Synopses & Reviews
Content Area Reading remains the market-leading text in content literacy and maintains the authors' original objective—to offer an ambitious, coherent, and workable exploration of content literacy. The Ninth Edition comes at a perfect time when there is an increased focus on adolescent literacy. With the point of view that students learn with texts, not necessarily from them, respected authors Rich and Jo Anne Vacca have written this book to be an active learning tool, complete with real-world examples and research-based practices. Thoroughly updated and revised to incorporate topics that touch on contemporary issues such as content standards, assessment, diversity, struggling readers, the No Child Left Behind Legislation, Reading First, and Reading Next, the book continues to provide a framework that focuses on the ability to use reading, writing, speaking, and listening processes to learn subject matter across the curriculum. Accessible and comprehensible, this text takes students through the entire reading process using simple, jargon-free terminology. The methodology presented develops a foundation that can be applied across disciplines, meeting the needs of all students.
A Letter to Readers from the Authors
To Our Readers:
We published the first edition of Content Area Reading in 1981. Some of you may be wondering --with good reason-- why did we have to revise the same book nine times? Has education in general and content literacy in particular changed that much in nearly thirty years to warrant nine editions of the same book? While we have remained true to the original intent of the book throughout these years, our answer to these questions is an enthusiastic “Yes!”
We have witnessed dramatic changes over the past three decades in the way we think about literacy, what it means to be literate, and the ways we put literacy to use to learn, enjoy, imagine, explore the world, and interact with others . Some of the revisions that we have made from the eighth to ninth edition alone reflect the rapidly changing landscape of content literacy specifically and education generally:
- The renewed and hotly political debate over the role of content knowledge (the “what” of teaching) and pedagogical knowledge ( the “how” of teaching);
- the development of highly qualified teachers;
- teaching, learning, and assessment in a standards-based curriculum;
- the role and responsibility of literacy coaches in today’s schools;
- the crisis in adolescent literacy across ability levels;
- the meaning and importance of culturally responsive instruction and literacy strategies for learners who first language is other than English;
- the impact of assessment on instructional practices;
- the role of confidence, motivation, and engaged learning in literacy-related instructional practices;
- the ability to “work smart” in independent learning contexts;
- the meaning and application of “new literacies” in today’s classrooms.
Today, one of the hottest topics in education is adolescent literacy. Our book mainly emphasizes how adolescents use literacy to learn across the curriculum; how adolescents will approach reading with enthusiasm and confidence in their ability to make sense out of academic texts. While the focus of our book has always been on instructional strategies, we underscore in this edition the ways that content area teachers can actively engage older students in learning with all kinds of texts, whether printed or digital in nature.
Perhaps somewhere in the heavens there is a Greek god of reading who breathes into human beings an intense interest in the act of reading. Perhaps not. The reality of reading school-related texts for many adolescents is simply this: Many of today’s older students, regardless of ability level, would rather have root canal surgery than engage enthusiastically in academic reading tasks. Yet we believe that teachers are in a strategic position to make a difference in the way their students approach reading and learn with texts . The passion to use reading to learn requires more than supernatural or divine inspiration. Enthusiastic readers in today’s classrooms are made, not born with a fervor for reading and learning. And this is where the content area teacher will make a decided difference in the literate lives of adolescents.
We wish you the very best,
Richard and Jo Anne Vacca
Synopsis
With the underlying belief that students learn with texts, not necessarily from them, this respected text is designed to be an active learning tool, complete with real-world examples and research-based practices. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening processes to learn subject matter across the curriculum. Content Area Reading.
Synopsis
Content Area Reading remains the market-leading text in content literacy and maintains the authors' original objective-to offer an ambitious, coherent, and workable exploration of content literacy. The Ninth Edition comes at a perfect time when there is an increased focus on adolescent literacy. With the point of view that students learn with texts, not necessarily from them, respected authors Rich and Jo Anne Vacca have written this book to be an active learning tool, complete with real-world examples and research-based practices. Thoroughly updated and revised to incorporate topics that touch on contemporary issues such as content standards, assessment, diversity, struggling readers, the No Child Left Behind Legislation, Reading First, and Reading Next, the book continues to provide a framework that focuses on the ability to use reading, writing, speaking, and listening processes to learn subject matter across the curriculum. Accessible and comprehensible, this text takes students through the entire reading process using simple, jargon-free terminology. The methodology presented develops a foundation that can be applied across disciplines, meeting the needs of all students. A Letter to Readers from the Authors To Our Readers: We published the first edition of Content Area Reading in 1981. Some of you may be wondering --with good reason-- why did we have to revise the same book nine times? Has education in general and content literacy in particular changed that much in nearly thirty years to warrant nine editions of the same book? While we have remained true to the original intent of the book throughout these years, our answer to these questions is an enthusiastic Yes We have witnessed dramatic changes over the past three decades in the way we think about literacy, what it means to be literate, and the ways we put literacy to use to learn, enjoy, imagine, explore the world, and interact with others . Some of the revisions that we have made from the eighth to ninth edition alone reflect the rapidly changing landscape of content literacy specifically and education generally:
- The renewed and hotly political debate over the role of content knowledge (the what of teaching) and pedagogical knowledge ( the how of teaching);
- the development of highly qualified teachers;
- teaching, learning, and assessment in a standards-based curriculum;
- the role and responsibility of literacy coaches in today's schools;
- the crisis in adolescent literacy across ability levels;
- the meaning and importance of culturally responsive instruction and literacy strategies for learners who first language is other than English;
- the impact of assessment on instructional practices;
- the role of confidence, motivation, and engaged learning in literacy-related instructional practices;
- the ability to work smart in independent learning contexts;
- the meaning and application of new literacies in today's classrooms.
