Teach-Reading-and-Writing-Issue-21

58 | www.teachwire.net articulate these thought processes at relevant points in the teaching sequence. These strategies should not be confused with reading comprehension questions (e.g. How do you think the character feels? ). Reading across subject disciplines The comprehension strategies above can take different forms depending on the subject being studied. However, the same steps can be followed across science, history and geography topics: • Make predictions • Visualise • Ask questions • Make connections • Clarify • Summarise Teachers should ‘think aloud’ through each of these steps whenever they are reading disciplinary texts with a class. But what will this look like for different subjects? Reading history When making predictions, think about why a person is significant within the period you’re studying. Think about the period you’re studying and try to visualise it. What can you see and hear? How is the period you’re studying different from the present? How is it similar? D isciplinary literacy, as defined by Professor Timothy Shanahan, is the specialised way reading, writing, and oral language are used within specific academic disciplines like science, history, geography or mathematics. It’s more than just general literacy skills; it’s about understanding how each subject uses language to create, communicate, and evaluate knowledge. This subject-specific focus supports pupils with their critical thinking skills, prepares them for future learning, especially for secondary school, and enables them to build rich vocabulary. Adapted from the current national curriculum, the panel on page 19 demonstrates the subject-specific skills that pupils need in order to read and write to a sufficient standard within history, geography and science. Children will also need to know facts such as key dates, times, Tier 3 vocabulary, and statistics to develop their knowledge and show this in their writing. Finding meaning There are generalised ways of reading across the curriculum, which are well-established as reading comprehension strategies: making predictions, visualising, asking questions, making connections and summarising. These techniques encompass what readers might do before, in the moment of, or after reading. It’s important that teachers model and Disciplinary literacy Shareen Wilkinson outlines how senior leaders can implement reading, writing and communicating across the curriculum What has continued or changed over time? Question both events and sources. What does a particular source tell historians, and how have they interpreted it? Consider the connections between events and draw contrasts. Are there any historical words that need to be clarified? Do you know who wrote or created each of the sources you’ve used? Finally, summarise the key events and think about trends over time. Reading geography As you work through a text or topic, refer back to previous geography lessons to predict what might happen next. Interrogate maps, diagrams, globes and aerial photographs as appropriate to understand each geographical concept you encounter in a text. Ask questions at appropriate points: Why is this place like this? How is this place changing? How are other places affected? “The same steps can be followed across science, history and geography topics” Can you make connections with other subjects, such as science or maths? How does this help your understanding of the topic? Review the geographical vocabulary used. Does anything need to be discussed further or clarified? Now summarise three things you have learnt. Reading science In experiments, formulate a hypothesis about what is going to happen. Think about the subject matter and refer to prior knowledge to make your predictions. Use diagrams and pictures to understand the key processes involved in your experiment and the IN PRACTICE