Literacy in the Disciplines: A Teacher’s Guide for Grades 5-12

This successful guide--now in a revised and expanded second edition--gives teachers effective strategies to support adolescents’ development of relevant literacy skills in specific disciplines. Demonstrating why disciplinary literacies matter, the authors discuss ways to teach close reading of complex texts; discipline-specific argumentation, communication, and writing skills; academic vocabulary; and more. The book draws on revealing interviews with content-area experts and professionals in history, science, mathematics, literature, the arts, and physical education. Teacher-friendly tools include 21 reproducible forms that also can be downloaded and printed, ＂Try It On!＂ practice activities, lesson plans, chapter anticipation guides, and links to recommended online teaching videos.

New to This Edition
*Chapter on assessment.
*Chapter on disciplinary literacies beyond school--in civic, professional, and personal life.
*Expanded coverage of math, more attention to evidence and sources used in different disciplines, new and updated expert interviews, and advice on how both teachers and students can use AI tools productively.
*Anticipation guides that invite reflection on key questions before, during, and after reading most chapters.

Thomas DeVere Wolsey, EdD, teaches graduate courses in research and literacy and leads professional development for teachers throughout the United States, including on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, as well as in Egypt, Guatemala, Mexico, China, and elsewhere. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books for teachers and teacher educators, most recently on the topic of teaching refugees and displaced students. Dr. Wolsey has developed training materials for the California Department of Education, TextProject, San Diego State University, and other institutions and programs. His research and writing explore the intersections of literacy and technology, middle grades and secondary literacy practices, teacher preparation, and green school design.

Diane Lapp, EdD, is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Education in the Department of Teacher Education and Lecturer in the Department of Educational Administration at San Diego State University. She has taught elementary, middle, and high school and currently serves as an Instructional Coach at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego. Dr. Lapp’s research and instruction focus on issues related to struggling readers and writers who live in economically deprived urban settings, and their families and teachers. Widely published, she has received the Outstanding Teacher Educator of the Year Award from the International Literacy Association (ILA), as well as the William S. Gray Citation of Merit, ILA’s highest individual honor. Dr. Lapp is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame and the California Reading Hall of Fame.