The knowledge that students’ bring to a text (oral or written) greatly affects the students’ ability to comprehend it. Students use their background and vocabulary knowledge to make sense of the words written and inferred within a text.
One evidence-based practice to increase students’ vocabulary, knowledge, and comprehension is a Content-Rich English Language Arts approach to instruction.1
Content-rich English Language Arts instruction is a practice that fuses subject- area content such as science and/or social studies with ELA instruction.2 Practitioners integrate texts and topics aligned with science and/or socials with literacy instruction. This practice can increase vocabulary, comprehension, and knowledge.3 Integrating oral language instruction into content-area teaching through multimodal visuals, explicit vocabulary instruction, and daily opportunities for peer-to-peer discussion about the content taught is listed as a strong, evidence-based practice for supporting Multilingual learners in reading and content area instruction by the Institute of education sciences.4
1 Cabell, S. Q., Neuman, S. B., Terry, N. P., Dickinson, D. K., Cabell, S. Q., & Hwang, H. (2023). Leveraging Content-Rich English Language Arts Instruction in the Early Grades to Improve Children’s Language Comprehension. In Handbook on the science of early literacy (p. 178). essay, The Guilford Press.
2 Cabell, S. Q., Neuman, S. B., Terry, N. P., Dickinson, D. K., Cabell, S. Q., & Hwang, H. (2023). Leveraging Content-Rich English Language Arts Instruction in the Early Grades to Improve Children’s Language Comprehension. In Handbook on the science of early literacy (p. 175). essay, The Guilford Press.
3 Hwang, H., Cabell, S. Q., & Joyner, R. E. (2022). Effects of integrated literacy and content-area instruction on vocabulary and comprehension in the elementary years: A meta-analysis. Scientific Studies of Reading, 26(3), 223-249.
4 Baker, S., Lesaux, N., Jayanthi, M., Dimino, J., Proctor, C. P., Morris, J., … & Newman-Gonchar, R. (2014). Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School. IES Practice Guide. NCEE 2014-4012. What Works Clearinghouse.
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