How can we help students become more confident, reflective thinkers in our social studies, English Language Arts (ELA), and science classrooms?

This webinar archive explores the power of metacognitive reading routines to deepen disciplinary literacy and enhance student learning across content areas.

Discover practical, research-based tools that support students in making their thinking visible—before, during, and after reading, writing, and inquiry-based tasks. Explore how metacognitive routines can strengthen students’ academic confidence, foster independence, and improve comprehension of complex texts, historical thinking, scientific reasoning, and the writing process.

Whether you’re teaching literary analysis, historical argumentation, or scientific inquiry and explanation, this webinar archive offers concrete examples and classroom-ready routines that you can adapt to your context. Watch ready to reflect and collaborate, and leave with strategies that empower students to think like experts in the disciplines they’re studying.

Session Discussion Topics

In this session, our featured speakers discuss metacognition during reading and writing in

  • the social studies classroom,
  • the English Language Arts classroom, and
  • the science classroom.

Downloadable Resources From the Session

Read the Transcript

Featured Speakers

Alicia Ross

Alicia Ross, Program Associate, Reading Apprenticeship at WestEd
Ross specializes in professional development and online coaching in disciplinary literacy for middle and high school ELA, science, social studies, and math. Before joining WestEd in June 2024, she was the Educator-on-Loan and lead facilitator for the Reading Apprenticeship EIR grant in rural North Carolina high schools. Prior to that, she taught social studies at Blue Ridge High School in Pennsylvania, serving underserved rural students. 

Jenell Krisham

Jenell Krishnan, Senior Program Associate, Writing Apprenticeship at WestEd
Krishnan codeveloped Writing Apprenticeship, an instructional framework and teacher professional learning model that supports grades 6–12 teachers in teaching writing in discipline-specific ways for authentic audiences. For 2 decades, Krishnan’s work has been at the intersection of literacy, language, and technology. She strengthens the connection between research and practice by engaging teachers, school leaders, and university faculty in working together to improve literacy teaching and learning. 

photo of karen lionberger

Karen Lionberger, Associate Director for Making Sense of SCIENCE at WestEd
Lionberger has over 15 years of experience developing equity-driven curricula, professional learning, and assessments that promote deeper teacher and student engagement and self-confidence in STEM. A key part of her work includes supporting student literacy in STEM—helping students make sense of complex scientific texts, engage in evidence-based reasoning, and develop the language tools they need to communicate their scientific ideas effectively.  

About Reading Apprenticeship

As both a professional development model and instructional approach, Reading Apprenticeship encourages this kind of teaching and learning while delivering results at scale. Visit readingapprenticeship.org to learn more.

About Writing Apprenticeship

Writing Apprenticeship is a new professional development model and instructional approach that aligns with Reading Apprenticeship to equip middle and high school educators to support students with real-world writing practices, providing a focus on discipline-specific understanding, reflection, and authentic connection with audiences. Visit WestEd.org/support/writing-apprenticeship to learn more.

About Making Sense of SCIENCE

Writing Apprenticeship is a new professional development model and instructional approach that aligns with Reading Apprenticeship to equip middle and high school educators to support students with real-world writing practices, providing a focus on discipline-specific understanding, reflection, and authentic connection with audiences. Visit mss.WestEd.org to learn more.