Pedometer or Heart Monitor Data or Personal Fitness Progress
- Create Personal Fitness Programs emphasizing Goal Setting, Integration of Exercise Principles, Muscle and Exercise Identification, Pre-Post Assessments
- Have Students Use Technology to Perform Skill Analysis
- Create and describe movement vocabulary: individual's repertoire of movement skills or sequence of skills
- Movement fluency: the ability to execute a component of movement vocabulary with expertise
- Identify and describe position roles within a prescribed sport
- Physical proficiency: the ability to select and proficiently execute movement vocabulary suitable to an environment or setting

Resources:
Defining Physical Literacy
Examples of application
SHAPE America National Standards Flyer
Word Wall Video
Applying Wisconsin Academic Standards in our Teaching Practice Worksheet
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Crosswalk (Excel)
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Crosswalk (Word)
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Crosswalk (pdf)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Disciplinary Literacy in Physical Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wisconsin’s Definition of Disciplinary Literacy In Wisconsin, disciplinary literacy is defined as the confluence of content knowledge, experiences, and skills merged with the ability to read, write, listen, speak, think critically and perform in a way that is meaningful within the context of a given…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Plastic Planet is a series on the global plastics crisis that evaluates the environmental and human costs and considers possible solutions to this devastating man-made problem.

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Since the early 1950s, there has been an estimated 8.3 billion tons - and counting - of plastic produced on the planet, according to a 2017 study published in the Science Advances journal. The United Nations Environment Program reports that roughly 60% of that lump sum has made its way to landfills or the ocean. Each year, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the ocean, according to the advocacy group Ocean Conservancy. Some calculations predict that there could be more plastic by weight in the ocean than fish by 2050.

The situation is so dire that the ocean is already home to five notable trash vortexes, more commonly known as garbage patches: the North Atlantic Gyre, the South Atlantic Gyre, the South Pacific Gyre, the Indian Ocean Gyre, and the North Pacific Gyre. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located in the North Pacific Gyre between California and Hawaii, is the most notorious as it is the largest of the five, with an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of trash. For measure, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is three times the size of France and weighs as much as 43,000 cars. And according to experts, it is growing "exponentially."

The fundamental issue with plastic is that it's largely not biodegradable. This means it cannot be broken down into reusable compounds. Instead, it degrades over time into smaller particles also known as microplastics, which are defined as pieces that are five millimeters in length or less, according to the National Ocean Service. While these tiny particles aren't floating at the top of the ocean, they pose a threat: Aside from contaminating the waters, plastic in the ocean injures and kills marine animals - collectively, it has impacted at least 800 species worldwide. Humans are impacted as well, as microplastics make their way into our food through seafood, water, and sea salt. Unfortunately, little is known about the scale of the problem since research is in its preliminary stages.

Some nations carry a larger burden of the blame than others. According to a 2015 study published in Science Advances, the top six countries for ocean garbage are China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. But other nations are not necessarily free from blame. The same study found that the United States, for example, contributes as much as 242 million pounds of plastic trash to the ocean every year.

Tackling the man-made environmental disaster - both cleaning up the existing plastic pollution in the ocean and preventing further damage - is not easy. "It is not as simple as going out there and just scooping up these floating islands of trash," Nick Mallos, the director of Ocean Conservancy's Trash Free Seas program, tells Teen Vogue.

Currently, a nearly 2,000-foot-long floater, essentially a floating trash collector, has made its way to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to take a stab at tackling the existing problem - it's the brainchild of 24-year-old Boyan Slat, who conceived the idea for his contraption in 2013 and started the Ocean Cleanup. Slat's device, a high-density polyethylene pipe, travels with the wind, waves, and storms and sweeps up plastic along the way. It also includes a 10-foot-long impermeable underwater skirt that picks up plastic that isn't on the surface. The plastic will then be removed from the water and taken by boat to shore, where it will be processed for recycling.

