Instructional Possibilities for Multilingual Students in Content-Area Literacy Instruction

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: Instructional Approaches for Adolescent and Adult Emergent Bilinguals

Abstract

As classrooms become more diverse, teachers’ assumptions of students’ background knowledge, particularly in the area of literacy instruction, may not map accurately into students’ learning. This study combines critical discourse analysis with the theoretical framework of figured worlds to compare two instances of classroom literacy instruction within a linguistically diverse urban eighth grade science classroom. Findings reveal that quotidian instructional routines may mask higher-level literacy skills to the potential detriment of students while also revealing windows of possibility within seemingly sophisticated content-area instruction that allow for instruction to meet students’ real-time needs. Implications will be discussed.

Author

• Christine Hardigree, Iona College