Stephanie Hammel
Overview
What is it?
Literacy across the curriculum means that students are learning literacy skills while learning other content areas like math, science, social studies, art, and music. The key to a successful literacy across the curriculum program is integrating different curriculum areas, keeping in mind that children’s learning is a holistic process. Literacy across the curriculum can also be referred to as content area learning or interdisciplinary/cross-curricular teaching.
Why is it important?
Moore, Moore, Cunningham, and Cunningham (2003) provide reasons for integrating literacy learning with other curriculum areas. First, learning in any subject area requires the use of language; therefore, reading and writing are used as tools for learning that subject area. Second, schools and society are demanding increased levels of literacy learning. Another argument for integrating literacy across the curriculum is that children will be more motivated to learn when they are presented with material in an authentic manner. This means that topics of learning are connected to things that are meaningful to the students. This can happen when topic areas are connected to experiences that students have outside of school, as well as, inside school. Finally, connecting literacy learning to other content areas reinforces learning in all areas.
What you would see at school?
These days you will see opportunities for literacy learning around the room and across the curriculum. Certainly, you will see it at specific times set aside for language arts, but did you know that math, science, and social studies provide opportunities for literacy learning too? Singing, dancing, dramatizing, and drawing are also times when literacy learning is happening. From the time students walk into the classroom to the time they leave, they are exposed to some form of literacy learning.
Specifically, teachers who are implementing literacy across the curriculum may find that they have to be more flexible with their daily teaching structure. For instance, they might reduce the designated writing time in the morning because their social studies lesson in the afternoon includes an opportunity for writing (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren 2007). You may also see books about math in the math center area, and you will likely see vocabulary words in the science or non-fiction center area. Reflection journals are another great way to promote literacy learning across the curriculum.
Often times, teachers will integrate literacy learning across the curriculum through the use of children’s literature. When your child’s first-grade classroom is studying a thematic unit like leaves, the teacher may emphasize a literacy skill like comprehension after reading The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia, a story about the life cycle of a leaf. Thematic units like leaves, transportation, bugs, or the Sioux American Indians provide a good structure for literacy across the curriculum.
Vocabulary words and corresponding objects and pictures in the non-fiction/science center
Integrating social studies, science, and literacy learning. Students were learning about corn and the important role it played between Native Americans and English Settlers.
Integrating math, science, and literacy learning. Students were studying leaves and subtraction. Math vocabulary is being reinforced, while the daily discussion of the math problem reinforces oral language, critical thinking, and prediction skills.
Family Activities
What can you do with your children?
Integrate children’s literature with different curriculum areas.
When children like something, they want to become absorbed in it. Children naturally integrate their own learning. You can follow their lead by suggesting and/or providing reading material that relates to something significant in their lives.
Ask your children what they are learning about at school, keep an eye on their homework, or check your school system’s standards of learning to find out what your children are focusing on in the different curriculum areas at school. Encourage them to sign out books or introduce books to them that tie in with that topic.
For instance, if your children are learning about preserving natural resources, A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry combines a rich story with key science and social studies topics that your children are likely to be learning about in school.
If your children are learning to count, Can You Count Ten Toes?: Count to 10 in 10 Different Languages by Lezlie Evans presents objects, numbers, and number words up to ten in many different languages. For your second or third grader, One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktaleby Demi introduces a clever way to play with numbers by doubling them.
Here are other fun ways to connect literacy learning with different curriculum areas.
1) When you go somewhere special or have a special occasion, take that opportunity to introduce new vocabulary to your children. If your family enjoys taking photographs or your child enjoys drawing, make a book out of the occasion that includes the new vocabulary.
2) When your children are learning their letters and sounds in kindergarten and first grade, play a game where your child has to label one item in the house per day that begins with that letter or sound. Extend this by making a book about how the item gets used, or why, or by whom, or when. Your child can keep a running tally of how many times the item gets used and make a graph out of how often items that start with the “ch” sound get used in your house.
3) If your child likes to write or draw, keep a journal or a in every room. Your child can document who uses the different rooms and what happens to the room when that person uses it. This is a great way for to combine observation and prediction skills that are being learned about in science with their writing skills.
4) Recipes are a fun way to integrate literacy learning and home experiences. Science Experiments You Can Eat by Vicki Cobb provides edible science experiments that integrate math, science, and literacy learning.
Resources
http://www.buddyproject.org/backpack/theme.asp
This website centers on the idea of the Family Literacy BackPack. Each BackPack is designed around a theme and includes ideas for books, props, and activities that are readily available to families. For instance, click on the ‘bug’ theme, and you will see bug books, magazines, and videos with activities to go with each of them.
http://www.csuchico.edu/library/curr/currbib.html
This website presents a bibliography of books that discuss integrating curriculum areas. These books range from simple activity ideas to explanations of approaches to teaching. A clearly presented chart provides the grade level focus for each book as well as the various content areas that are being integrated.
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/teachers/all.php
The American Folklife Center. Folklore and folk music are a wonderful way integrate oral traditions, culture, music, art and, you guessed it, literacy learning. This website contains resources for teachers and families to make these areas of learning meaningful and fun. There is a cost to some of the resources; other resources are free. All resources are described in detail.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_books/books045.shtml
This website contains multiple children’s books that integrate math and literacy learning. The website goes into great detail about each book and offers ideas for extending your child’s learning.
References
Kostelnik, M. J., Soderman, A. K. & Whiren, A. P. (2007). Developmentally appropriate curriculum: Best practices in early childhood education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Moore, D. W., Moore, S. A., Cunningham, P. M., & Cunningham, J. W. (2003). Developing readers and writers in the content areas k-12. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.