Grades 6 to 12 Disciplinary Literacy Resources

To better support educators working in these important (and often marginalized) content areas, a team of teacher educators and consultants – supported by a professional learning community of classroom teachers – is developing The Disciplinary Literacy Essentials - Beyond "the Core"  as a complement to the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy: Grades 6 to 12.

The purpose of this document is to increase Michigan's capacity to improve adolescents' literacy by identifying effective practices that can be implemented at the organizational level in secondary schools. To meet the needs of all learners, organizational practices must support literacy development in ways that systematically impact learning throughout schools. Each of the eight recommended school-wide practices should occur in all Michigan middle and high school learning environments. These Essential School-Wide Practices in Disciplinary Literacy: Grades 6 to 12 should be viewed, as in practice guides in medicine, as presenting a minimum ‘standard of care’ for Michigan’s students; where all efforts, structures, resources, and people involved in creating effective learning environments for students share a clear, common vision for equitable learning and development, and this vision is clearly communicated, understood, and used to drive this work. As rigorous as this resource is, it is not a checklist of activities, a guide to implementation science or change theory, nor is it a how-to on team development. The processes leaders use to enact the Essential Practices will lead to continuous improvement that supports disciplinary literacy.

6-12 Disciplinary Literacy Task Force

This screening tool helps secondary schools identify their current level of implementation of the Essential School-Wide Practices in Disciplinary Literacy: Grades 6 to 12. The results should be used to inform conversations about where to focus the next phase of work in improving building-wide disciplinary literacy practices.

Our students learn the foundations of literacy throughout their elementary school years. As students continue to develop their skills through middle school and high school, literacy instruction must also help them meet increasingly complex subject area demands. These demands include developing the critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills specific to each discipline.

Michigan’s standards for educator preparation require pre-service educators to learn how to introduce and support their students in engaging in disciplinary thinking and practices in the content areas. To support this goal, the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy: Grades 6-12 document provides an intentional framework to support the integration of literacy instruction in all of the content areas. The Essential Practices document can be used to proactively develop and/or redesign literacy courses to reflect the changes in educator preparation standards while also meeting the existing general requirements for secondary reading instruction courses. Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy: A Tool to Support Educator Preparation Programs Document

The purpose of the Resource Hubs site is to support ISD/RESA/RESD consultants, teacher leaders, professional development facilitators, and teachers as they implement disciplinary literacy instructional practices in their districts, schools, and classrooms. This document is not meant to replace teacher collaboration and discussions; rather, it is intended to support those conversations. It is the hope of the Disciplinary Literacy Task Force members that teachers will engage in collaborative inquiry cycles around areas of practice that best fit teachers' current context. Starting points will vary depending on grade level, subject area, current initiatives, and other contextual factors.

PLC Quick Start Guide

These booklets are available for download or purchase. Please feel free to download the documents and print them in-house, or you can order them.

These booklets can be purchased by districts from Minute Man Press at (517) 323-7777 or by emailing mi202@minutemanpress.com.

Request the "Literacy 6-12 Packet" for the main Instructional Practices booklet. Booklets with tabs cost $6.48 per book and $4.74 without tabs. If you would like to order the 6-12 Beyond the Core document, inquire about pricing options with and without tabs.*Shipping is not included in these prices.