Build+Disciplinary+and+World+Knowledge

=Build Disciplinary and World Knowledge=

By: Lisa Pennington

"The amount of related domain or world knowledge that a reader brings to a text significantly affects that reader's comprehension of that text; this is a fact that has been established over the course of many years..." (R.C. Anderson & Pearson, 1984; Bos & Anders, 1990; Kendeou & van den Broek, 2007; McNamara, Floyd, Best & Louwerse, 2004).



__**Why Build Disciplinary World Knowledge Instead of Simply Exposing Readers to a Variety of Texts?**__

 * Students receiving in-depth disciplinary literacy instruction have consistently performed better on national norm-referenced assessments than students receiving regular language arts instruction and another subject area in isolation (Romance & Vitale, 2001).
 * The goal is to build word knowledge through exposing students to in-depth expanded subject area literacy skills.

**__An Example: //Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading Program//__**
Designed by Billman and Pearson, this program was focused on promoting science and literacy integration.
 * Premise: Reading, writing, and language (vocabulary, etc.) are best developed when they are used as tools to help students acquire knowledge in a specific domain (or subject area) such as science, in this case.
 * Two notable features of the program: the **inquiry component** of science instruction and the **strategy component** of reading instruction are mutually reinforcing and synergistic. In addition, **concept development** in science is tightly linked to **reading vocabulary development**. This simply means that students are not only learning new vocabulary words, but new ideas and concepts relating to those words (Cervetti et al, 2006).

__**CORI (Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction)**__

 * Another integrated approach to instruction.
 * The focus is on the idea that when knowledge development is linked to reading comprehension, both areas greatly benefit.
 * The concepts of a particular subject (science, social studies, for example) and literacy skills (vocabulary, comprehension, writing) are integrated for a total learning experience.

__**Dilemma:**__
Reform initiatives such as NCLB (No Child Left Behind) expect that reading should be the largest block within an academic day. As a result, certain subject areas (such as science and social studies) get less time and attention in a classroom.
 * The knowledge students would gain from more rigorous subject area instruction (such as science and social studies) would be meaningful and powerful.
 * Comprehension as well as knowledge would be directly impacted in a positive manner.

__**In Summary:**__

 * Unfortunately, until reform initiatives such as NCLB are, well, "reformed", the focus will continue to be on emphasizing generic reading instruction. This means that in the areas of comprehension and knowledge, our students will continue to struggle and fall short of the anticipated goals. Our students will not be given ample opportunity to reach their full potential in reading or in other subject areas.
 * Students would greatly benefit from being able to closely link literacy skills with subject area knowledge. More time should be alloted to classes other than reading and mathematics in an effort to improve overall academic performance.