Blending the new Science and literacy practices: Middle School Teaching & Learning

1. 2014 CSDE Education Reform District K-8 Science Improvement Grant Blending the new Science and literacypractices:Middle School Teaching & Learning Investigating the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the ELA/Literacy Framework of the Common Core of State Standards A Partnership between Meriden Public School and CCSU

2. Overarching Project Goal Deepen one’s content knowledge and competency of newscience (K-12 Framework) and ELA/Literacy (CCSS) practices.

3. (Revised) Project Outcomes • Understand new science (K-12 Framework) and the ELA/Literacy (CCSS) practices. • Align classroom pedagogy to standards—science (K-12 Framework) and ELA/Literacy (CCSS). • Increase higher-order questioning strategies to promoting student collaboration and depth of thinking. (Talk Moves) • Create 1+ interdisciplinary science unit that embeds science K-12 Framework and ELA Literacy CCSS teaching strategies.

4. Unit 3 Step 7 (7:42) • Watch the clip. Notice that the teacher doesn’t give away the ‘answer’— • What position are the students asked to take? • How do students support their claims? Getting Started: Argumentation

5. ‘Disciplinary’ literacy: review of the CCSS Literacy in Science

6. CCSS Review • 10 Reading Standards (Science and Technical Subjects) • 9 Writing Standards (Content Areas) • 6 Speaking and Listening Standards • 4 (of 6) Language Standards (usage/vocabulary) • Spiral staircase of complexity • Use of evidence in reading and writing • Academic vocabulary

7. Goals for Literacy Integration in Science • Students read complex scientific texts. • Students build academic and disciplinary vocabulary. • Students use reading and writing strategies to learn scientific content. • Students read and write like scientists as they practice in the real world. • Students gather, evaluate, and synthesize text in a variety of forms as a source of evidence in investigations or research. • Students summarize key learning and relationships among concepts. • Students read and write to critique and communicate scientific arguments. • Students engage in evidence-based discourse to build knowledge within a scientific learning community.

8. RST.6-8.1 Read complex scientific texts. • For a purpose • To question and answer • Question-Answer-Relationships (QAR) • Interactive Reading Guide • To annotate or mark up text (text codes, visual boards, etc.) • To prepare for meaningful discussion • Text rendering, 4 A’s, Save the Last Word for Me, Text on Text, etc. Teaching Tips: • Teachers model and think aloud. • Use short text. • Have students work alone and then collaborate (ticket to enter). • Work towards student-developed questions. • Use interesting texts that will matter to kids.

9. RST.6-8.4, L.6-8.4, 5, 6 Build academic & disciplinary vocabulary. • Through Greek/Latin roots, prefixes, suffixes--‘word wall’ • Through routines that target (tier 2, 3) vocabulary words • Concept diagram, semantic maps, Frayermodel, analogy charts, anticipation guides, word study guides, weigh the words organizer • Through science notebooks (two-column, non linguistics) • By using vocab in their writing Teaching Tips: • Do not teach out of context. • Do not have to pre-teach. • Create routines for engaging with vocabulary. • Select essential vocabulary (not lengthy lists). • Help students organize vocabulary in conceptual maps (models).

10. Disciplinary Core Ideas Use reading and writing strategies to learn scientific content. • To activate and clarify background knowledge (anticipation guide, before-during-after guides, KWL, etc.) • To compare concepts (concept comparison routine) • To monitor comprehension and question the text/author (self questioning) • To use writing to learn strategies: • quick writes, various forms of note-taking, science notebooks, summarizing, vocabulary practices, brief explanations • To create mental images (drawing, labeling, and revising scientific models to track thinking over time) • To use a package of strategies to learn science (collaborative strategic reading, reciprocal teaching)

11. Use reading and writing strategies to learn scientific content. Teaching Tips: • Explain and discuss the strategy (including benefits and expectations). • Model the strategy. • Provide support for the students to learn the strategy deeply (cooperative learning, practice, feedback). • Goal is for students to self-regulate the use of the strategy.

12. RST.6-8.3, 7-9, WHST.6-8.1, 2, 4 -10 Read and write like scientists as they practice in the real world. • To ask and write to answer questions • To convey theories as explanation of phenomena • To engage in argumentation to advance and defend new ideas and explanation of phenomena • To explain phenomena with visual models • To accompany scientific investigations (inquiry)—science notebooks, lab reports, etc. • To gather and organize data for analysis and interpretation (tabulating, graphing, etc.) • To “RAFT” (take on an authentic science ROLE for a particular AUDIENCE, FORMAT and TASK)

13. Read and write like scientists as they practice in the real world. Teaching Tips: • Use science and engineering practices. • Consider real audiences. • Consider real problems (problem-based learning).

14. RST.6-8.7-9, WHST. 6-8.7,8 Gather, evaluate, and synthesize (variety of) text to use as evidence in scientific investigations and research. • Gather main ideas from sources (note taking frames) • Evaluate and synthesize across texts using I-Charts • Respond to essential questions using Inquiry Approaches or Problem-based Learning scenarios • Teaching Tips: • Start with two texts and build up. • Combine online text and offline text. Can scaffold by providing online sources. • Need to model how to find accurate and reliable online sources.

15. RST.6-8.2 Summarize key learning and relationships among concepts. • Summarize visually using a scientific model. • Summarize learning on a summary table. • Summarize learning in a science notebook. • Teaching Tips: • Don’t wait until the end of the unit to summarize. • Distinguish between paraphrasing and summarizing.

16. RST.6-8.1, 6, 8, 9, WHST.6-8.1, SL.6-8.1,3 Read and write to critique and communicate scientific arguments. • Plan and organize arguments with claims, evidence, and reasoning. • Develop arguments that communicate explanation of phenomena with strong evidence. • Revise arguments based on additional evidence or feedback from community. • Share arguments with a broader scientific learning community. • Write collaboratively to compose and discuss arguments (write arounds, chalk talk).

17. Read and write to critique and communicate scientific arguments. Teaching Tips: • Support reading and writing with discussion. • Differentiate between ‘persuasion’ and scientific argumentation. • Explain nature of science and role of argumentation.

18. SL.6-8.1-6 Engage in evidence-based discourse to build knowledge within a scientific learning community. • Position-driven discussion (for example, Socratic seminar, grand conversations) • Academic Controversy protocol to develop evidence-based arguments and discourse. • See other discussion protocols in Goal One. • Teaching Tips: • Use talk moves. • Build culture and climate for productive discourse. • Create routines.

19. Your Challenge • Include a minimum of 3 aspects of disciplinary literacy in your unit. Describe them in the section you write down the CCSS you aligned to your unit. Summary Table (Unit 5 Step 5) 8m 30s