Integrating STEM and Literacy

Integrating STEM and Literacy

Doug Paulson, STEM SpecialistCharon Tierney, ELA SpecialistEden Prairie, March 13th, 2012

“Leading for educational excellence and equity. Every day for every one.”

Grade Literary Informational

4 50% 50%8 45% 55%12 30% 70%

GradeTo

Persuade

ToExplain

To Convey Experience

4 30% 35% 35%8 35% 35% 30%12 40% 40% 20%

Distribution of Communicative Purposes by Grade in the 2011 NAEP Writing Framework

Distribution of Literary and Informational Passages by Grade in the 2009 NAEP Reading Framework

Broadening Views of Reading Comprehension in a Digital Age

• The definition of literacy itself has “expanded from traditional notions of reading and writing to include the ability to learn, comprehend, and interact with technology in a meaningful way” (Selfe, 2001).

• A complete picture of reading comprehension in the 21st century includes the skills, strategies, dispositions, and practices required to comprehend and use a wide range of print, non-print, and digital texts for multiple purposes and with multiple audiences (IRA, 2009; NCTE, 2008).

• New literacies regularly change as their defining technologies change (Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear & Leu, 2008).

education.state.mn.us

Notebook set-up

• Cover (decorated)• Table of contents (1 – 2 pages)• Left sides – “outputs” (reflections)• Right sides – “inputs” class activities, notes,

etc.• Vocabulary (last pages)

Interactive Science Notebooks

Left Side - Output

The left-hand page shows your understanding of the information on the right-hand side

Examples• Brainstorming• Concept maps• Flow charts• Summary notes• Self-reflections• Assignments

Right Side - Input

The right-hand page is for information you are given in class.

Examples• Lecture notes• Book notes, • video notes• Lab activities• Class conclusions• Handouts (taped in)

What literacy skills do your students need to be successful in your content area?

Reading Writing

Left Side

Activity – Oh well

1. Place a toilet paper tube (your well) in the center of a large cup

2. Hold the tube and put gravel around it, about 1’ – 2’ deep.

3. Place a few drops of food coloring on the gravel. This represents pollutants present in the soil.

4. Pour sand on top of the gravel about 1’ – 2’ deep. 5. Take a cup of water (rainwater) and slowly pour the

water onto the sand until it just reaches the top. What happens inside the tube?

6. Brainstorm factors in this system

Reading Skills and Strategies• Skills: automatic reactions that result in

decoding and fluency and occur without awareness

• Strategies: deliberate, goal-oriented attempts to control and modify constructions of meaning


“It is important to promote both skills and strategic reading because students need to know how to

read strategically”

Afflerbach, Pearson and Paris (2008)

Strategies• Part of the learning

process• Intentional connections

to outcomes• Connects known to

unknown• Replicable in authentic

examples • Clear expectations and

purpose

Activities• Taught in isolation• Focused on content only• Accidental connections

to outcomes• No connection to the

known• Little/no transfer to real

life• Vague expectations


Measuring Readability and Text Complexity

• Reader and Task: reader variables and task variables specific to the interaction with text.

• Qualitative: levels of meaning, structure, language conventions, etc.

• Quantitative: readability measures and scores of text complexity.


Readers and Tasks• Students’ ability to read complex text does not

always develop in a linear fashion. Although the progression of Reading Standard 10 defines required grade-by-grade growth in students’ ability to read complex text, the development of this ability in individual students is unlikely to occur at an unbroken pace.

• Students need opportunities to stretch their reading abilities but also to experience the satisfaction and pleasure of easy, fluent reading within them, both of which the Standards allow for.


Focus on Vocabulary


Why Key to STEM thinkingSupports learning across disciplines

How In contextRich and varied experiences

When Everyday

What Academic, multiple meaning words, root words, and new concepts


A Grave Mistake• Community Map

– Data Set 1 - amount of contamination levels

• Top right hand corner of the map is the highest elevation and the low spot is the lower left hand corner.

– What direction will the ground water move?

• Contamination data was collected via test at existing wells

– Start at Southern border of the map– Plot contamination levels from

bottom to top– As soon as you know the source of

the arsenic, STOP

• Discuss and write a summary response– Who is to blame?– What should your town do with this information?– What options should the offender be given?

• The factory is a major employer of people in your community. Will that affect your discussions with the factory owners? How?

Summary

education.state.mn.us 15

Cloze ReadingMayor,

We have reviewed your _____. Our engineers and technicians have documented the ________ of arsenic that has come into and left the _______. It is clear that it is all _________ for.

_______ and the ______ of the community is important to us. We will work with the city to ________ the arsenic _________.


Mayor,

We have reviewed your report. Our engineers and technicians have documented the amount of arsenic that has come into and left the factory. It is clear that it is all accounted for.

Safety and the health of the community is important to us. We will work with the city to identify the arsenic contamination.

What should be done?


• Additional funds have been budget• Commissioned a water quality testing agency to

drill test wells• Each group = a Water quality testing agency

• Determine a plan for drilling test wells• Record your plan (Where do you plan to drill?

What order do you plan to drill?)• Send one representative to receive a new

coordinate


Design Decisions

• What is the cause of the contamination?• What further tests would be recommended?

• What short term solutions might be recommended to provide drinking water?

• What long term solution would you recommend to clean the contamination?

Elaborate – Presentation to City Council


Extending Learning


• Inference

• Build connections

• Predict

What is engineering’s role in the future?

• http://www.engineeringchallenges.org

While watching this video look for examples of content you currently teach and how it may be used to understand and solve these problems

http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/

Dragonfly TV Clip

• http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/watercleanup.html

http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/watercleanup.html




• [email protected], STEM Specialist

• [email protected], Language Arts Specialist

• [email protected], Reading Specialist

mailto:[email protected]



Documents

Integrating STEM and Literacy