Under the Big Top - Using the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944 to Teach Literacy Strategies to Connecticut’s Content Area Teachers

Sep 29, 2026

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Under the Big Top explains how an interdisciplinary approach can strengthen content area literacy instruction for secondary teachers. Using the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944 as a unifying theme, the author describes a course design for Connecticut teachers that connects reading comprehension and literacy strategies to multiple subjects. The text contrasts traditional, single-discipline instruction with collaborative lesson planning, emphasizing how shared themes, modeling, and cross-curricular discussion help candidates apply strategies in real classroom contexts and improve student understanding.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Under the Big Top: Using the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944 to Teach Literacy Strategies to Connecticut’s Content Area Teachers

A New Spin

A Three-Ring Circus: Content Areas, Literacy Strategies, and Interdisciplinary Instruction

Effective Interdisciplinary Instruction

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 52(4) December 2 0 0 8 /January 2 0 0 9 doi:10.15 9 8 /JA AL .52.4.3 © 2 0 0 8 International Reading Association (pp. 2 9 6–3 0 7) Under the Big Top: Using the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944 to Teach Literacy Strategies to Connecticut’s Content Area Teachers An unusual topic and an interdisciplinary approach help secondary teachers realize that reading comprehension and literacy instructional strategies are critical, no matter what the content area. 296 M. Lynn Morse Cfocusonedtenton tarheeiar secondvariouasrsy tubjeeachearrseaasebaeliceonvesiohasllyitedriavceyrsies gnrophe. iManyr con-, cern. With this in mind, it is not hard to imagine the feelings of newly minted teachers in Connecticut when they discovered that the state had mandateda 1.5-credit course in content area reading strategies for all teachers seeking state certification in grades 7–12. I was asked to teach this course at a Connecticut university with a large teacher-training program. All subjects require the reading comprehension skills associated with literacy. Students in any classroom need to be able to understand word problems, comprehend complex texts, and even communicate their own emotions and ideas to lead healthy, productive, and well-adjusted lives. Therefore, literacy should figure in every teacher’s lesson plans. Before meeting the less-than-enthusiastic teacher candidates, I considered how I could teach literacy strategies in a meaningful way across subject lines. Modeling the strategy and then discussing how teachers in each subject could use it was not very productive. For example, when math teachers would try to use a strategy, they would spend much of their time explaining mathematical concepts to the non-math teachers. The class had no common subject matter, no shared experience. Without this, I believed, the teacher candidates were not getting all they could out of the class. A New Spin Content area literacy can be defined as the ability to decode and comprehend expository texts in math, science, history, art, foreign language, music, or physical education (Bean, Readence, & Baldwin, 2008; Swafford & Kallus, 2002; Vacca & Vacca, 2007). Interdisciplinary is defined as “a knowledge view and curriculum approach that consciously applies methodology and language from more than one discipline to examine a central theme, issue, problem, topic, or experience” (Jacobs, 1991, pp. 22–23). I have learned the value of using interdisciplinary units in my own teaching. This led me to wonder if there was any way to benefit from interdisciplinary units in a class on content area literacy. What would happen if we learned how to use reading strategies in each subject within the context of an interdisciplinary unit? Could we apply our knowledge of a subject area to our new, shared knowledge—all the while using literacy strategies to guide our way? I began designing my content area reading course with the following objectives in mind. First, I wanted to create a learning environment that allowed the teacher candidates to use their content area expertise to design lessons around a common theme. Second, I wanted them to design these lessons using the reading strategies they learned in our class. Third, I wanted them to work together in a way that they may not have in the past. Teachers often learn only the standards and curriculum of their own subject area. By working together in groups, my students would learn about the content, standards, and benchmarks of other disciplines, come to understand the importance of literacy across subject areas, gain a sense of the wide variety of resources available on even the narrowest topics, and learn to replicate the process for their own classrooms. A Three-Ring Circus: Content Areas, Literacy Strategies, and Interdisciplinary Instruction Learning in real life is not compartmentalized, as it is in schools. In our day-to-day lives, there is no designated

FAQs

Why does the author argue that literacy strategies matter across all content areas?

The text states that every subject requires reading comprehension skills, including understanding complex texts and communicating ideas and emotions.

What problem did the author see with teaching literacy strategies through simple modeling across unrelated subjects?

When teachers tried to apply strategies, they had to spend much of their time explaining their own concepts to non-specialists, leaving the class without shared subject matter or experience.

How does the course use an interdisciplinary theme to help teacher candidates collaborate?

Teacher candidates design lessons around a common theme and use learned reading strategies, learning content from other disciplines and understanding the role of literacy across subject areas.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Aria