Secondary Content Area Literacy Strategies

Secondary Content Area Literacy Strategies: Frequency Recommendations

With each of the strategies, more time will need to be spent up front introducing and building fluency with using the graphic organizer and familiarizing the students with the instructional routine (possibly daily exposure). Once taught, these skills could be practiced on a weekly or every other day basis depending on your type of schedule (block vs. 6/7 period day) and how well your students are doing with the routine.

Vocab routine: New vocabulary words can be introduced/taught and practiced each week or T/TH or M/W. Time per day depends on how many words are taught/introduced or reviewed, your type of schedule (block vs. 6/7 period day), and your students' fluency with the task. Teachers should have a plan to judiciously review previously taught words with and without the support of the graphic organizer.

Summarization: Once taught, this skill should be practiced at least weekly or on an every other day basis depending upon your type of schedule (block vs. 6/7 period day), and your students' fluency with the task. The instructional routine and graphic organizer should be utilized until the student is able to demonstrate mastery of the task without these supports (i.e., writing a concise summary that clearly states the main idea and relevant details w/o guidance from the teacher or use of the graphic organizer). Teacher should have a plan for exiting students from this support when they are able to independently write a summary with 90 to 95% accuracy.

Text Evidence: Once taught, this skill should be practiced any/all times in which a student must answer questions from the text. The instructional routine and graphic organizer should be utilized until the student is able to demonstrate mastery of the task without these supports (i.e., providing an accurate and complete written response to a reading comprehension question that appropriately cites evidence from the text w/o guidance from the teacher or use of the graphic organizer). Teacher should have a plan for exiting students from this support when they are able to independently write a response to text citing evidence w/ 90 to 95% accuracy.