Challenge Accepted: Science in the Literacy Block

There is not enough time in the day to teach every subject with the rigor and fidelity that is expected. So what are classroom teachers to do?? That's right- integrate. Integrating Science and Social Studies into the literacy block can be a challenge. Luckily, The Reading Teacher once again came to the rescue with an article titled Instructional Challenges in Developing Young Children's Science Concepts: Using Informational Text Read Alouds (Hoffman, Collins, Schickedanz, 2015).  In the article, the authors discussed why informational text is more appropriate to use during the read aloud, and four guiding principles/practical challenges for teaching science concepts in read alouds.

First off, why not use narrative texts? I found their explanation interesting. The point of narrative texts are to relate to human experience. The focus is on character thoughts and emotions, events and plot, which just does not mesh with teaching scientific concepts.  If the focus is on the scientific concept, comprehension of the story breaks down.  Without understanding the story, students cannot fully grasp the scientific concept. In addition, narratives rarely provide enough information about the science concept to fully teach it to the students. Informational texts, on the other hand, are suited well for science concepts since their main purpose is to relay information. For the record, I'm not saying "never use narratives to teach science or social studies concepts..." I'm just relaying the authors' ideas. ;)

When choosing informational texts, don't do it willy nilly. The authors suggest the following four guiding principles.

Select high quality informational texts.

Supporting Informational Text Literacies- teachers should intentionally and skillfully guide students' understanding through discussion...and stay focused on the science concept. This is done through identifying:

• Vocabulary integral to understanding key concepts
• Areas of the text difficult to comprehend due to content or language segments
• Text structures and how they will affect comprehension
• Text features and how they will affect comprehension
• Discussion, discussion, discussion to guide students' understanding

Connections to the Content Area Curriculum- informational text should complement hands-on science investigations and not be a replacement for these experiences. Also, no need to read an entire text to explain a concept- feel free to focus on just the parts of the text that apply to the what you are teaching.

Teacher's Conceptual Knowledge. Obviously, the more the teacher knows about the concept, the better she will be able to teach it. The authors suggest building your background knowledge by reading books on the subject, watching documentaries, visiting science exhibits, talking to local experts, and creating hands-on experiments for yourself...you know, in all your spare time.

My take aways? While some of these seem like common sense (ahem, teacher's conceptual knowledge and choosing high quality text), I appreciated the author's breakdown for picking high quality text. Also, I like the point that the books should complement the hands-on projects being completed in science class. You cannot rely on text alone to teach the concepts if you want students to really have a deep understanding.

How have you been integrating science and social studies into your literacy block? Any tips? Struggles?