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=Reading in Science=

What does it mean to be literate in a Science classroom?
1. Students will be able to make connections and decisions between topics of the science curriculum and real world ideas. 2. Students will be able to understand new terms and use these terms in new situations. 3. Students will be able to use previous knowledge and apply that knowledge to a new topic or situation to understand. 4. Students will be able to understand cause and effect and sequential relationships.

How do I value Literacy?
Science is moving to a more hands-on, kinesthetic type of learning as compared to the previous pick up a textbook and read and answer questions about concepts. I think this is great because students will better understand if they are actually "doing the science." However, reading is still an essential part of science. When you ask a student to take out their textbooks, the typical response is sighs and groans. For many students, reading science is like reading a foreign language. Students not only need to be able to "do science" but they need to be actively participating in science when they read and become involved in collaboration, exploration and problem solving. Hands-on science activities are not the only way to get students involved. Students can become involved by reading as well, they just might need a few helpful strategies to make this happen. Reading science texts requires the same critical thinking, analysis and active engagement as performing hands-on activities. The same skills that make good scientists also make good readers. Therefore, it is very important that my students are literate and can read and understand science concepts.

What students will read while in my science classroom:
Students will be required to read parts of their textbook, news paper articles, magazine articles, science poetry, novels and short stories or books. All of these are important to strengthen science content knowledge as well as reading abilities. I will have a science library in my classroom that includes short stories and informational texts on science content. Students will be able to read these books during free time and SSR (silent sustained reading). I will also include a reading warm-up activity at the beginning of class everyday to encourage reading in the classroom. Click on the link below to see my reading warm-up activities.

=Reading Warm-up Activities=

Typical Literacy Problems in the Science Classroom:
Students in the science classroom typically have problems with vocabulary terms and being able to apply these terms to their own knowledge. In my classroom I would like to use strategies that help with vocabulary terms. I would also like to use strategies that students can read and respond in a way that I can see what they understand without having to ask the usual multiple choice questions. Click on the link below to see my reading strategies I will use in the classroom.

=Reading Strategies=

What makes a Good Reader and what can you do to help your student become a good reader?
Click below to see the 7 habits of a good reader:

=Parents=

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What does the research say about helping students read?
Click below to see what the research says about reading.

=Research=

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