Literacy in All Classes

“How am I, a math/gym/science/history/art/whatever teacher, supposed to find time to teach literacy?” I still get asked this question a lot. Sometimes it’s delivered through clenched teeth and followed by an exasperated sigh. You’re being asked to pitch in with interdisciplinary literacy – and you barely have time to cover your content as it is. Believe me, I know you have enough to do! Here’s the secret for content-area teachers: you need to give students an opportunity to practice their literacy skills (reading, listening, writing, speaking, and grammar/vocabulary development) on a regular basis while you cover your content. Every time you encourage students to answer questions in complete sentences, explain their work to each other, cite sources, or record notes in their notebooks, you’re working the literacy magic. It's true. THE EXIT SLIP STRATEGY Want a simple way to add a little literacy practice to any class? Add Exit Slips to the classroom routine. They don’t take up much time and they're incredibly effective. Some rock star teachers I know use the last two minutes of every class as Exit Slip time. Students drop their slips in a box by the door as they leave. Other teachers do it once or twice a week. The more often you do it, the more candid the students become – and the faster their writing improves. Exit Slips can be as planned or as spontaneous as you want. Pre-print them with check boxes and sentence prompts, or just hand out index cards or strips of paper, and ask students to write a sentence about what they learned in class today.

It doesn’t take much time for the teacher to read the slips (really, it takes just a few minutes after class to read them all) and they provide valuable insight into student comprehension – more than you’d get from a pop quiz. You can write a sentence back to the students if you'd like, but it's not necessary. The point is, they get to write a sentence to you. Try Exit Slips. Students will reflect on your content and your class, do some metacognitive thinking, and practice routine writing. Win win win.

Engaging Learners Website If you want a steady supply of literacy activities and ideas for your classroom, please consider subscribing to EngagingLearners.com where I put up new materials and tips every week. They’re specially crafted for teachers who cover more content in less time by using my Literacy & Learning Center model. C'mon, join the party!