Disciplinary Literacy in Elementary School: How a Struggling Student Positions Herself as a Writer

Abstract

This article focuses on disciplinary literacy and how a struggling writer in a Norwegian classroom positions herself as a disciplinary writer when given model texts. The study explores how model texts can scaffold students’ disciplinary writing and give them the opportunity to position themselves as disciplinary writers in lab reports and factual storybooks. The analysis of one struggling student's writing shows how she uses disciplinary language features and how she understands disciplinary literacy.