Transforming Literacy

The Transforming Literacy Through Content-Area Reading Community of Practice is designed to engage elementary through postsecondary educators in realizing what happens when we leverage reading in all content areas to eliminate literacy gaps. Educators will explore diagnostic teaching opportunities that build students’ content-area reading skills to help minimize the divide that exists between students who read at grade level and those who do not. Participants will engage in collaborative activities to understand the importance of disciplinary literacy and how providing students with a variety of texts can expand their comprehension and content knowledge, experience the AVID Critical Reading Process, and explore ways to gradually release the responsibility for the process to their students. This collaborative experience will empower every educator with the knowledge, strategies, and skills to develop a culture of reading for accessing rigorous content in all grade levels. All strategies, digital activities, and digital tools experienced can be leveraged in face-to-face or virtual learning environments. Following this 14-hour professional learning experience, participants will be able to: - Identify reasons students struggle with literacy within their specific grade level/content area. - Outline specific action steps for integrating, increasing, and making literacy relevant. - Leverage the power of building background knowledge for increasing access to content and unlocking comprehension. - Wrestle with how to make reading a core function of learning in their classroom or content area. - Identify the why behind the various forms of texts used within their content area and grade level. - Develop an action plan to increase and diversify the types of texts used to more fully engage all students. - Examine what it means to teach diagnostically by focusing on balancing the relationship between student skills and content knowledge. - Determine action steps for transferring ownership of the reading process through the gradual release of responsibility.