Response to Content Area Literacy Instruction Article by: Barbara Moss

            The author’s argument or persuasive point throughout this article is that she believes content area literacy should not be set aside for just middle and high school leveled students, but should start at the elementary level.

            I believe the author brought out some really good points to look at concerning the issue of students not being able to be on the set reading level for each grade when it comes to expository text.  Some technologies in our society are helping students to become more interested in reading for informational purposes such as: LeapFrog activities, various apps on IPods and IPhones, and computer programs, PBSkids.org.  It’s important that students enjoy reading as much as they would enjoy a videogame for the simple fact that they need to know and understand before there was media there was literature (textbooks, newspapers, almanacs, dictionaries, thesauruses, etc.,). My church’s motto: “Together we stand, divided we fall” is very appropriate for this situation because not many people are trying to inform others on this issue.  In the article Moss reported that Armbruster only found 24 full-length articles in the years 1969 to 1991 related to this topic.  Why is that when it was emphasized back in 1925 by William S. Gray? I believe it is because society is more hung up on making new things for students to enjoy than to actually help them grow up and be professional, well organized equipped adults. 

            I honestly can say that I probably would enjoy expository text more now if I was exposed to it earlier.  The thing is with expository text is that many students cannot read it once they get to fourth grade because words that they have never been exposed to or that are on a sixth or seventh grade level are used and after they try to read it some they give up because they are not encouraged to read it, something that will help them, but are more encouraged to read maybe contemporary realism.  I do not think that everything presented to a student should be for informational purposes because then students would be “zoned” out more than you would want them, but that they should be presented with both in one together. I think concepts can be presented in a way that students will not even know that they are learning when they are, but as they are reading knowledge is gained.

            Through an activity with Dr. Ramp I was enlightened by the fact that a basal reader was around the grade level, if not on it, but the basal textbook for science content was on a 7^th grade level when the book was for 3^rd graders according to Fry’s method. This puzzles me to ask: How do we expect students to appreciate informational text when it’s not on an appropriate level? Sure advanced students would be able to work through it, but as educators we have to think about all our students.  When is society going to see that it’s an issue when college level students can only read on a 9^th grade level in expository text and work together to better our students? We have to remember they are the today, tomorrow, and the future, but it all depends on what we do today to get them there.