ALT Blog Post Why Literacy Matters in Every Subject Literacy instruction is often assumed to be limited to elementary reading classes and secondary English and language arts classes. Reading and writing is relevant for all subjects, however (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008). Consequently, chronic student underperformance on standardized measures such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment has implications for student performance in a wide range of subjects, including math, science, and social studies. Difficulties encountered in reading cascade across the entirety of the curriculum, turning the school day into an extended struggle. Improving student academic outcomes requires effective general- and content-specific literacy instruction.

ALT Why Literacy Matters in Math Class Literacy in math involves skills required to solve word problems and describe steps in the problem-solving process. Recent scholarship suggests that effective instruction in word problems involves the integration of reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, language structure, and systematic problem-solving strategies designed to identify the operations (e.g., addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.) specified within a problem (Aresnault & Powell, 2024). Recent approaches to word problems combine explicit vocabulary instruction and schema-based instruction, which is designed to help students recognize patterns in how problems are composed. These methods are more effective than key-word strategies and similar techniques that teach students to identify the type of operation required based on the presence of words such as “sum” or “difference.”

ALT Why Literacy Matters in Science Class In science, literacy involves the comprehension of technical vocabulary and data. Research-based strategies to enhance comprehension of scientific texts include direct, explicit instruction in vocabulary and common scientific text structures along with scaffolded strategies for interpreting passages. Additional supports such as graphic organizers can help students demonstrate scientific knowledge (Barnes et al., 2024). Why Literacy Matters in Social Studies Class Literacy in social studies involves using and understanding complex vocabulary and texts, evaluating evidence, and supporting arguments based on sources (Ciullo et al., 2020). Memory aids focused on content acquisition, graphic organizers emphasizing the structure of information, and texts supplemented by audio and video clips are associated with retention and comprehension.

ALT Johnson and colleagues (2017) developed a rubric for assessing the use of explicit instruction along seven dimensions: (1) identifying and communicating objectives, (2) alignment of objectives with instruction, (3) clear and accessible teaching procedures, (4) guiding practice, (5) student-responsive pacing, (6) maintaining student engagement, and (7) monitoring and feedback. What does explicit instruction look like in practice? blog post The next section describes each component of explicit instruction in greater detail.

ALT Identifying and Communicating Objectives When using explicit instruction, lesson objectives should be specific, observable, and communicated clearly to students. Additionally, teachers should describe the rationale behind the lesson—why it matters—to students. Alignment of Objectives with Instruction Teachers focus their instruction, materials, and assignments on the lesson objectives. Additionally, teachers should align the lesson with the instructional level of all students, ensuring examples and assignments are neither too easy nor too difficult. Clear and Accessible Teaching Procedures Teaching procedures in explicit instruction encompass a range of techniques. In contrast to the emphasis on teacher knowledge implied in the “I do, we do, you do” framing, explicit instruction engages students’ background knowledge in the learning process...

ALT Teaching Procedures (continued) In addition, the teacher should clearly demonstrate new skills and accompany more complex skills with multiple demonstrations. Throughout the lesson, the teacher should use language that is both precise and unlikely to confuse students. When necessary, the teacher provides support such as prompts, simplified examples, and think-alouds to help students learn. One essential adaptation involves breaking complex skills into small steps to help students process the task. After individual steps are mastered, the entire task is practiced. Guided Practice Once student performance improves, the teacher gradually withdraws supports provided in initial lessons to foster independence. This will eventually extend beyond simple models to applied exercises. Throughout applied activities, teachers provide prompts to help students use newly acquired skills.

ALT Student-Responsive Pacing Explicit instruction requires teachers to maintain an efficient pace while also providing students with ample time to process new information and respond throughout the lesson. The pace supports the lesson objectives by minimizing digressions and distractions. Maintaining Student Engagement Effective lesson design increases the likelihood that students remain engaged. Explicit instruction provides students with several opportunities to speak, write, gesture, use manipulatives, collaborate with peers, or otherwise respond over the course of the lesson. Instructional routines, or approaches to activities that are repeated across several lessons without variation, allow students to focus with minimal distractions. Teachers should also continually monitor students and provide redirection as needed. Read the blog to learn more