Ckasnot - rdg323 - Final Reflection

RUNNING HEAD: WHEN ARE YOU LITERATE 1
When are you Literate in History?
Chris Kasnot
Arizona State University
11/28/20
RDG 323-73086
WHEN ARE YOU LITERATE 2
The idea of disciplinary literacy is that we go beyond the simple concept of teaching
“what”, but instead give students the tools so that they can explore the “why” and “how” of our
disciplines.
“We are no longer teaching students the core ideas of our discipline. Instead, we are
inviting students to engage in the processes and practices of the disciplines, allowing
them to see behind the curtain and to participate in the fascinating, challenging, and often
messy process by which experts continue to generate knowledge in their fields.” (Doerr-
Stevens, 2017)
These tools are different as you move from discipline to discipline; English teachers are going to
teach their students how to read and what information to look for and process much differently
than a History teacher would. Thomas Paine’s 1775 writing Common Sense advocated for the
independence of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain. An English teacher may approach this
document having their students examine the word use, sentence structure, and tone, whereas a
History teacher would have their students identify themes, content, and historical significance
(Wilson-Lopez, A. & Bean, T., 2017, p. 4). Both content areas are correct in their examination of
the material, but each discipline requires its own skill set that is unique to the subject area and
requires guidance from the respective teacher. While History content will tell you how the three
branches of government work, disciplinary literacy will allow you to understand how a current
event, such as the executive branch attempting to co-opt military funding for a border wall
project, will actually function. Ergo, when asking “What does it mean for students to be literate
in History?” the response is, “Students have achieved History literacy when they are able to take
an event and apply historical context and critical thinking to gain a greater understanding of why
and this event is occurring, how this event is occurring, and what this event’s connection is to
surrounding events, ideas, and/or information.”
Literacy is a core concept in essential social studies skills, as defined by the National
Council for Social Studies (NCSS):
“Social Studies skills and strategies enables students to apply knowledge proficiently in a
variety of contexts in repeated performances. They promote the participation of studies in
civic life and develop their ability to address societal conflicts and problems. [Included in
this are] literacy skills, critical thinking skills, research-based literacy strategies, learning
strategies, and personal interaction and civic engagement.” (2010, Appendix 1, para. 1).
Historical literacy forces us to ask many questions of students that go beyond a simple
understanding of the basic concepts of historical fact: What counts as evidence? What kinds of
texts and media are reliable sources? What kinds of questions are you asking yourself when
reading a source? What is the confidence level of your self-understanding? What kinds of
conclusions can you draw from your readings? Can you access and interpret the primary sources
that a secondary source author is commenting on and do you come to the same conclusions? All
these questions engage that disciplinary level of literacy and also engages other core literacy
components like Media, Digital, Data, and Visual literacy in addition to the Foundational and
Civic literacy the research assignment and topic predisposes.
Literacy isn’t just for English teachers, the core concepts are just as important in history
and all other disciplines as well. The literacy skills we ask students to learn in history are
incredibly vital to being content aware, developing knowledge potential, and most importantly,
functioning in society at large. There is a laundry list of exemplary literacy skills provided by the
NCSS that we should be promoting in history/social studies such as having students be able to
listen, read, write, and speak with comprehension and clarity. They should be able to describe
people, places, and events, and the connections between and among them. Students need to be
able to differentiate fact from opinion and determine a content creator’s purpose. They must be
able to analyze similarities and differences, cause and effect relationships (and more complex
interactions as well), and be able to differentiate when presented various options. Students have
to be able to explore, observe, identify, and analyze how individuals, institutions, or even just
events relate to one another. In regards to information gathering they need to be able to:
“Locate, analyze, critique, and use appropriate resources and data; evaluate sources for
validity and credibility and to detect bias, propaganda, and censorship; use a wide variety
of media to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages and reports; investigate,
interpret, and analyze multiple historical and contemporary sources and viewpoints;
articulate and construct reasoned arguments from diverse perspectives and frames of
reference; present solutions to problems by analyzing conflicts and evaluating persistent
issue.” (NCCS, 2010, Appendix 1, para. 5).
Every essential question in a history or social studies classroom almost always begins with
“why” or “how”. Historical literacy essentially pushes students to understand the process of
learning, rather than giving them information to absorb. Students can (and should) move beyond
knowledge retention and become knowledge gatherers and interpreters. This core difference will
make our students better prepared for the world ahead and better people for living in it. They
should never be comfortable with someone telling them a piece of information and they
themselves not analyzing it, verifying its authenticity, and applying that knowledge to a broader
concept of self and world.

References:
Doerr-Stevens, C. [CDoerrStevens]. (2017, February 7). Content Area Literacy vs Disciplinary
Literacy Minilecture [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH49UMw02Jc
National Council for Social Studies (NCCS), (2010). National Curriculum Standards for Social
Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. Brentwood: NCSS Publications.
Wilson-Lopez, A. & Bean, T. (2017). Content Area and Disciplinary Literacy: Strategies and
Frameworks. International Literacy Association No. 9429. Retrieved from:
https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-content-area-
disciplinary-literacy-strategies-frameworks.pdf

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RUNNING HEAD: WHEN ARE YOU LITERATE 1

When are you Literate in History?

Arizona State University

surrounding events, ideas, and/or information.”

Council for Social Studies (NCSS):

variety of contexts in repeated performances. They promote the participation of studies in

Civic literacy the research assignment and topic predisposes.

reference; present solutions to problems by analyzing conflicts and evaluating persistent

issue.” (NCCS, 2010, Appendix 1, para. 5).

concept of self and world.

Doerr-Stevens, C. [CDoerrStevens]. (2017, February 7). Content Area Literacy vs Disciplinary

Literacy Minilecture [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH49UMw02Jc

Frameworks. International Literacy Association No. 9429. Retrieved from:

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