The first step of the Netherlands-based organization is to collect the larger floating plastic objects before approaching the smaller pieces. Within five years, the Ocean Cleanup hopes to remove half of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Now, weeks in, Business Insider has reported things don't appear to be going as they should be: The garbage collected by the device is drifting into sea instead of staying trapped. "Although we are not harvesting plastic yet, based on the current results, we are positive we are close to making it work," wrote Slat in an update in November, adding that his team believes "the first solution [they] will attempt could potentially remediate both of these causes."

A spokesperson for the Ocean Cleanup told Teen Vogue that Boyan and the rest of the team are "highly confident" that finding a solution is just "a matter of time," noting that all other aspects of the system - surviving rough weather and not harming marine life - are working well aside from not being able to keep the trapped plastic. "These kinds of issues are certainly something that they anticipated," said the spokesperson. "Expecting the unexpected is inherent to the process when you move from modeling and testing to reality. It also stresses the importance of going out there because reality is the ultimate test for the beta system."

Elsewhere, U.K.-based the Plastic Tide, founded by Peter Kohler, uses drone-mounted cameras, machine learning, and citizen science to take aerial photos and train a "machine-learning" algorithm to recognize plastic trash. The idea would be to track the existing plastic and the spread of plastic to home in on where to prioritize cleanup efforts.

Another element is reducing the amount of plastic that gets into the ocean going forward: In 2015, Reuters reported that research was released based on data from 2010, showing that more than 8 million tons of plastic go from land to the ocean each year.

Emma Tonge, a communications and outreach specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program, tells Teen Vogue that "prevention is the key to solving the marine debris problem over time." She uses the analogy of an overflowing sink: You can't fix the buildup without turning off the faucet. For marine debris, cleaning up nearshore and coastline regions is akin to turning off the faucets.

"Shorelines and coastal areas are easy to access, and we try to get these debris items before they have the chance to get to the ocean," says Tonge, whose program's main focus is prevention.

Ocean Conservancy's Trash Free Seas program organizes an international coastal cleanup that it says is the world's largest volunteer effort and works with businesses and individuals to implement change in practices and behaviors that impact ocean health. The Ocean Conservancy also has a mobile app - called Clean Swell - that allows individuals to record each item of trash they collect, which is later used by scientists and policymakers. While cleanups won't solve the marine plastic debris problem, it makes a difference. Mallos says it is a "Band-Aid, not a cure," but says cleanups have an "immediate and direct impact."

Encouraging corporations to use less plastic is one way to reduce the odds of plastic debris: Putting less plastic on shelves means less is purchased, consumed, and discarded.

"Corporations that either make plastic - the actual material - or make products that use plastic in their packaging have a very big responsibility in this problem," Mallos says. "There are some products out there, like plastic bags and expanded polystyrene food and beverage packaging - these are materials and types of products that simply no longer have a place in our economy. They pose a very severe risk to the marine environment when they leak into the ocean. And we know that there are suitable alternatives for these products that deliver the same utility and functionality as these products."

A 2018 brand audit conducted by environmental activist group Break Free From Plastic of more than 187,000 pieces of plastic trash across 239 cleanups spanning 42 countries shed light onto potential offenders. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé were the most frequent multinational brands collected in cleanups. A PepsiCo spokesperson told Teen Vogue the company is "committed to achieving 100% recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable packaging by 2025" and strives to "use 25% recycled plastic content in [their] plastic packaging by that same year." Coca-Cola told Teen Vogue it has placed "ambitious goals" for the company's World Without Waste vision: It aims to "collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one [they] sell - regardless of where it comes from - by 2030" and "use an average of 50% recycled content in our bottles and cans by 2030." Teen Vogue has reached out to Nestlé and will update once we hear back.

Some significant progress is also being made by other companies. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a U.K.-based environmental charity, launched a campaign to get corporations on board with accountability. So far, more than 250 organizations - including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever, H&M, S.C. Johnson, and L'Oréal - have pledged to eradicate plastic waste within seven years. These organizations have pledged to reuse, recycle, or compost 100% of their plastic packaging by 2025.

Mallos also spotlights two other areas that need work. One is creating appropriate waste collecting and recycling infrastructure for existing plastic goods in the market to guarantee responsible disposal. The other is to look at innovative materials that can replace some of the most problematic forms of plastic that currently exist. "Corporations have a very important role in supporting and catalyzing investment and innovation in many of those fronts," Mallos says.

