Reading in Science Class

1. Reading in Science Class Before, During and After

2. Before Reading • Think-Aloud • Read text section with class • Think aloud at every possible point • Demonstrate how to use reading helpers (pictures, captions, boldface words) • Reading for Purpose • What is the reason for reading? New concept? Review? Directions for experiment? • Preview • Browse the material • Look at section overviews or questions • Study illustrations, graphs and pictures

3. Connect • Use visuals or hands-on objects to make connections to prior knowledge or to a new concept whenever possible. • Predict • What do you think this section is about? • Look at the picture. What do you think this page is about? • Have students share predictions or write them down. • Could use K-W-L or K-W-L-S Charts to record information.

4. K-W-L

5. K-W-L-S

6. During Reading • Sticky Notes (if you can’t highlight) • student-posed questions • predictions • definitions • When sticky notes are too expensive—use scrapes of paper cut • into shapes. Example: Use a triangle shape to write 3 facts • Graphic Organizers • Use to monitor and record information as they read • Can use these to evaluate for a grade • Visual or graphic elements are especially helpful to LD students

7. ____________ A raw material _________ A product ____________ Source of energy __________ is made and stored here, then used by _________ and _________ From the roots Makes the plant green; purpose _____________________ Name of this process Equation for this process ?______________________? ____________+______________ ___________+__________

8. What is it? What is it like? A Comparison What are some examples?

9. What is it? How would you describe it? Chondrichthyes What is it similar to? Long, gray body 6 senses A fish Big, sharp teeth Many rows of teeth Sharks Searching for food, always Gills to breathe through Hammerhead Sand Leopard What are some examples?

10. After Reading • Summarize • --Use sticky notes, graphic organizers, etc. to help students summarize what they have read. • --Use quick and easy summaries every lesson—Example: “Write a sentence (or 2) about the most important thing you read.” • --Pose higher order questions—Example: Explain how this lesson is related to a previous one. • --Don’t ask “What did you learn today?” • Charts • Use charts to help express cause and effect relationships or sequence of events

11. Process-Sequence-Chain Note: Additional boxes can be added depending on the length of the process.

12. Compare and Contrast (Similarities and Differences) Before students can compare and contrast, they must understand the main points of each concept. Begin with listing similarities and differences. Attributes can be given to help with differences.

13. Students can then use these charts to compare and contrast. Similarities and Differences Similarities Differences Attribute

14. Similarities and Differences Owl Hawk Similarities Sharp, curved talons Sharp, curved beak Eyes on front of head Birds of prey, carnivores Binocular vision Differences Attribute At night During day Time to hunt Nocturnal Adjective Diurnal Spikes Wing edge Smooth Silent Wing sounds Makes noise Extra keen Hearing Okay

15. Conclusion • Did this require lots of extra handouts? NO • Did this require hours of gathering supplies and setting up materials? NO • Do you need to be familiar with the text and anticipate student responses? YES, always

16. A Word of Caution • Don’t give students a graphic organizer to fill in unless you have tried it out on the reading selection yourself. The organizer must be appropriate to the material. • Learning to use the text is a process, not a one day lesson.