TL;DR
Adolescent literacy professional development should help teachers teach reading, writing and discussion in the subjects they teach. Sterling Literacy Consulting offers content-area sessions on complex texts, disciplinary thinking, vocabulary, writing and assessment. Districts should look for training that lets teachers practice with classroom materials and plan support for students with different reading needs.
What should adolescent literacy professional development cover?
Adolescent literacy professional development should connect vocabulary, comprehension, writing and discussion to the texts students read in their subjects.
Start with what teachers need students to do. A science team might want students to explain the evidence in a reading. A history team might focus on interpreting a source. Either goal gives the professional learning somewhere specific to begin.
The What Works Clearinghouse practice guide recommends explicit vocabulary and comprehension instruction, extended text discussion and attention to motivation. It also calls for intensive, individualized intervention from trained specialists for students who need it.
When reviewing a training agenda, consider these questions. Does it address classroom instruction across subjects? And does it help teachers recognize when a student may need additional reading support?
Sterling Literacy's Mastering the Disciplines series includes these sessions:
- Text-Based Inquiry: Texts, Tasks & Talk. Connect complex texts, questions and structured discussion.
- Disciplinary Literacy Apprenticeship. Teach the reading, writing and thinking used in different subjects.
- Digging Into Difficulty. Help students recognize confusion and work through challenging text.
- Writing to Learn. Use low-stakes writing to help students develop and clarify their thinking.
- Academically Productive Talk. Develop discussion through protocols, sentence stems and teacher moves.
- Vocabulary Matters. Teach academic and subject-specific vocabulary, including meaningful word parts.
- Reading Fluency at the Secondary Level. Address older readers' fluency through repeated reading, paired reading and tracking progress.
- Scaffolding for Success. Plan support for multilingual learners, students with disabilities and students who struggle with comprehension.
- Assessment for Learning. Use writing, discussion and close reading to understand students' learning.
Districts choose from these sessions to fit what a team needs. It helps to begin with the difficulties teachers are seeing in their classrooms, then check how the selected topics will fit together.
How should training differ across subject areas?
Training should show teachers how reading, writing and reasoning work in the subject they teach.
In Carnegie's disciplinary literacy report, the authors explain that different disciplines require particular background knowledge and approaches to reading.
In a training session, that might mean history teachers asking who created a source and what that means for interpreting it. Science teachers might look at how a text connects an explanation to evidence. Both are decisions teachers can practice.
One way to judge a provider is to have them demonstrate an activity with a text from the department that wants support. Teachers should be able to see how the activity serves their subject's learning goals.
Sterling Literacy's adolescent and disciplinary literacy sessions serve English language arts, science, social studies and math teams. The sessions are described as best delivered by content area.
What should teachers practice with complex texts?
Teachers should practice identifying what makes a text difficult, then planning instruction that helps students work through those difficulties.
Bring a passage from an upcoming unit to the training conversation, and see how the provider would have teachers prepare to use it. That preparation might cover:
- Notice the language. Which words, phrases or sentences might need explanation?
- Check the knowledge demands. What does the text assume students already understand?
- Plan the questions. What would students need to explain using evidence from the passage?
- Consider support. What could help students participate in the reading and discussion?
Teachers also need time to work through new learning themselves. The Learning Policy Institute's research review examined 35 studies of effective professional development. Its findings include content-focused learning, active practice, models of teaching, feedback and time to apply new learning.
In a sample session, watch for the point where the explanation ends and teachers start working through a lesson or text themselves.
When training accompanies new materials, tie that preparation to the district's reading curriculum implementation plan. The texts teachers will soon teach give the planning conversation a concrete starting point.
How can writing and discussion reveal students' understanding?
Writing and discussion give teachers evidence of how students interpret a text, use vocabulary and explain their thinking.
Picture a training activity where teachers read a short passage, write an explanation, then discuss the evidence behind it. Afterward, the facilitator can ask what their responses reveal and where another question might help.
When a provider shares a sample activity, check how it handles:
- The writing prompt. Does it ask students to explain an idea or connection?
- The discussion. How will the teacher invite students to explain, question or build on a response?
- The follow-up. What might the teacher need to clarify after reading or hearing students' answers?
Looking at those pieces ties writing and talk to the decisions teachers make next. It also gives teachers something specific to look for when they try the activity with their own students.
How can districts compare adolescent literacy training providers?
Compare providers by the subject-specific work teachers will practice, the student needs the training addresses and the support available for classroom use.
Before choosing a program, talk with the provider about the team that will attend. A department working on text discussion may need a different focus than specialists supporting students with word-reading difficulties.
Questions worth raising:
- Subject fit. Can the provider show how the learning applies to the subjects and grades involved?
- Teacher practice. Will participants work with texts, questions, writing tasks or student responses?
- Student needs. How will the training address the reading difficulties the school has identified?
- Classroom follow-through. What support is available as teachers begin using the practices?
Sterling Literacy offers curriculum-based coaching with adopted materials, along with instructional coaching that includes planning, modeling, feedback and debriefs. Districts can talk through how those services fit the professional learning they select.
For classroom follow-through, read about coaching after Science of Reading training.
If your secondary teams are planning literacy training, talk with the Sterling Literacy team about the subjects they teach and the reading and writing demands their students face.
Frequently asked questions about adolescent literacy training
Is adolescent literacy training only for English teachers?
English teachers are only part of the audience. Science, social studies and math teachers can also take part in professional learning about reading, writing and discussion in their subjects. The training should make clear how it connects to the texts and tasks those teachers use.
Do older students still need foundational reading instruction?
Some do, depending on their reading needs. The What Works Clearinghouse intervention guide for grades 4 to 9 includes decoding complex words and building fluency. A student's grade alone doesn't identify which reading skills need instruction.
What grades does Sterling Literacy's disciplinary literacy training cover?
The series includes sessions for elementary and secondary teachers. Sterling Literacy lists most Mastering the Disciplines sessions for grades 2 to 12. Vocabulary Matters and Reading Fluency at the Secondary Level are listed for grades 6 to 12. For middle and high school teams, select sessions around the subjects and grades participants teach.
Can adolescent literacy training address multilingual learners?
It can. Scaffolding for Success explicitly includes support for multilingual learners, alongside students with disabilities and students who struggle with comprehension. It's worth asking how the session would address the language and reading demands of the texts your team teaches.