Making the connection between Science and Literacy

Science and Literacy

Develop skills needed to effectively embedded literacy strategies into middle school science

Effectively integrate literacy instruction into content related to STEM

Develop a common language when talking with colleagues, regardless of curricular area

Develop skills to discuss literacy skills and strategies with parents

Overarching Goals

Create a Scientific Literate Environment

Literacy instruction provides the bridge between science concepts and deeper levels of cognitive understanding.

Exploring the language of Science is similar to learning a foreign language.

A Clear Focus

To connect science and literacy helps to better prepare students to perform at higher levels of understanding using appropriate vocabulary and comprehension skills to meet the requirements of:

Secondary curricula High School graduation College Citizenship Daily life skills Prepared to enter field of STEM (Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Mathematics)

Long-Term Benefit

Explore the urgent need for literacy integration into middle school science

Self-Assess literacy instructional practices

Investigate academic literacy demands in science (and across the discipline areas)

Our Journey

“I’m a science teacher, I don’t teach reading”.

Why literacy instruction in science?

“The elementary teachers were responsible for teaching the students to read.”

“I don’t teach reading. I teach science” ~ Bridgette L. Davis, 1999

Addressing the Elephant in the Room

A sense of urgency

Addressing Literacy in Science and Across All Content Areas

Economic Impact National level State Level Individual Level

Academic Success

Economic Impact “If 33 percent of dropouts graduated from

high school the federal government would save $10.8 billion each year in food stamps, housing assistance, and temporary assistance for needy families.” (Ben Brudevold-Newman, NPR.org, 2006)

A Sense of Urgency

National Economy Impact If the high school students who dropped out

of the Class of 2009 had graduated, the nation’s economy would have benefited from nearly $335 billion in additional income over the course of their lifetimes.” (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009)

A Sense of Urgency

Mississippi Economic Impact “Overall, high school dropouts cost the

state of Mississippi more than $458 million annually in lost revenue and added public assistance and incarceration costs. (www.mde.k12.ms.us, 2008)

Without a doubt the updated impact is greater.

A Sense of Urgency

Individual/Family Economic Impact “The average annual income for a high school

dropout in 2005 was $17,299, compared to $26,933 for a high school graduate, a difference of $9634.” (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009)

More Cause For Concern

Impact of High School Dropouts “More than 7,000 students become dropouts

every school day. Annually, that adds up to almost 1.3 million students who will not graduate from high school … nearly 13 million students will drop out over the next decade. The result will be a loss to the nation of $3 trillion.” (Alliance for Excellent Education,2009)

More Cause For Concern

There is a Direction Correlation between

literacy skills and academic success

Biancarosa & Snow, (2004) and Kamil, (2003) Current research profiles of reading scores for

middle and high school students and dropout rates suggest that reading test scores of secondary students have not improved in the past 30 years

Reading scores and Dropout rates

The Condition of Education 2009(included data from 1992 to 2007) Reading scores have continued to increase

slightly for students in grade 4 and grade 8 Only an increase of 3 to 4 points in almost 40 years

Reading scores for students in grade 12 have not changed significantly in almost 40 years.

Lack of literacy skills to keep up with more complex high school curriculum is cited as the most common reason for high school dropout rates.

Reading Scores and Literacy Skills

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, put reading first, primary focus is on learning to read in early elementary grades

Jeanne Chall, (1983) – 4th Grade Slump, noted differences in narrative and expository text structures

Wakefield, (2006) - Textbooks continue to dominate classroom activities

Goodlad, (1976); Wakefield, (2006) - textbook usage increases as students progress to higher grade levels

Policy and Research to consider

Urgency and Need for content area literacy instruction is not new

Arthur I. Gates, (1917): Landmark study on reading and memory retention

William S. Gray, (1927) “Every Teacher is a Reading Teacher” Horn, (1921) offered strategies to enhance learning in

content areas McKee (1934,1948); Yoakam, (1922) advocated individual

differences and authored first content area reading textbooks Bond & Bond, (1941) authored Developmental Reading in

