What is the content area?

A content area is a field of study that focuses on a specific topic of information. Content areas can include any specific topic such as WWII, content marketing, biology, etc.

What does content area mean?

A now-preferred synonym for subject or subject area among educators, content area refers to a defined domain of knowledge and skill in an academic program. The most common content areas in public schools are English (or English language arts), mathematics, science, and social studies (or history and civics).

What is the content area of reading?

Content area reading is most simply, reading to learn. It encompasses all the skills and abilities required for a student to read the complex, informational text found typically in Social Studies, Science, and Math.

What is the content area of a book?

Content area texts are usually expository meaning that are written to inform, persuade, describe or explain information for the reader. There is no action to tell a story in an expository text. The reader needs to use strategies for harnessing and synthesizing the information in this type of text.

What is content area in school?

The specific discipline area that one teaches or focuses on. Most often, content areas in secondary grades are math, science, English, social studies, the arts, and career and technical education.

Katie McKnight: Content Area Literacy Strategies & CCSS

Why is reading in the content area important?

Consequently, structured reading in the content areas can lead to better and deeper thought processes, and higher order thinking skills, which seem to be lacking in today's students (NAEP, 1988). The best approach to teaching reading in the content areas includes a balance of teacher direction and student discovery.

What is content area knowledge?

Definition. Content knowledge refers to the body of knowledge –facts, theories, principles, ideas, vocabulary– which teachers must master to be effective. Teachers should have a deep understanding of the subject they teach and corresponding curriculum (subject content knowledge).

What are content area reading strategies?

Content-area literacy might use strategies such as monitoring comprehension, pre-reading, setting goals and a purpose for reading, activating prior knowledge, asking and generating questions, making predictions, re-reading, summarizing, and making inferences.

What does content mean in reading?

The content of a book, movie, or song is what it's about: the topic. This word has two main meanings. The first has to do with being pleased and satisfied (feeling content) or making someone else feel happy and at peace with things (contenting them).

Is literacy a content area?

Under a content area literacy approach, students learn read- ing and writing processes that are common across disciplines. As part of content area literacy instruction, teachers explicitly model these processes, then provide opportunities for students to practice them independently and in small groups.

What is the difference between content area and subject matter?

If we think about subject matter as being like the What in an artwork, in terms of what it is of or trying to portray, then content is the Why. Why has the artist specifically included these elements, and what are they trying to say, do, or make you feel by including them?

How do you teach content area words?

As students need to know each vocabulary word to engage with the content, introduce the word either by offering its definition to the class or by having students look up the definition. Then have students add the word and its definition to their customized dictionaries.

What is content literacy?

Defines "content literacy" as the ability to use reading and writing for the acquisition of new content in a given discipline. Identifies three principal cognitive components: general literacy skills; content-specific literacy skills; and prior knowledge of content.

What are the content of reading skills?

In accordance with our commitment to deliver reading programs based on research-based instructional strategies, Read Naturally's programs develop and support the five (5) components of reading identified by the National Reading Panel—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Why do students struggle with content area reading?

A number of text- and student-related factors can make content area reading difficult for some students. For example, students may have little experience reading expository writing, the kind of text structure found typically in textbooks and other content area materials.

What is a content area teacher?

Teachers of specific subjects such as Math, Science, English Language Arts, Foreign Languages, Social Studies, History, etc.

What dominates content area reading instruction?

Teacher talk, even when supported by audiovisual aids, tends to dominate content area instruction—often at the expense of engaged student learning. Reading diverse and provocative texts from your content gives students another way to interact with the key information and ideas about which they're learning.

What are examples of content knowledge?

Knowledge of the content of interest. For example, in mathematics, knowing how to calculate a proportion or knowing how to divide a fraction is content knowledge. The prerequisite knowledge required of an instructor to deliver instruction on any subject matter.

What is the purpose of content knowledge?

Content knowledge (CK) is the teacher's knowledge about the subject matter students will learn. It includes knowledge of concepts, theories, ideas, organisational framework, and evidence and proof, as well as the practices and approaches that lead to developing such knowledge (Shulman, 1987).

What is an example of content area literacy?

You can think of content area literacy this way. Reading in the content areas would involve reading about history or reading about science. For example, a student might read about a historical event and discuss the event, write about the event or do a project related to the event.

What are some of the challenges associated with content area reading?

For example, students may have little experience reading expository writing, the kind of text structure found typically in textbooks and other content area materials. Further, they may become frustrated and confused by the content-specific vocabulary and concepts that characterize these materials.

Why is it important to teach vocabulary in the content area?

VocabularyKnowledge of the meaning and pronunciation of words. is a significant predictor of overall reading comprehension. (Baumann, Kame'enui, & Ash, 2003) and student performance (Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986). When readers know a lot of words, they can read more complex texts.

What are the factors that influence content area literacy?

Four specific factors that affect content-area literacy are described: vocabulary knowledge, topic knowledge, text structure knowledge, and textbook readability, along with methods of evaluating each of the factors.

What goes in the content area of a lesson plan?

The content is the concept, topic, or idea being taught. The objective is what you expect the students to know, understand, or be able to do at the end of the lesson.