Special Report
Reading & Literacy Video

Teaching Content and Supporting Reading Through Disciplinary Literacy

By Stephen Sawchuk & Lauren Santucci — October 28, 2024 4:39
102524 Disciplinary Literacy EDU BS

Reading is often taught as a generic skill that works the same in every context. But reading a poem and reading a scientific text make very different demands on the reader. Education Week’s latest special report delves into this idea of reading across disciplines.

Teachers don’t have to be experts on reading theory to support their students in this work. As researcher Tim Shanahan describes in this video, each discipline produces and communicates knowledge differently, and learning how to produce texts in those fields is part and parcel of teaching content.

Stephen Sawchuk is an assistant managing editor for Education Week, leading coverage of teaching, learning, and curriculum.
Lauren Santucci is a video producer for Education Week.
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Katelyn Webster, from left, Eryn Miller, Grace Bischoff, and Hanna Pearsall take notes as Amanda Pierman teaches her upper school science class at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 10, 2025. Pierman uses AI to help teach her classes and the student’s computers mirror the main screen. They are then able to answer questions live using their computers.
Katelyn Webster, from left, Eryn Miller, Grace Bischoff, and Hanna Pearsall take notes as Amanda Pierman teaches her upper school science class at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 10, 2025. Pierman uses AI to help teach her classes and the student’s computers mirror the main screen. They are then able to answer questions live using their computers.
Josh Ritchie for Education Week