Discipline-Specific Reading

As an FCSE major we have many classes to cover but I would like to focus on the unconventional texts that some may think are not texts or do not count as literacy such as Clothing and Foods

In the clothing classes we focused on reading patterns. To some people this may not seem like literacy but if you have never seen a pattern before I promise you will have a hard time reading and understanding it. In my discipline there are many types of literacy that need to be taught from scratch even to a student who is considered a "good reader"

As I started out in this major I had very few experiences in reading a pattern. In my first clothing class on campus my professor had to start from scratch with my teaching me the basics of understanding how to read a pattern. This was very frustrating for me (and I imagine her) but in the end I am grateful to her for taking the time to teach me and not just tell me what to do.

Remembering this in future classroom I would like to be just as patient with my students and teach them the basics of understanding a pattern, a recipe,  or a tax form, going through the steps with them and then encouraging them to do it on their own and come to me with questions. I believe this type of scaffolding is important so students aren't completely depending on me to do their assignments.