Dialogic Argument Writing and Disciplinary Literacy in 4th–12th Grade Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts

Teachers across disciplines seek to support students' abilities to clearly communicate in writing, and to critically engage ideas and texts in argumentation, including argument writing and related classroom discussions. This qualitative study presents findings of source-based argument writing in science, social studies, and English language arts grounded in dialogic argumentation. We explored how 4th–12th grade teachers approached dialogic argument writing within their discipline. The results reflect teachers' growing understanding of argument as dialogic in nature and shaped by discipline. Data suggest teachers were able to take up a dialogic approach across disciplines and found doing so beneficial to student engagement and writing outcomes.