Content Literacy 101

Getting Started

Now that you have a general understanding of what content literacy is, you need to do a few assessments to determine how to best instruct your students. 

Unsurprisingly, the first person you need to assess is yourself. Before you can teach your students the strategies that will make them good readers, you need to understand what tools you use as a good reader. In the section on "Assessing Yourself," I focus on the "Magnificent Seven" strategies that strong readers use to aid their comprehension of a text.

Next, now that your recognize your own tactics, you can help your students gain the same skills. In the section on "Assessing Your Readers," I include several downloads to use in your classroom. There are two surveys: one to help determine what your students' interests are in the general classroom, and another for reading and writing specifically. I also included an inventory to determine what your students' current metacognitive abilities are.