This article explores content area pre-service teacher beliefs about disciplinary knowledge, perceptions of effective content area teaching, and existing beliefs about how to integrate literacy into the content areas. Ten pre-service teachers across ten secondary content areas were asked to describe three important variables in secondary teaching:…

The purpose of this study was to describe secondary pre-service teachers' past reading experiences, present attitudes and beliefs about reading, their attitudes and beliefs about a required content area literacy course, and their predicted use of reading in future instruction. Secondary pre-service teachers (N = 124) of diverse subject areas…

The purpose of this mixed methodology study was to identify the frequency of reading comprehension instruction in middle and high school social studies and science classrooms. An additional purpose was to explore teachers' perceptions of and beliefs about the need for reading comprehension instruction. In 2,400 minutes of direct classroom…

This article reviews research to examine how teaching and learning are improved with the use of narrative story materials. Stories help to focus the reader's attention and build personal connection, resulting in better retention and deeper subject-matter understanding. Four key advantages of narratives cited by D. T. Willingham are discussed. The…

Describes the classroom practices of 92 K-12 beginning teachers with five or fewer years of teaching experience. Surveys these teachers relative to their knowledge of, use of, and interest in learning content reading strategies; their sources of information regarding reading strategies; and their confidences and concerns about preparing lessons.…

Describes a system used for introducing expository text structure to upper elementary and middle school students through the use of narrative picture books. Includes graphic organizers for expository text patterns, forms for expository discourse, and lists of narrative picture books and of nonfiction magazine articles according to their expository…

Presents one way to approach the problem of extracting key concepts from social studies reading materials through the use of concept-formation study guides; includes an example of a study guide for helping fourth or fifth grade children in concept formation. (JM)

Describes a study designed to compare a program for teaching reading skills in the content area (instituted at the Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction) with the regular type of content presentation and carried out with two heterogenous eighth grade social studies classes. (JM)

Discusses the results of a survey of state education agencies about the reading course requirements for secondary teacher certification. A table summarizing the results of the survey is included. (MKM)

Describes a process of chunking information whereby information is clustered into more compact thought units, such as phrases or clauses, and is then reformed into increasingly larger units of information. Notes that this technique is useful in aiding students to read subject area material. (MKM)

Suggests that content reading teachers set goals for their reading assignments as a method of helping students learn from textbooks and read the assigned material critically.

Suggested teaching techniques for secondary reading include clarifying the learning task, avoiding information overload, encouraging risk taking, and understanding the nature of feedback. (MKM)

Suggested activities for teaching students reference study skills include activities on locating, evaluating, classifying, and utilizing information. (MKM)

Six informal diagnostic procedures are outlined to assist teachers in assessing how well their students may be able to read assigned readings. The procedures are observation, simplified reading inventory, cloze procedure, informal reading inventory, group reading inventory, and criterion-referenced tests. (MKM)

Presents an annotated checklist that reading specialists can distribute to all teachers describing services that the reading specialist can perform. (MKM)