Today, one of the hottest topics in education is adolescent literacy. Our book mainly emphasizes how adolescents use literacy to learn across the curriculum; how adolescents will approach reading with enthusiasm and confidence in their ability to make sense out of academic texts. While the focus of our book has always been on instructional strategies, we underscore in this edition the ways that content area teachers can actively engage older students in learning with all kinds of texts, whether printed or digital in nature. Perhaps somewhere in the heavens there is a Greek god of reading who breathes into human beings an intense interest in the act of reading. Perhaps not. The reality of reading school-related texts for many adolescents is simply this: Many of today's older students, regardless of ability level, would rather have root canal surgery than engage enthusiastically in academic reading tasks. Yet we believe that teachers are in a strategic position to make a difference in the way their students approach reading and learn with texts . The passion to use reading to learn requires more than supernatural or divine inspiration. Enthusiastic readers in today's classrooms are made, not born with a fervor for reading and learning. And this is where the content area teacher will make a decided difference in the literate lives of adolescents. We wish you the very best, Richard and Jo Anne Vacca
Synopsis
First published in 1981, Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum, has undergone multiple revisions over the years to reflect the changing field content area literacy and its ever adapting literacy practices. Teachers across the curriculum will enjoy the books focus on what it means to be literate in the 21st century. The text helps content area teachers plan and adapt literacy and learning to meet the needs of all students, including struggling readers and writers. Part 1, “Learners, Literacies, and Texts”, places the focus on the cultural, linguistic, and academic diversity of today’s learners; their personal and academic literacies, and the kinds of texts that are integral to their lives in and out of schools. Part 2, “Instructional Practices and Strategies”, contains a multitude of evidence-based instructional strategies waiting to be adapted to meet the conceptual demands inherent in disciplinary learning. Through their revisions, Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz continue to provide a framework that focuses on the ability to use reading, writing, speaking, and listening processes to learn subject matter across the curriculum.
Here’s what makes this new tenth edition unique.
- Complete reorganization of the text into two main parts: Part 1, Learners, Literacies, and Texts and Part 2, Instructional Practices and Strategies
- A new Chapter 2, “Learning with New Literacies” replaces a now outdated discussion on electronic texts from previous editions. This chapter was developed by William Kist, Kent State University, one of the leading scholars in the area of socially networked classrooms and new literacies.
- A new Chapter 7, “Guiding Reading Comprehension” underscores the importance of comprehension strategies that guide reader-text interactions and consolidates instructional strategy from several chapters of the previous edition.
- A new Chapter 12, “Literacy Coaching” expands upon the discussion of the literacy coach—an indispensable ally to content area teachers and specialists in middle and high schools.
- “Voices from the Classroom” features include interviews with content area teachers related to instructional practices, in which teachers reflect on particular challenges they encounter in the classroom relative to chapter topics.
- “RTI for Struggling Adolescent Learners” features take a relatively new approach to instructional intervention, Response to Intervention (RTI) and show how it may be adapted to various aspects of content literacy instruction
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Synopsis
Content Area Reading remains the market-leading text in content literacy and maintains the authors’ original objective–to offer an ambitious, coherent, and workable exploration of content literacy. Celebrating its 30th university, Vacca, Vacca, and new-to-this-edition co-author Mraz, have written this text to be an active learning tool, complete with real-world examples and research-based practices. Thoroughly updated, the text has been completely reorganized into two parts: Part 1, “Learners, Literacies, and Texts”, places the focus on the cultural, linguistic, and academic diversity of today’s learners; their personal and academic literacies, and the kinds of texts that are integral to their lives in and out of schools. Part 2, “Instructional Practices and Strategies”, contains a multitude of evidence-based instructional strategies waiting to be adapted to meet the conceptual demands inherent in disciplinary learning. Accessible and comprehensible, the text provides a foundation that can be applied across the disciplines, meeting the needs of all students.
Table of Contents
Preface
Part One: Learners, Literacies, and Texts
Chapter 1: Literacy Matters
Chapter 2: Learning with New Literacies
Chapter 3: Culturally Responsive teaching in Diverse Classrooms
Chapter 4: Assessing Students and Texts
Chapter 5: Bringing Students and Texts Together
Part Two: Instructional Practices and Strategies
Chapter 6: Activating Prior Knowledge and Interest
Chapter 7: Thinking and Learning with Text
Chapter 8: Developing Vocabulary and Concepts
Chapter 9: Writing to Learn
Chapter 10: Study Strategies
Chapter 11: Learning with Trade Books
Chapter 12: Literacy Coaching