Literacy Strategies in the Science

ClassLisa Cary

WKU Writing Project 217th Grade Science

Drakes Middle School

What Do Scientists Do?

80% of their time is devoted to reading and writing!

Personal Reflection

Using your handout, take a moment to reflect on:

1.What is literacy? Being Literate?

2.What is scientific literacy?

What is Literacy?Being Literate?

Defined as . . .

1. The ability to read and write.

2. Being educated or learned.

Content Area Literacy

Defined as . . .

The level of reading, writing, and speaking skills necessary to read, comprehend, and respond to appropriate instructional materials in a given subject area.

Research Connection Between Science and

Literacy Language is essential for effective science learning:

• Supports our ability to think about a concept, to describe it, have discussions about it, and argue for or against it.

• Students make meaning by writing, talking, and reading about science, especially when accompanied by direct investigation of the science concept.

• The ability to use language to form ideas, theorize, reflect, share, debate, and clearly communicate strengthens our students acquisition of science concepts and processes.

Comparison of Skills

Writing Skills and Science

Strategies in Science

Reading Anticipation Guides

LINCS Vocabulary Organizer

Use of Videos for background knowledge

Student as teacher

Notes Foldable with practice

Jig-Saw

Quick Writes

Interactive Notebooks

Strategies in Science

Use your handout to record ideas for how to use the strategies presented. We will share these at the end of this session.

Literacy StrategiesReading- Anticipation Guide

Identify major concepts you want students to learn from text

Create four to six statements that support or challenge students’ beliefs about the topic

Share guide with students and ask them to be prepared to defend their opinions

 Have students read to find evidence to support or disconfirm responses

After reading, students will confirm or revise their responses

Literacy StrategiesReading-Vocabulary-example of

background knowledge.

Literacy StrategiesUsing Videos-Speaking-Discussion

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2dre6e_documentary-national-geographic-100-years-vol-004-among-the-wild-chimpanzees-2004_school

(25:43)

Example of chimpanzee video to pull common background knowledge and enable discussion of content.

Literacy StrategiesUsing Videos-Speaking-

DiscussionThink pair share before class discussion.

Card sort activity to determine learned and Innate Behaviors

Literacy StrategiesUsing Videos-Speaking-

Discussion

Literacy Strategies

Speaking- Reciprocal teaching- Energy labs. Day 1-Students are put into groups of 4 and become experts at one station. Day 2-2 students stay at their station, the other 2 rotate through the stations. The students staying behind are the experts and give instructions to the groups rotating through the stations. Day 3-students switch places and the students that rotated are now the experts at the station. The students that were the experts are now the ones rotating through the stations.

Speaking- Reciprocal Teaching

Research Connection Between Science and

LiteracyLanguage is essential for effective science learning:•Supports our ability to think about a concept, to describe it, have discussions about it, and argue for or against it.

•Students make meaning by writing, talking, and reading about science, especially when accompanied by direct investigation of the science concept.

•The ability to use language to form ideas, theorize, reflect, share, debate, and clearly communicate strengthens our students acquisition of science concepts and processes.

Literacy Strategies

Reading/Writing-Notes in foldable example of Newton’s 3 Laws with lab to practice content.

Literacy StrategiesReading/Writing- Jig-Saw-

Energy Posters. Students receive instructions and complete a poster on a type of energy. Then students go around and look at posters and fill in the information on their handout.

Research Connection Between Science and

LiteracyLanguage is essential for effective science learning:•Supports our ability to think about a concept, to describe it, have discussions about it, and argue for or against it.

•Students make meaning by writing, talking, and reading about science, especially when accompanied by direct investigation of the science concept.

•The ability to use language to form ideas, theorize, reflect, share, debate, and clearly communicate strengthens our students acquisition of science concepts and processes.

Literacy StrategiesWriting- Quick writes-in journal, exit slips

Quick Writes Ideas

After the Lesson/Reading

Dear Diary: Students assume the role of an historic figure who was involved in the lesson and write an entry as if they were that individual

Read All Instructions Before Operating: Students write instructions for how to solve a problem or perform a skill they have just learned

The Last Word: Students spend the last ten minutes of class writing you a letter about something they do not understand

And The Winner Is.. : Students write letters to the publisher of the textbook identifying the content included in this chapter that had the greatest impact on their lives

Literacy StrategyInteractive Notebook

The purpose of the interactive notebook is to enable students to be creative, independent thinkers and writers.

Interactive notebooks are used for class notes as well as for other activities where the student will be asked to express his/her own ideas and process the information presented in class.

Requirements vary from teacher to teacher and is set up according to the directions of the teacher.

ReflectionLook at your handout to answer this

question.

At your table share one strategy that you plan to use and how you plan to use it.