You have reached the online home of LiD 6-12 (Literacy in the Disciplines, Grades 6-12).
We are educators who focus on effective literacy instruction, learning, & practices within all content areas from grades 6 through 12.
We are beginning our membership drive for the 2026-27 school year. Membership is free for this year, and we’d like each of our readers to connect with LiD 6-12 to receive news about its opportunities and the privileges of membership. A Membership form can be completed by clicking here: General Membership Application
Here are our upcoming blog and webinar themes:
- Authentic Practices/Inquiry/Motivation/phenomenon-based learning – November
- Disciplinary Dialogic Engagement – December
- Differentiated and Scaffolding Disciplinary Literacy – January
- Foundational Literacy vs. Disciplinary Literacy vs. Content-Area Literacy– February
- Active Engagement – March
- Mindsets to Support Disciplinary Literacy (focus for administrators on strategies to support teachers who may be resistant to implementing disciplinary literacy in their classrooms) – April
- Culturally Responsive Strategies – May
- Teacher education – teaching DL to pre-service and in-service educators – June
- Assessment Practices Across Disciplines for DL July
November Call: Authentic Practices/Inquiry/Motivation/phenomenon-based learning
What happens when we design classroom experiences that invite students to engage in those same disciplinary practices?
Across disciplines, experts engage in purposeful, complex practices that are inherently connected to how knowledge is created and communicated. Scientists investigate phenomena and construct explanations. Historians examine sources, consider perspective, and build interpretations. Mathematicians identify patterns, develop conjectures, test solutions, and justify their reasoning. English language arts scholars analyze texts, consider multiple interpretations, and make meaning through language. As they work, they read, write, speak, listen, question, argue, interpret, analyze, and communicate.
Our November theme invites teachers to consider the relationship between what students are asked to do, how they are asked to think, and why they might find the work worth doing. Too often, we think of motivation as something we need to add to learning: a hook, a choice, a reward, an engaging activity.
How might authentic learning connect to student motivation to learn? What if students are more willing to write when they have something meaningful to communicate to an authentic audience?
This raises important questions for those of us thinking about literacy in the disciplines:
- What does authentic participation or learning look like in different disciplines?
- How can inquiry position students as knowledge-builders rather than knowledge-receivers?
- What role does curiosity play in disciplinary learning?
- How might authentic disciplinary work foster motivation rather than relying on external incentives?
And perhaps most importantly: How can we create classrooms where students experience literacy not as an isolated set of skills, but as a way of participating in the work of a discipline?
Please send your blog proposals, drafts, or inquiries to savitzr22@ecu.edu.
To learn more about our work, visit us at https://literacy6-12.org/.
Contact Rachelle Savitz savitzr22@ecu.edu to contribute.
We are pleased to announce Treva Thomas Hammond as the first recipient of the Dr. Heather Hall Inclusive LiteracyAward. Click here for more details: Dr. Heather Hall Inclusive Literacy Award, 2025-2026
Return here in February, 2027 to access the 2026-27 Dr. Heather Hall Inclusive Literacy Award official nomination form.
Click here to access our blog submission guidelines:
LiD Blog Submission Guidelines
Click here to access our webinar guidelines:
Contact Rachelle Savitz at savitzr22@ecu.edu to submit a blog or suggest a webinar!
This website serves as a resource to share materials with educators as we work to examine and influence how literacy is embedded and supported in middle and secondary classrooms. Read our blog for weekly insights from classroom educators and researchers.
Please click here to learn more about our survey of literacy instruction in content area classrooms.
Please click here to learn more professional development opportunities for your school.
To connect with us, feel free to contact us at hello@literacy6-12.org.
Thanks in advance. 🙂
Recent Posts:
- Beyond the Vocabulary List
- Making a Difference: Strong Literacy Instruction for Students in Poverty.
- From “I Can’t” to “Here’s What I’ve Tried”: Disciplinary Literacy Practices That Support Productive Struggle
- Building Inference Skills: Scaffolding Disciplinary Reading
- August Webinar: Recommitting to Coherence in Disciplinary Literacy Implementation
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Click here to view our archives.
