If only that were the case. As teachers of English, math, science, and social studies, we are our students' reading teachers. All of us are also our students' writing teachers. Although writing is too often seen as only the province of English teachers, students are expected to write in all their other subjects too. Consequently, all of us share the responsibility of teaching our students to write well.
Literacy is a complex phenomenon.
We will begin this course by examining what it means to be literate from a variety of perspectives. The point of this critical examination of literacy is to understand better what it is we expect when we say we want our students to be literate. It will also give us a point of reference as we engage others in discussion about education, ranging from cultural literacy to Ebonics. Following a theoretical examination of literacy, we will look at reading and writing in the classroom from the perspective of teachers, researchers, and teacher-researchers. The goal of this part of the course is to provide you with specific strategies for improving your students' reading and writing.