Dan Willingham’s latest over at Britannica Blog (”What Makes a Good Fourth-Grade Reader? Knowledge.”) highlights a new study showing that integrating material from other subjects in reading instruction boosts comprehension. Ten-year olds in Hong Kong rose to 2nd among 44 nations on the 2006 PIRLS international reading test. Researchers looked at dozens of variables, Willingham notes, ”to determine which instructional factors were associated with student reading achievement.” They found the most important factor in reading achievement was the frequency with which the teacher used materials from other subjects in reading instruction.
“The results are impressive in their clarity, and important because they dovetail so well with theories of reading comprehension, described here. Once students can decode, background knowledge is crucial to reading comprehension. Ensuring that students have wide-ranging knowledge of the world ideally begins at birth, through a rich home environment. Schools must do everything possible to support and expand that knowledge base, and integrating material from other subjects into the reading curriculum is an important step in the right direction.
Willingham has said it before, but too few people get it: Teaching content IS teaching reading:
Willingham is en fuego this week. USA Today catches up with Dan’s latest book, Why Don’t Students Like School? If you follow the Core Knowledge Blog, the interview by Greg Toppo plays like a Dan Willingham greatest hits album– our brains are not designed for thinking, good teachers find the sweet spot of mental challenge, “learning styles” are hooey–but it’s heartening to see Dan’s wisdom get the full national treatment, where it will be an epiphany to countless parents and more than a few teachers, too.
Richard Whitmire highlights the USA Today piece and get the headline just right: “If you don’t know Daniel Willingham, you should.”
I for one have heard quite enough about the 21st century skills that are sweeping the nation. Now, for the first time, children will be taught to think critically (never heard a word about that in the 20th century, did you?), to work in groups (I remember getting a grade on that very skill when I was in third grade a century ago), to solve problems (a brand new idea in education), and so on.
Let me suggest that it is time to have done with this unnecessary conflict about 21st century skills. Let us agree that we need all those forenamed skills, plus lots others, in addition to a deep understanding of history, literature, the arts, geography, civics, the sciences, and foreign languages.
But allow me also to propose a new entity that will advance a different set of skills and understandings that are just as important as what are now called 21st century skills. I propose a Partnership for 19th Century Skills.
This partnership will advocate for such skills, values, and understandings as:
The love of learning
The pursuit of knowledge
The ability to think for oneself (individualism)
The ability to stand alone against the crowd (courage)
The ability to work persistently at a difficult task until it is finished (industriousness, self-discipline)
The ability to think through the consequences of one’s actions on others (respect for others)
The ability to consider the consequences of one’s actions on one’s well-being (self-respect)
The recognition of higher ends than self-interest (honor)
The ability to comport oneself appropriately in all situations (dignity)
The recognition that civilized society requires certain kinds of behavior by individuals and groups (good manners, civility)
The willingness to ask questions when puzzled (curiosity)
The readiness to dream about other worlds, other ways of doing things (imagination)
The ability to believe that one can improve one’s life and the lives of others (optimism)
The ability to believe in principles larger than one’s own self-interest (idealism)
The ability to speak well and write grammatically, using standard English
I invite readers to submit other 19th century skills that we should cultivate assiduously among the rising generation, on the belief that doing so will lead to happier lives and a better world.
(Ed’s Note: Diane Ravitch wrote the above for the blog of Common Core, which advocates for comprehensive education in the liberal arts and sciences. She is the organization’s co-chair. It is published here as well, with her permission.)
The views, conclusions and opinions of authors, contributors and commenters on the Core Knowledge Blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
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