Integrating Literacy in Content Areas
Lindsay Merritt and Pamela Wiles
Science Connections
With this reader response chart, comprehension is key. If students do not comprehend what they are reading, they will not be able to master the content or apply it. This printable is easy to adapt to any text, chapter, newspaper, or read aloud...the options are endless.
Reader's theater is a perfect strategy to incorporate into any subject area. Focusing on fluency, vocabulary, and subject content, reader's theater gives students a way to have fun, while navigating through the learning process.
Reader's Theater
Anticipation Guide
Reader Response
Anticipation guides are great for tapping into prior knowledge and getting students excited about new concepts. They are simple to create and can be easily accommodated for any grade level.
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Guidelines: At the beginning of a unit of study or lesson, students work independently or in groups to predict the answers to questions that will be taught in lesson/unit. The teacher can have students write answers or use as a whole class activity by instructing students to move to a spot in the room depending on how they answered the question. At the end of the lesson or reading, students revisit the statements to revise answers with evidence from the text. This can be used in a class period, or over several as an ongoing activity.

These examples show how simple it is to adjust an anticipation guide to meet the expectations of different levels:
RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) is a common writing strategy that was created to encourage students to write from different perspectives. RAFT writing encourages creative thinking and motivates students to demonstrate understanding in a nontraditional, yet informational, written format. This strategy works in all subject areas and is great for differentiation; it can be adjusted for any topic or skill level. The students have roles to play and, as they think from the perspective of those roles, they have to communicate to given audiences using the specified format and topic. This strategy requires students to process information and use critical thinking rather than just writing answers to questions.
RAFTing with Raptors