Writing Scientific Responses Reading in the Content Areas Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools

Writing Scientific Responses

Reading in the Content Areas

Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools


Mystery Box

• Ponder what is hidden in the box.• Ask questions like these:

– Noun: Does it have ___? Is it a ___?– Verb: Does it ___? Can it ___?– Adjective: Is it ___?

• Record inferences when prompted.• Write a description of the actual item,

when revealed.


Mystery Box

• Mystery Box taps into several cognitive areas:– Specific skills: questioning, predicting,

interpreting information, observing and recording observations, describing, and critical thinking

– Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences: kinesthetic, visual, verbal, interpersonal, intrapersonal



• Agenda– Description: Mystery Box– Summary: Anticipation Guide– Summary: Redaction– Sequencing: Lego Challenge– Strategies for the Classroom– Summary/Description: The Last Word



• Science teachers tell students about the importance of precision in collecting data and analyzing results; what is less commonly emphasized is the need for precision in writing (Reynolds and Vogel 2007).

• Classroom teachers in American public schools are challenged to provide appropriate, responsive curriculum and instruction that supports literacy and science achievement for all students (Bryce 2006).

• The application of writing strategies encourages the science literacy advocated in the national standards by having students communicate to broader audiences for such purposes as arguing, persuading, and explaining science concepts for themselves and others (Hand, Wallace, and Yang 2004).


Scaffolded Instruction (Kolikant 2006)

Coaching and modeling require theoretical knowledge and pedagogical practices that are not typically part of a science instructor’s tool box.– Modeling: an expert performs tasks while reflecting on the thought

processes involved thereby making these processes visible to apprentices.

– Coaching: an expert observes students carrying out a task and provides scaffolded instruction.

– Articulation: students articulate their knowledge, reasoning, and problem-solving processes.

– Reflection: students compare their work to that of the expert.

– Exploration: students are encouraged to solve problems on their own.



• Summarizing: Science students need strong summary skills to process written text and to compile research results for lab reports.

• 3 “rules” of summarization (Stanfield 2007):– Remove extra/unnecessary information– Combine difficult words into a familiar phrase/idea– Use topic sentences to help organize ideas


Anticipation Guide

• “Every encounter with something new requires the brain to fit it into an existing memory category.”—Pat Wolfe

• Students who have pondered information related to an assignment will read more carefully because they seek information to support their answers.

• Students who have thought about a topic will write stronger summaries because they are already invested in the topic.


Anticipation Guide

• Read and respond to the statements prior to reading the selection.

• Read the assigned text.• Evaluate your responses as correct or

incorrect and provide support for your judgment.

• Write a summary of the passage providing all correct information.


Redaction

• Redaction = reducing the number of words used to express an idea

• Helping students to recognize the unessential information can develop better summaries

• Scaffolding this skill with the class will help students understand the goal


Redaction

• Read the assigned passage with about 150 words.

• Rewrite the passage and reduce to about 75 words.

• Determine what additional words can be removed. *This step is crucial to demonstrate understanding of redaction.

• Write one sentence that summarizes the entire passage.



• Sequencing: Science students who understand the sequence of process will write better summaries and descriptions.

• Being able to teach through words or actions facilitates individual learning.


Lego Challenge

• Specific skills: sequencing, description, following directions, and critical thinking

• Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences: kinesthetic, visual/spatial, verbal, interpersonal, intrapersonal

• “Begin with the end in mind.” Students are given a model to re-create, which allows them to have the goal before they begin.


Lego Challenge

• Examine your model and record details you want to remember.

• Disassemble the model, making note of all directions needed.

• Write the directions to assemble the model.

• Exchange models and provide feedback.

• Revise your directions based on feedback.


Strategies for the Classroom

• Writing improves with constant practice. The more writing you incorporate into your lessons, the better the writing will be.

• Constructive feedback from you will add to your students’ success as writers.

• A balance between consistency and new activities will deliver the best results.


The Last Word

• Answer the following questions on an index card:– Side A: What is one strategy or one idea you learned

today?– Side B: How will you use the strategy or idea?

• Share your strategy/idea with another person. Ask your partner: “How would you use this strategy in your classroom?”

• When your partner has shared, you may share how you will use your strategy/idea.

• Please give me your card before you leave.


Contact Information

• Alexandra Hoskins, RCA Program Specialist– [email protected]– 336.727.2358 ext. 34216


References• Bryce, Nadine. “Literacies for All.” International Journal of Learning 13:5 (2006):

99-107. EBSCOhost database. 29 October 2007.• Hand, Brian, Carolyn W. Wallace, and Carolyn W. Eun-Mi Yang. “Using a

Science Writing Heuristic to Enhance Learning Outcomes from Laboratory Activities in Seventh-Grade Science: Quantitative and Qualitative Aspects.” International Journal of Science Education 26:2 (Feb 2004): 131-49. EBSCOhost database. 30 October 2007.

• Kolikant, Yifat Ben-David, et al. “A Cognitive-Apprenticeship-Inspired Instructional Approach for Teaching Scientific Writing and Reading.” Journal of College Science Teaching 36:3 (Nov/Dec 2006): 20-6. EBSCOhost database. 29 October 2007.

• Reynolds, Julie, and Steven Vogel. “Precisely! A Writing Exercise for Science and Engineering Classes.” Journal of College Science Teaching 36:5 (Mar/Apr 2007): 30-3. EBSCOhost database. 29 October 2007.

• Stanfield, Stacey. “Summarizing Strategies.” http://www.auburn.edu/academic/ education/reading_genie/breakthroughs/stanfieldrl.html. 30 October 2007.

Documents

Writing Scientific Responses Reading in the Content Areas Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools