1. Flora R. Johnson
If we want teachers to implement content area reading and writing strategies in the classroom,
we need to change the roles of teachers
Teachers in the 21st century are faced with greater challenges than their predecessors of
the 20th and previous centuries. This can be related to many factors, but one of the greatest
factors is due to the fact that children of the 21st century demand to be involved in their own
learning. This requires that the teacher must be diversified in his or her instruction so that the
student can get the most out of the learning process. In order to implement content area reading
and writing strategies in the classroom, the teacher must continually find ways to make the
instruction relevant and engaging for the student.
Gone are the days when teachers can just use one textbook to teach. This was acceptable
in previous centuries because funds were limited to purchase additional resource materials, and
the teacher was thought more of as a lecturer. Today teachers of content literacy do not depend
on a one-size-fits-all. The text book was an object that was considered to be precious. They
often had to be used for many years so it was important that each student took good personal care
of the book to leave it in good physical condition for the next student. Book covers used to be
very popular for this reason. The student was encouraged to keep the book clean so there was no
note marking, underlining or highlighting in the book and these can all be used as effective study
skill strategies.
Today’s teacher is viewed more as a facilitator. They only assist the student in
organizing the instruction that is best for him or her. Students need a variety of texts that range
in skill level. Textbooks cannot stand alone just as reading cannot be effective only taught by the
language arts teacher. It will therefore take newspapers, magazines, and multi-modal texts such

2. as: computers, TV, music players, and video games to engage the student. It will also take the
cooperation of all content area teachers to integrate reading in the classroom.
The role of teachers today involves learning and integrating reading and writing across
the curriculum. Although middle grades language arts has been the focus throughout this course;
reading, writing, grammar and language usage should be used in other content areas. It can be
used to make connections and meaningful conversations. The 20th century teacher simply had
students memorizing words and phrases in order to learn spelling and vocabulary words – but
teachers in the 21st go far beyond that. Students are now encouraged to develop vocabulary
strategies. These strategies can be used as effective communication for different purposes, for
different audiences, and in different contexts. For instance, context clues which involve using
vocabulary flashcards can be very effective for those students who have learning disabilities. On
the other hand, word structure strategies are designed more for the academically gifted and
accelerated learners. Students are given a list of roots and prefixes that vocabulary words are
derived from, and from this list they are able to build a strong vocabulary.
As lecturers of the past, teachers did not encourage students to think critically. That is
one reason students today do not do well on reading comprehension. It is because some teachers
still have not changed their teaching role to fit the needs of the 21st century. The teacher must
use varied methods of instruction to accommodate different learning styles. As a facilitator, the
teacher provides guidance so that the student can find their own way of learning. Then he/she
must also use different resources that support multiple assessment strategies to determine what
the student has learned. Scores on the EOG/EOC will help to reflect if the new teaching skills
were effective.

3. Yes, the role of the teacher must change so that they will be able to meet the needs of the
21st century student. That is the only way they will be able to provide effective instruction. This
will always be an ongoing process that will require time, planning, and continued effort.