Literacy & Science

Using Science Notebook Writing to Develop Communication Skills

Video

• Achieving Literacy Through Hands-On Inquiry Science

• Developed by SLIP: Science and Literacy Integration Project; Rhode Island

The Notebook’s Structure

• Structures reflect intentions of the teacher

• Capture just the science learning?

• Capture the science learning while also

developing communication skills?

• Which communication skills?

Lots of Support

• Lots of reading (maybe)

• Little writing• Little drawing• How often do you

use this type of notebook entry?

Some Support

• Less reading• Drawing and

labeling• Writing• How often do

you use this type of notebook entry?

Little Support

• Little or no reading

• Drawing• Little writing• How often do

you use this type of notebook entry?

No Support(blank or lined sheet)

• Little or no reading• Opportunity for varied

amount of writing and/or drawing

• How often do you use this type of notebook entry?

Which type of notebook page?

• Notebook writing can prepare for Open Response questions on MCAS.

• MCAS OR questions significant reading (usually) with a blank sheet of paper.

• El Centro’s research (and other) recommends: – any science notebook style is better than none

– less structure is better than more.

LASW: 4th Grade ELA MCAS

• Using the rubric, score the three samples of student work.

• Why ELA?– They haven’t done a scaled score in Science for

the past two years and release about 1/2 the test– Most of us are more familiar with ELA than

with Science

What the DOE Decided

• http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2002/

LASW

LASW

LASW

Other Resources?

• Active Assessment for Active Science, George

Hein & Sabra Price

• Doing What Scientists Do,

Ellen Doris

• El Centro’s Power Point print outs

• Student Notebooks (the strong and the weak)

My Current Thinking on NB Structure

• Blank individual sheets in K• Stapled notebooks (with drawing box and

lines) for Gr. 1 & 2 and Blue exam books for Gr. 3-5

• Page number all sheets (except K)• In the Blue Books:

– leave room for table of contents in front – make a glossary in the back

• EVERYBODY dates and titles each page

Science Expo• Takes the Science InvestigationScience Investigation

process home.• Designed to leave the control with

the child (not the parents).• Useful to students and families

when the classroom teacher knows the basic expectations and is a ‘cheer leader’.

Basics• 4 step process:

– the question

– ‘this is what I did’

– ‘this is what happened’

– the answer

• This is also the format for the poster report– NO BIGGER than an open folder.

• Must be an activity, not a ‘book reading’.