High School Betts (1959, 1967) compared reading and thinking

100 Years of Research in the Field of Content Area Reading

1960s- return to behaviorist school of thought of reading i.e. Rapid Reading Instruction

Strang, (1962) established professional development awareness for reading instruction at the secondary level

Perfitti, (1975); Rumelhart, (1976) expanded Bartlett’s work on Schema Theory

1980s -2000s: Content Area Reading Research focused on effectiveness of specific strategies and secondary (inservice) teachers’ attitudes toward teaching reading in content areas.

100 Years of Research in the Field of Content Area Reading (Cont.)

Science, Technology, Engineering,

and Mathematics

Strong Literacy Skills are Required to Enter Fields of STEM

Our world is “flat” in terms of skills and technology, we are a global society and economy.

Our future workforce must be: good problem-solvers, innovators, and inventors and self-reliant and able to think logically

Teachers can help by: Helping to prepare students to graduate from high school with

the skills and competencies necessary for jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

Impact for Fields of STEM

What are the problems?Literacy in Content Areas

Do elementary teachers not teach reading? Longer and more complex texts Decoding difficulties Lack of fluency

What are the problems

Text structure Adolescents are less motivated Lack of schema and/or vocabulary Not required to read because teachers “talk

the text”

What are the problems

Addressing the Elephant in the Room

The Word and Concept of Power

Across the Disciplines

P-O-W-E-R One five letter word commonly used in

academic language and in daily life. In many disciplines, the word and the

concept are linked. Across the disciplines various definitions and

meanings for the word power can cause students much confusion.

POWER

Multiple definitions and uses of the word POWER

Oral, written, and visual language Semantics and syntax Punctuation Word choice and placement of accents within

text and oral expression signifies power Meanings can be changed by emphasis

English

Commonly used in Math The power of a number shows notes how

many times to use the number in multiplication.

It is written as a small number to the right and above the base number.

Example: 102 = 10 × 10 = 100 Another name for power is index or exponent. In Statistics. Power takes on a different

meaning. Statistical power is the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis where it is false.

Math

The word Power can really cause students problems in science which has great implications for students ability to gain meaning from texts found in science classes.

In Physics. The rate at which work is done, expressed as the amount of work per unit time and commonly measured in units such as the watt and horsepower.

In Chemistry. Valence or “the combining power of an element”. This is the attraction between elements to form bonds.

In Biology. Optical power of microscope or telescope lens.

In Biology. Dominance between organisms or species.

In Earth Science. Geothermal power, the power generated by using the heat energy of the earth.

Science

Social Studies

In Social Studies, Power is commonly viewed as a measure of an entity's ability to control the environment around itself, including the behavior of other entities.

Power can be viewed as evil or unfair, but it is a prevalent condition within human social societies.

Students understand of power in social studies can help studies understand the dynamics of their daily lives.

Types of Power Delegated authority Social class Charisma Ascribed power Expertise Persuasion Knowledge Money Celebrity Force as in violence or coercion Moral persuasion Social influence

In Social Studies the word Power takes on a somewhat abstract meaning in many cases.

Literacy instruction can help us to teach the language of science.

Literacy integration can Motivate students

Restless and Bored could be Engaged and Motivated

Assessing Prior Knowledge Graphic organizers Building background knowledge Asking higher level thinking questions Integrate real-world scenarios More authentic inquiry-based assessments

Discussion

Self-Assessment

Are you prepared to fully embed literacy instruction?

What type of activities or tasks are required of experts in the field of science?

What type of texts do students read in science? What reading and writing skills will students

need to use those texts proficiently? What discussion and presentation skills will

students need to verbalize understanding?

Academic Literacy Demands In Science

What listening and viewing skills will students need to connect with the standards and objectives in science?

What higher-order thinking skills will students need to use to move beyond basic understanding of content text?

Academic Literacy Demands In Science

Questions?