Alva Review-Courier -

Alva Schools are finding ways to target individual learners and help students learn more effectively in the classroom. Shane Feely, Curriculum Coordinator at Alva Schools and Washington Principal, shared about content area literacy. His role as curriculum coordinator is to look at achievements on assessments and try to address weaknesses with regard to instructional strategies. Feely said, “What we're looking to do with content area literacy is to increase engagement and increase literacy.”

It’s important to note that literacy is not just the ability to read and comprehend, but also involves writing, speaking and listening.

Alva school principals regularly meet to discuss literacy and engagement strategies. Each principal takes back age-appropriate strategies to their school to implement with teachers and students. The emphasis right now is on engagement and literacy strategies. Feely mentioned that engagement and literacy strategies cross really well together in a classroom, going hand in hand. This type of content instruction is not just speculative or trial and error but is evidence-based.

This year K-20 from OU has come in two different days to train history and ELA teachers, then math and science teachers. Personal development this year has specifically targeted content area latest literacy and engagement across all subjects.

How It’s Happening In The Classroom

Alva High English teacher Chris Eckhardt has been incorporating content area literacy instruction into his courses. This type of instruction teaches students to analyze different materials in unconventional ways in order to comprehend. Language mastery, articulation and understanding are major goals.

Eckhardt's 11th grade English class read the classic American novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. To reinforce what they have read, class discussions were had over major themes in the book like the American dream. Eckhardt explained that he asked the students questions about their thoughts on the American dream. Who embodies it? How can it be achieved? What does the American dream mean to them? What did the American dream mean from 1925 to 2018? What is the difference? He heard some heartfelt, touching answers as well as some funny ones.

He gave them a bunch of Post-It notes and asked them to to write down their own definition of the American dream on one, and to write down on the second note a person they felt had lived up to the American dream. These notes were to be shared in front of the class.

The students’ definitions of the American dream included wealth, power, freedom and family. People who they felt embodied this dream included famous people or those they know around the community and in their family. Several students wrote their family members, but a few wrote people like Will Smith, Stan Lee and Donald Trump.

Next, they wrote two things they needed to accomplish the American dream besides money. If they could have something that would help them accomplish their dream, what would it be? It could be any item, like a possession or something intangible. At the conclusion of their discussions, Eckhardt said that what they had originally said was the American dream and what they wanted to accomplish were two totally different things.

The whole idea of this assignment is to get every kid engaged with their own ideas and thinking. Every kid was up, talking about what they had written in their notes. Even those who normally didn’t want to be called on were engaged. This kind of engagement in the classroom really helps students to begin to have content area literacy. When students are willing to discuss or talk about their ideas out loud with their peers and teachers, it builds confidence and reinforces what they’ve learned.