Not Just for Reading Class Anymore: 5 Tips for Teaching Literacy Across Multiple Subjects

The very first year I taught middle school science, I found myself teaching more reading lessons than I had ever expected—and that didn’t change when I switched to a middle school math classroom two years later. Add in the fact that I had several English language learners in my class, and my lessons on mitochondria and tetrahedrons largely started with basic vocabulary and sentence flow instruction.

But looking back, I shouldn’t have been surprised. It’s not just the Language Arts or Reading teacher’s sole responsibility to teach literacy. In fact, teaching literacy is connected to any and every subject—and it’s only getting more necessary as the online and offline worlds become more intertwined.