And then there is consumer accountability. A recent wave of consumer activism has led to the widespread ban of straws, which are especially problematic since they cannot be recycled. A noble endeavor, no doubt, but according to a Bloomberg Opinion essay, straws only account for 0.03% of total plastic waste. To truly fight ocean plastic pollution, a broader approach is needed.

Mallos says individuals can help in three ways. One is to reevaluate our daily plastic waste footprint and make decisions to reuse things like plastic bags and water bottles. Second is to send a message with your purchasing power: Watch what you buy so corporations take into account consumer preference and purchasing habits. Lastly, advocate for smart policy - like plastic bag bans - that "deliver locally appropriate solutions."

The Ocean Conservancy's 2018 Coastal Cleanup Report gathered data from beach cleanups across the globe to identify common trash items: cigarette butts, food wrappers, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps, plastic grocery bags, other plastic bags, straws and stirrers, plastic takeout containers, plastic lids, and foam takeout containers. "For the first time ever, all of the top 10 items found globally were made of plastic," Mallos says. "We know that globally, plastic production is increasing. What we're seeing now on the beaches is a manifestation of that production.

"This is a global, complex issue. And everyone has a role to play. That ranges from us as individuals all the way up to governments and corporations," Mallos says.

"No matter who you are, you're connected to the ocean. No matter where you live, you're connected to the ocean," Tonge says. "Everyone can really have a part to play, no matter how small or large that part is."
For more information on the global plastics crisis, read the rest of the Plastic Planet series.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
You Can't Just "Clean Up" the Plastic in the Ocean. Here's Why.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this Plastic Planet reported feature, we explain why ocean cleanup isn't the best approach to combat the global plastics crisis.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kids versus Fossil Fuels: A Chat with a Teenage Activist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scientific American spoke with Kelsey Juliana, one of the 21 kids who are suing the U.S. government over climate change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
algae Single-celled organisms, once considered plants (they aren't). As aquatic organisms, they grow in water. Like green plants, they depend on sunlight to make their food.

app Short for application, or a computer program designed for a specific task.

asthma A disease affecting the body's airways, which are the tubes through which animals breathe. Asthma obstructs these airways through swelling, the production of too much mucus or a tightening of the tubes. As a result, the body can expand to breathe in air, but loses the ability to exhale appropriately. The most common cause of asthma is an allergy. Asthma is a leading cause of hospitalization and the top chronic disease responsible for kids missing school.

bacteria (singular: bacterium) Single-celled organisms. These dwell nearly everywhere on Earth, from the bottom of the sea to inside other living organisms (such as plants and animals).

biology The study of living things. The scientists who study them are known as biologists.

bloom (in microbiology) The rapid and largely uncontrolled growth of a species, such as algae in waterways enriched with nutrients.

carbon dioxide (or CO ₂) A colorless, odorless gas produced by all animals when the oxygen they inhale reacts with the carbon-rich foods that they've eaten. Carbon dioxide also is released when organic matter burns (including fossil fuels like oil or gas). Carbon dioxide acts as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in Earth's atmosphere. Plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen during photosynthesis, the process they use to make their own food.

cell The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells. Most organisms, such as yeasts, molds, bacteria and some algae, are composed of only one cell.

chlorophyll Any of several green pigments found in plants that perform photosynthesis - creating sugars (foods) from carbon dioxide and water.

colleague Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.

computer model A program that runs on a computer that creates a model, or simulation, of a real-world feature, phenomenon or event.

computer program A set of instructions that a computer uses to perform some analysis or computation. The writing of these instructions is known as computer programming.

cyanobacteria A type of bacteria that can convert carbon dioxide into other molecules, including oxygen.

cyst A group of cells that form a type of bubble-like shell or sac. Some cysts develop as a result of disease or tissue damage. Others may develop as a normal, protective during certain phases of a parasite's maturation.

diarrhea (adj. diarrheal) Loose, watery stool (feces) that can be a symptom of many types of microbial infections affecting the gut.

dolphins A highly intelligent group of marine mammals that belong to the toothed-whale family. Members of this group include orcas (killer whales), pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins.

domoic acid A toxin produced by some algae. If ingested by humans or other animals, it can cause brain damage, seizures and memory problems.

endangered An adjective used to describe species at risk of going extinct.

environment The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of components in some electronics system or product).

