Writing In Science
How to Scaffold Instruction to Support Learning
New Teacher
Year 2, Mtg 2
October 25, 2010
Becky Warf Smith
Goals for the Day
• Learning Targets
– I can explain the rationale
for using science
notebooks as an
instructional tool
– I can scaffold instruction to
support student learning for
data analysis and writing
explanations
– I can utilize Writing in
Science to purposefully
plan instruction that
improves student learning
Initial (Informal) Assessment
Minding Your P’s and Q’s
Throughout this session, we
will be referring to Writing
in Science. This book
covers the session topics
in more depth, and can
thus serve as a valuable
resource for you in the
future.
Preview Writing in Science
by asking yourself (and
answering) the 4
questions on your
handout as you skim
through the text.
Science Notebooks
• Is a science notebook different from a
science journal or log?
• How have you used science notebooks in
the past?
Where is the trouble?
Does it lie
with content
or
with
communication?
How would these comments help
improve your communication in
writing?
Add more detail
What is the data trying to say?
Give more support
Your conclusion needs to be stronger
You need to be more clear
What is the evidence?
How does this relate?
Comment of your choice
Five Big Assumptions
Seattle’s Science Notebook Program
• Students are motivated to learn new
concepts and skills when they are
engaged in meaningful learning
experiences, such as those in inquirybased science units.
• The ultimate goal is for students to
develop an understanding of science
concepts, and to do so, they must learn
how to think scientifically
…Assumptions (cont)
• Students also need to learn specific
scientific skills (e.g., making
observations and interpreting data) and
forms of expository writing (e.g., data
analysis and conclusions) to help them
construct their understanding of
concepts and develop their ability to
think analytically. Science notebooks
serve as a tool in this learning.
…Assumptions (cont)
• Students need scaffolding and modeling to help
them learn science concepts, scientific thinking
and skills, and expository writing.
• Elementary students have limited time and
energy for making entries in their science
notebooks, so their entries should focus on
expository writing that will deepen their
conceptual understanding and/or develop their
scientific skills and thinking.
Science Notebooks
• The science notebook is not a
product that looks good, but it is a
product to support learning and to
develop expository writing skills.
• The science notebook is not about
what students did, but it is about
helping them to make meaning of
what they did.
• Avoid having students write about
how they felt, what was their
favorite…,what they did, or a
generic, “What did you learn
today?”
• Notebooks should be for formative
rather than summative purposes
and, therefore, should not be
graded.
Writing in Science:
How to Scaffold Instruction to Support Learning
Science Session
Writing Session
• Engagement
• Shared Review
– Date and Focus Question
• Active Investigation
– Record data, take notes,
make illustrations or
diagrams
• Shared Reflection
• Application
– Questions about shared
reflection of conclusions
based on focus question
• Shared Writing
– Model structure
• Scaffolding
• Independent Writing
– Use scaffolding to
complete notebook entries
Pg. 152
Science Notebook “Rules”
for Science Section
• Date, in numerals, the first page of the
entry.
• Write a focus or investigative question for
each lesson.
• Write something about each science
session.
• Write legibly (not necessarily their “best
handwriting”).
Science Session
Engagement
• Write the date in
numerals on the first
page of your
notebook entry.
• Write the focus
question on the top
line of your notebook
entry page.
– How many drops of
each different liquid
will a penny hold?
Active Investigation
Shared Reflection
• Discuss investigation
– What does your data show?
– How does your data compare with other
groups?
• Introduce word bank
– “Students must learn scientific vocabulary after they have had a
concrete experience.”
– “Ideas develop from experiences, and technical terms develop from
the ideas and operations that are rooted in those experiences. When
terms come first, students just tend to memorize so much technical
jargon that it sloughs off in a short while.”
– Organize the words conceptually, rather than randomly or
alphabetically.
– Write “generic” science vocabulary in a different color than you will
use for the unit words. The “generic” word cards can be reused with
any/every science unit.
Application
• How does the investigation connect to
other observations or experiences that you
have had?
– This is the “SO WHAT” of the exploration
• What are other questions that you have as
a result of the investigation?
– Where would you encounter different liquids?
– What are the properties of a liquid?
– Are the properties of all liquids the same?
Writing Session
Shared Review
• Focus is on processing what was learned
from the investigation.
• Question students about the shared
reflection of conclusions from the science
session.
• Remember, this is usually done the next
day so this review is important!
• “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to
think like a rocket scientist.”
– Gerry Wheeler, NSTA Executive Director
Shared Writing
• Model structure as the students provide
the content.
• Focus of writing will be on:
– Comparing and contrasting
– Cause and effect
– Reasoning
Data analysis
– Drawing conclusions from data
Scaffolding
Data Analysis Writing
• Introductory/topic sentence:
– This graph/table shows…
• Summarize the data:
– Qualitative data
• More/less; longer/shorter
– Quantitative data
• Actual quantities/measurements
• Concluding statement(s):
– Therefore, I think…
• Outliers, inconsistent data
– Some data were inconsistent. I think this happened,
because…
• Connection to the real world
– This information could be important because…
Now Let’s Write
• We do:
– Using the data provided by the teacher, let’s
work through a writing session together.
• Water—60
• Alcohol—58
• Glycerin—40
• You do:
– Use scaffolding to write in science notebooks
using your own data from the activity
Share With a Partner
• Considering your
thoughts at the
beginning of this
session and your
experiences today,
have your thoughts
about science
notebooks changed?
If so, how? If not,
why?
KCAS for Literacy in Science
• With your district team, examine the CCR
Anchor Standards for Writing on page 63
and the writing standards on pages 65 and
66.
• How might the type of writing that you did
during the “science session” begin to
prepare students to meet these
standards?
• Highlight specific standards that were
addressed or partially addressed.
KCAS for Literacy in Science
• In general, what are some specific
strengths and weaknesses that your
students demonstrate in writing?
• Are they similar across grade levels?
• What are some strategies that can be
used to strengthen students’
understanding of concepts and their ability
to communicate in science?
How do we plan for this?
• Why do we need scaffolds in the first
place?
• Who needs the scaffolds? How do you
determine this?
• Are scaffolds to be used continuously?
• How often do we use science notebooks?
– Are there different considerations for
elementary, middle, and high?
• How are notebooks assessed?
Take Home Message
• We want students to think
scientifically and to
communicate their
thinking through writing.
• In order to be successful,
students must be
explicitly taught how to do
this.
• This requires time!
Practice and Modeling
are essential.
Goals for the Day
• Learning Targets
– I can explain the rationale
for using science
notebooks as an
instructional tool
– I can scaffold instruction to
support student learning for
data analysis and writing
explanations
– I can utilize Writing in
Science to purposefully
plan instruction that
improves student learning
Becky W. Smith
warf45@windstream.net
Science Regional Teacher Partner
PIMSER, University of Kentucky