1

How Science and LiteracyCan Work Together to Increase Student Learning

International Reading Association Conference

Billings, MontanaOctober 19, 2007

2

What do you hope to take away from this session?

3

Presentation Purpose

To demonstrate the value of research based, collaborative cross-content curriculum design, implementation, and professional development.

4

5

6

7

8

Jefferson County Public SchoolsGolden, Colorado

Enrollment: 84,790 Schools:

elementary schools 94 middle schools 20 high schools 17 option schools 9 charter schools 12

9

Background: Action ResearchJeffco Overlap Project

Began project with two schools Year Two: Worked with grade level teams

at additional schools Year Three: Schoolwide implementation Year Four: Schoolwide Implementation Year Five: Schoolwide Implementation

with Administrator training

10

Project Objectives

To narrow achievement gaps.

To deepen our understanding of the benefits of overlapping science/literacy curricula, utilizing technology tools and resources where appropriate.

To learn how overlap is best implemented.

11

Components of the Model Thinking skills/Process skills Purposeful, intentional planning for

overlap instruction aligned to standards Reading, writing, speaking, listening Technology Science

Focus on big ideas Collaborative learning through

professional learning communities Integrity of the discipline

12

What is overlap?

Deepening learning

Connecting thinking and learning

Maintaining integrity

13

Why Overlap?

Prompted by: Instructional day challenges (time efficiency) Improve Student Achievement

Minority students English Language Learners (ELL) Boys

National data around increased student achievement with overlap

14

National Data

El Centro School District - Michael Klentschy, Superintendent

Fresno, California – Sandra Carsten and Jerry Valadez

Broward County, Florida - Nancy Romance and Michael Vitale

15

Student Achievement – Imperial County, CAStanford Achievement Test: Science ScoresSorted by years in the program

Years Grade 4 Grade 6CUM 0 21 27

n=137 n=174

1 32 32 n=150 n=121

2 38 42n=141 n=132

3 47 50n=111 n=107

4 53 64n=91 n=104

Klentschy 2006

16

Student Achievement – Imperial County, CAStanford Achievement Test: Reading ScoresGrade 4 sorted by years in the programYears LEP EOCUM = 33 0 21 30

1 22 39

2 39 51

3 34 57

4 49 64

Klentschy 2006

17

Student Achievement – Imperial County, CAStanford Achievement Test: Reading ScoresGrade 6 sorted by years in the programYears LEP EOCUM = 33 0 23 38

1 28 42

2 34 46

3 35 56

4 51 69

Klentschy 2006

18

Science/Literacy Connections, Imperial County, CADistrict Writing ProficiencyGrade 6, Spring 1999 Cumulative Pass 64% n=636

% Pass n 0 23% 174

1 68% 119

2 71% 132

3 90% 107

4 89% 104

Klentschy 2006

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Imperial County

California

UC Eligibility Rate for Underrepresented Students

20

21

22

Science Notebook Components Focus question/problem/purpose Prediction Planning General Plan Operational Plan Data Collection (becomes source for

evidence) Claims (logical conclusions) and evidence Conclusion Reflection Feedback

23

24

Significant Implementation Correlations – Science Notebooks

Reading Writing Math

Notebooks have student reflections to teacher-generated questions

X X X

Notebooks have students’ own reflections

X

Notebooks have notes and diagrams from kit-based or other science activity

X X X

Notebook has measurements X X X

Notebooks have a table of contents

X X X

25

26

Thinking skills across two disciplines

Application to a 3rd Grade Classroom

Studying Life Cycles

What does the overlapping of science, literacy, and technology look like in the classroom?

Draw caterpillar

27

28

Engage Phase of Lesson

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

by Eric Carle

29

Explore/Explain Phase of Lesson Observe your caterpillars, making notes

to hold your thinking. What do you notice? What are you wondering? What surprises you? What confirms something you

already know?

30

Examine your descriptive words

Muscle words Wimpy words

31

32

Linking to technology

33

Turn and Talk

Brainstorm a list of thinking skills you utilized in order to complete the tasks.

34

Comprehension Strategies Inferring Questioning Visualizing Connecting Schema Determining Importance Summarizing Synthesizing Clarifying Predicting

35

Other thinking skills

36

Literacy Block

37

Teacher Reflection

Time will always be crunched and by teaching kids how to interweave their learning, we are teaching them how to save time and deepen their learning at the same time.

-Peggy and Megan, 2006

38

39

Teacher Reflection

Children need to learn how to ask questions by themselves, and then they need to know how to answer the questions.”

-Peggy and Megan, 2006

40

Overlap needs to be…

Purposeful…

and

… Intentional

41

Explore/Explain Phase of Lesson

Use the books on your tables as “mentor texts” as well as sources of information. What questions are answered by the texts? What new questions arise? What is the author’s style of writing, and how do

word choices, organization, text layout contribute to that style?

What is the author’s purpose? Who is the author’s intended audience?

42

Explore/Explain Phase of Lesson

Write about your observation of the caterpillar.

You may wish to emulate the style of a text you have read during today’s lesson.

Share your writing with a partner.

43

Debriefing the Process

How did these experiences scaffold and/or elevate your ability and enthusiasm to write?

How did you choose to organize information?

How do you view the relationship between language and writing, and thinking skills?

44

“We don’t write to display understanding, but to acquire understanding.

Writing teaches.

That simple fact explains why students need as much writing in the content areas as possible.

The process of composing their thoughts moves students away from the muddle of isolated facts toward the order of integrated knowledge.

That’s usually called understanding.”Carl Luty, NEA Today, 11/83

45

Deepening Student Learning

What impact did the texts have on either your writing or your learning about caterpillars and life cycles?

What thinking skills did you use?

46

Comprehension Strategies Inferring Questioning Visualizing Connecting Schema Determining Importance Summarizing Synthesizing Clarifying

47

48

Teacher Reflection

It takes more time to teach how to think than just the facts.

-Peggy and Megan, 2006

49

Elaborate Phase of Lesson

Electronic life cycle (Pixie) Kidspiration Model Model of a life cycle

50

chrysalis

caterpillar

Eggs

butterfly

Butterfly Life Cycle

51

Evaluation Phase of Lesson

Look at the model to explain and describe a life cycle. Talk Write

52

Structuring Science Talk

Scientists’ Meetings

“Making Meaning Conferences”(teacher facilitates to probe understanding)

53

One engages in science-related reading and

writing as one does science. To put it

differently, it is in the doing of science not just

in reading about it, that students learn to

master the concepts that will enable them to

better understand both the reading and writing

of expository and procedural text . To teach

science reading and writing and talk about it

without hands-on work makes as much sense as

learning to play the piano on a paper keyboard. Wendy Saul

Science workshop 2002

54

Reflecting on the learning

Red – One thing you may stop doing.

Yellow- One thing you’re curious about.

Green – One thing you will try when you return to school.

55

Contact us

Sharon Jeffrey slinnjef@jeffco.k12.co.us

Nita Kulesa okulesa@jeffco.k12.co.us

Terrie Richardson trichard@jeffco.k12.co.us

Donnie Seibel dseibel@jeffco.k12.co.us

Sources Instrumental to Our Work

Michael Klentschy, Valle Imperial Project in Science – California

STEP uP in Colorado Springs, Colorado (Science Teacher Enhancement Project-unifying the Pikes Peak Region)

56