Content Lesson Video

This video has been removed upon agreement with the parents of the children in the video. Special thanks to the parents for their assistance and cooperation!

Evaluation Video

Observation Video

Science Content Literacy Unit

Math Content Literacy Unit

Social Studies Unit

Video Blog #6: Music Content Literacy Unit

Video Blog #5: A Review of Video Blogs

Themes from our Blogs, and a few ideas

The following were themes that I found from a cross-observation of the class's blog videos from "You Gotta BE the Book" and "The Right to Literacy in Secondary Schools". The table columns are the themes, and some practical ideas derived from the blogs that could be used in our classrooms.Double- clicking the graphic will magnify its size.

Video Blog #4: "The Right to Literacy in the Secondary Schools"

Video Progress Blog 3: "You Gotta Be the Book"

Progress Video 2

What to Include in your Instructional Toolkit

1. Access students' prior knowledge and understandings.

Students come to our classes with a large amount of cultural and contextual knowledge, as well as some basic knowledge about that which they are going to learn.

2. Use multiple forms of text.

Texts should not only come from textbooks, but also non-traditional sources such as web-based texts.

3. Literacy lessons should be authentic to your content area.

For example, literacy in a music classroom may be different by nature than a mathematics classroom. Literacy-based lessons, then, should reflect the ways of knowing that are unique to the discipline.

4. Use available technological resources.

Research suggests that the use of certain types of software and online discussion groups can positively affect the level of students' understanding, and the quality of their writing.

5. Teach your student to think like experts!

Model your thought processes explicitly for students so that they can see how experts think.

6. Foster your own learning!

Learn and know the traits that expert teachers possess, and try to incorporate those traits into your own teaching. In addition, teachers who learn new instructional strategies can positively affect students' achievement.

Reaction to Dr. Moje (2008) article and podcast

First(and perhaps unrelated) is that Dr. Moje is clearly a constructivist, with her statements that students enter the classroom with prior knowledge, and that knowledge is a socially constructed phenomenon. Her approach attempts to teach literary skills across disciplines in ways that are authentic to a particular subject area, while at the same time allowing for the transfer of these skills to other contexts. This “metadiscursive” approach to literacy across the curriculum also reminds me of David Berliner’s concept of cognitive apprenticeship, where teachers make explicit connections to the learning processes of experts. If it could be done in a convincing way at a school, this approach would indeed provide a consistent, powerful tool for students to transfer literate knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. I am interested in learning how these concepts apply to my content area, but suspect that the answer to that may lie in the “situatedness” of my own classroom.

About Me

My name is Brian Schneckenburger. I am married, and I live in Parkville, MD with my wife, two dogs, two cats and a sister-in-law. I am a native of the Rochester, NY area. In my spare time, I like reading, watching baseball (I am a huge New York Yankees fan), and travelling (my current favorite place is New Orleans, LA).
I am an instrumental music teacher in the Baltimore City Public Schools, where I have taught for the previous three years. I am in my twelfth year of public school teaching, having taught for five years in New York State, and three in Arizona before moving to Maryland. I have also taught as an adjunct for six years in the Music Departments of Plattsburgh State University (NY), St. Lawrence University (NY), and currently at The Community College of Baltimore County at Essex.
I possess Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Music Education from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam, and am currently in my third year as a doctoral student at The University of Maryland, College Park, where I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction/ Music Education. I also possess an Advanced Professional Certificate in Maryland, and Permanent Teaching Certification in New York. My main instrument is the trumpet, and I recently recorded several excerpts to be used on an upcoming movie trailer and video game.
For this class (which I am taking to renew certification in the State of Maryland), I expect to learn practical techniques that will enable me to integrate aspects of reading effectively into my curriculum and practices as an instrumental music teacher.