Tools for comprehension in content areas.

I would like to share with you some ideas from an article by Knipper,K.J. and Duggan,T.J.entitled "Writing across the curriculum:Tools for comprehension in content area classes."
This article offers a range of writing strategies that can be used to strengthen students' comprehension of the content area and its texts.Content area teachers need to integrate writing with reading to enhance comprehension.The writers are of the view that writing to learn engages students to extend thinking,deepen understanding and energize the meaning process.Writing to learn is an opportunity for students to recall, clarify, and formulate questions they may have regarding the subject matter.
It is believed that students are able to discover what they know about their content,their language,themselves and their ability to communicate that knowledge to a variety of audiences.
Good content writing is a result of quality instruction that takes students through a series of guided steps. Students learn to write when teachers surround them with examples and models, give them expectations,allow them to make decisions and mistakes,provide feedback and allow them time to to practise in realistic ways.

In addition,to receiving feedback from teachers,rubrics and checklists should also be used.Rubrics reveal the scoring rules and explain to students the criteria used to assess their work.Rubrisc can also be used as a tool for self assessment and self monitoring.In order for a rubric to be effective, it must be referred to constantly in class since this fosters dialogue between teachers and students resulting having a clear sense of the content to be learned and what is required to produce quality work.
Writing to construct meaning across the curriculum can be incorporated into the instructional framework. The writers provide specific strategies to help students prepare for reading assignments, review and also summarize key ideas and think critically and creatively.
Strategies to prepare students for reading assignments are Guided reading, Learning logs, Quick writes, Structured note-taking,and Listen-stop-and write.Reviewing and summarizing strategies offered are Microthemes,Framed paragraphs,Text boxes and Sentence synthesis. Finally,strategies to develop critical and creative thinking are Biopoems and Word maps.
The article addresses a major area of concern with many students who in our local context who are disengaged,alienated,low achieving and passive learners.This is why it is critical that all teachers in content areas know the literacy skills required to develop comprehension skills in their students.Teachers need to arm themselves with step by step instructional strategies which are invaluable tools in stimulating passive learners to become active learners.This article provides teachers with clear specific strategies that can be realistically employed in our everyday classrooms to engage all our students and provide them with a meaningful way of learning and applying new information.