Instructional Model Post

My instructional model is Reading and writing in the content area. It is hard to define because it encompasses so much. But, basically it is teaching Reading and writing when teaching other subject areas. It is tied to balanced literacy because if done right you should still be teaching everything about literacy while teaching the other subject through this method. However, that in its self is the downfall of this method. Teachers who use this method find it hard to balance literacy learning and content area learning and usually end up sacrificing one for the other. I think this is a great model that if used correctly could work. I do not think it should be used in place of a language arts only directed curriculum but along with it. Since lately we are moving toward spending more and more time on literacy it almost seems as if you would have to use this instructional model in some way to even cover the other subjects. As I said before you can spend your time during literacy time talking specifically about grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and so forth then have the students apply this knowledge when working on a writing piece for a history assignment. This ensures that they are not missing those key components to literacy and are using literacy in a fun, meaningful, purposeful way. While researching this instructional model I read of a teacher you used it for a specific purpose in her room that was really interesting. She used content area reading and writing to help her students look at and examine social, cultural, and behavioral issues in their classroom and community. This was a first grade class but the students were amazing. She had them reading books about gangs, and segregation and they were having in depth meaningful conversations around the choices in the books and she always made sure to get them to tie it into what was going on around them in the world. Not only was this teacher using this instructional model for meaningful, purposeful learning, but also she was teaching culturally relevant content to her students, Along with creating if not change itself then the hope of social change in her students. It was quite profound. The article is on page 306 in the course pack called From “Answers to Questions: A Beginning Teacher Learns to Teach for Social Justice.” Read it!
-Tasha