Environmental Protection Agency (or EPA) A national government agency charged with helping create a cleaner, safer and healthier environment in the United States. Created on Dec. 2, 1970, it reviews data on the possible toxicity of new chemicals (other than foods or drugs, which are regulated by other agencies) before they are approved for sale and use. Where such chemicals may be toxic, it sets limits or guidelines on how much of them may be released into (or allowed to build up in) the air, water or soil.

flagella (sing. flagellum) A thread-like structure that comes out of certain types of cells. The term derives from the Latin word for whip. And that's because the structures serve like oars to help these cells travel.

freshwater A noun or adjective that describes bodies of water with very low concentrations of salt. It's the type of water used for drinking and making up most inland lakes, ponds, rivers and streams, as well as groundwater.

global warming The gradual increase in the overall temperature of Earth's atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect. This effect is caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons and other gases in the air, many of them released by human activity.

kelp A type of large seaweed that is usually a type of brown algae. They grow underwater and form large forests, providing habitat for many organisms. Some kelp forests are so large they can be seen from space.

marine mammal Any of many types of mammals that spend most of its life in the ocean environment. These include whales and dolphins, walruses and sea lions, seals and sea otters, manatees and dugongs - even polar bears.

microcystins A class of toxins produced by some freshwater algae that are also known as cyanobacteria. Most of these toxins work by poisoning the liver.

microscope An instrument used to view objects, like bacteria, or the single cells of plants or animals, that are too small to be visible to the unaided eye.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA) A science agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Initially established in 1807 under another name (The Survey of the Coast), this agency focuses on understanding and preserving ocean resources, including fisheries, protecting marine mammals (from seals to whales), studying the seafloor and probing the upper atmosphere.

nutrient A vitamin, mineral, fat, carbohydrate or protein that a plant, animal or other organism requires as part of its food in order to survive.

oceanography (adj. oceanographic ) The branch of science that deals with the physical and biological properties and phenomena of the oceans. People who work in this field are known as oceanographers.

organism Any living thing, from elephants and plants to bacteria and other types of single-celled life.

paralysis (adj. paralytic) The inability to willfully move muscles in one or more parts of the body. In some cases, nerves that carry the signal to move may have been severed or damaged. In other cases, the brain may be the source of the problem: It may fail to understand or act on a nerve's signal to move.

phosphorus A highly reactive, nonmetallic element occurring naturally in phosphates. Its scientific symbol is P. It is an important part of many chemicals and structures that are found in cells, such as membranes, and DNA.

risk The chance or mathematical likelihood that some bad thing might happen. For instance, exposure to radiation poses a risk of cancer. Or the hazard - or peril - itself. (For instance: Among cancer risks that the people faced were radiation and drinking water tainted with arsenic.)

satellite A moon orbiting a planet or a vehicle or other manufactured object that orbits some celestial body in space.

sea An ocean (or region that is part of an ocean). Unlike lakes and streams, seawater - or ocean water - is salty.

seawater The salty water found in oceans.

secrete (noun: secretion) The natural release of some liquid substance - such as hormones, an oil or saliva - often by an organ of the body.

short-term memory (also known as primary memory) The small amount of memory held actively in the mind for a short period of time, such as the series of digits in a telephone number.

species A group of similar organisms capable of producing offspring that can survive and reproduce.

toxic Poisonous or able to harm or kill cells, tissues or whole organisms. The measure of risk posed by such a poison is its toxicity.

toxin A poison produced by living organisms, such as germs, bees, spiders, poison ivy and snakes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
New tools aim to better predict blooms of toxic algae

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
algae Single-celled organisms, once considered plants (they aren't). As aquatic organisms, they grow in water. Like green plants, they depend on sunlight to make their food. app Short for application, or a computer program designed for a specific task. asthma A disease affecting the body's airways, which are the tubes through which animals breathe.