The Adolescent Literacy KnowledgeBase

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

The Writing Successful Grants KnowledgeBase is an online resource aiding education professionals in their pursuit of public and private grants to support local programs. Its five elements contain information and resources that assist the grant seeker with developing their project, writing the grant proposal and managing the grant upon its award.

Task 4: Integrate with Mathematics

Guideline: Literacy plays an important part in learning mathematics; however, math applications may not be as obvious as other content areas due to the sparseness of connected text and the procedural nature of the content area. Though such applications may be lacking, fourth and fifth grade teachers should be aware of how vocabulary is critical to understanding and reading symbols, while charts, graphics, and comprehension are important to conceptual understanding. Possessing such awareness enables fourth and fifth grade teachers to enhance instructional strategies in mathematics.

Resources

TOOLS

Adolescent Literacy Toolkit

This link to the Council of Chief State School Officers' Adolescent Literacy Toolkit provides resources for states and high school content area teachers.

Comprehension Strategies

This page at AdLit.org contains a library of comprehension strategies teachers can use in the classroom before, during, and after reading a text.

Mathematical Fiction

As noted at the Mathematical Fiction website, this site provides "information about all significant references to mathematics in fiction." This collection has been compiled by Alex Kasman, Department of Mathematics, College of Charleston.

Mathematics Bookshelf

From the Ohio Resource Center, "The Mathematics Bookshelf features outstanding trade books that support mathematics instruction in K-12 classrooms. Mathematics Review Board members have selected books that will appeal to students and enrich the teaching and learning of mathematics."

PRACTICAL TIPS

Reading Strategies

This link to the Ohio Resource Center for Mathematics, Science and Reading offers a compilation of reading strategies aimed at the adolescent student. Though focused on the Ohio Academic Content Standards, the basic strategies may be useful to all middle and high school teachers.

REFERENCES

Bringing Literacy Strategies into Content Instruction

As noted in its introduction, this Center on Instruction document "provides research-based guidance on academic literacy instruction in the content areas." The vignettes offered provide examples of how literacy instruction can be integrated into content area instruction.

From State Policy to Classroom Practice: Improving Literacy Instruction for All Students

This National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) document addresses moving state-level literacy instruction policy to classroom practice.

Learning Mathematics Vocabulary: Potential Pitfalls and Instructional Strategies

This link is to an abstract of an article published in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM's) Mathematics Teacher publication. As noted in its abstract, "This article focuses on vocabulary as one aspect of language that is necessary for overall mathematics achievement. Potential vocabulary problems are identified, and instructional strategies to promote vocabulary development are provided." Access to the article is limited to NCTM members. Non-subcribers may purchase the article from NCTM.

Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas

This link is to the Alliance for Excellent Education's report Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: Getting to the Core of Middle and High School Improvement. It discusses multiple aspects of adolescent literacy development from achieving basic reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills to more advanced literacy skills that will enable middle and high school students succeed in academic content areas.

Math Vocabulary

This link is to a compilation of math vocabulary aligned to the Oregon content framework. Though specific to the schools in the state of Oregon, the content may be a useful example for schools in other states.

Middle School Portal/Reading and Writing Mathematics

This link to the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Wiki provides content related to reading and writing mathematics. The NSDL Wiki is a collaborative online environment where users can organize, create, and annotate resources.

Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenges of Adolescent Literacy

This link is to the Carnegie Corporation of New York's report addressing adolescent literacy in the content areas. The report discusses the following content areas: science, mathematics, literature, and history.