CONTENT LITERACY
INSTRUCTIONAL
SHIFTS FOR
SCIENCE
Facilitator
Auddie Mastroleo ҉ OCM BOCES Network Team
COMMON CORE SHIFTS
ELA & CONTENT LITERACY
Balancing Informational & Literary Texts (Grades PK-5)
Knowledge in the Disciplines (Grades 6-12)
Staircase of Complexity
Text-based Answers
Writing from Sources
Academic Vocabulary
BALANCING
INFORMATIONAL &
LITERARY TEXTS
Range of Text Types
Literature = Stories,
Dramas, Poetry
SHIFT 1
Grades
PK-5
Informational =
Literary Nonfiction,
Historical,
Scientific, &
Technical Texts
12th grade
8th grade
4th
grade
50% fiction
50%
nonfiction
40%
fiction
60%
nonfiction
20%
fiction
80%
nonfiction
Increase in
teaching
and learning
with nonfiction text
KNOWLEDGE IN THE
DISCIPLINES
Reading & Writing
Literacy
Standards
Depending on text
rather than
referring to it
• Complement,
not replace
content
standards
•Read a president’s
speech & write a
response
•Read scientific
papers & write an
analysis
SHIFT 2
Grades
6-12
Think sophisticated
non-fiction
•Analyze and
evaluate texts
within disciplines
•Gain knowledge
from texts that
convey complex
information through
diagrams, charts,
evidence, &
illustrations
Expectation of
rigorous domain
specific literacy
instruction
outside of ELA
PreCCLS Core
Text
SHIFT 1
Balancing
Informational
and Literary
Texts
SHIFT 2
Building
Knowledge in
the
Disciplines
The Study of the Cell
PostCCLS Core
Texts
SHIFT 1
Balancing
Informational
and Literary
Texts
SHIFT 2
Building
Knowledge in
the
Disciplines
Paired Texts: The Cell and Beyond
SCIENCE PRE AND POST SHIFTS NOTES
TURN AND TALK
With a partner…
Share your initial
thinking and
reactions
STAIRCASE OF
COMPLEXITY
Increase
in text
complexity
at each
grade
level
Qualitative
Levels of meaning
Structure
Clarity of language
Knowledge demands
Quantitative
Word length
Sentence length
Text cohesion
Reader &
Task
SHIFT 3
Motivation
Knowledge
Experience
Expectation of
proficiency and
independence in
reading grade
level text
Appendix B:
Text Exemplars
and Sample
Performance
Tasks
PRE-CCLS
The cell membrane is a thin , flexible
barrier around the cell. Many cells also
have a strong layer around the cell
membrane known as the cell wall...
Some cells also have a nucleus, a large
structure that contains the cell’s genetic
material and controls the cell’s
activities. The material inside the cell’s
membrane – but not including the
nucleus – is called the cytoplasm. The
cytoplasm contains many important
structures.
SHIFT 3
Staircase of
Complexity
POST-CCLS
Under the microscope, a cell looks a lot like a
fried egg: It has a white (the cytoplasm) that’s
full of water and proteins to keep it fed, and a
yolk (the nucleus) that holds all the genetic
information that makes you you. The
cytoplasm buzzes like a New York City street.
It’s crammed full of molecules and vessels
endlessly shuttling enzymes and sugars from
one part of the cell to another, pumping water,
nutrients, and oxygen in and out of the cell. All
the while, little cytoplasmic factories work
24/7, cranking out sugars, fats, proteins, and
energy to keep the whole thing running and
feed the nucleus – the brains of the operation.
SHIFT 3
Staircase
of
Complexity
TEXT-BASED ANSWERS
Questions tied
directly to the
text, but extend
beyond the
literal
Students must
cite text to
support
answers
Personal
opinions,
experiences,
and
connections to
the text are
minimized in
favor of what
the text
actually says or
doesn’t say
SHIFT 4
Questions are
purposefully
planned & direct
students to
closely examine
the text
PRE-CCLS
The cell membrane is a thin , flexible
barrier around the cell. Many cells also
have a strong layer around the cell
membrane known as the cell wall...
Some cells also have a nucleus, a large
structure that contains the cell’s genetic
material and controls the cell’s
activities. The material inside the cell’s
membrane – but not including the
nucleus – is called the cytoplasm. The
cytoplasm contains many important
structures.
SHIFT 4
Textbased
Answers
Question:
Draw a model
of a cell.
Label the
parts in the
cell and
describe the
function of
each.
POST-CCLS
Under the microscope, a cell looks a lot like a
fried egg: It has a white (the cytoplasm) that’s
full of water and proteins to keep it fed, and a
yolk (the nucleus) that holds all the genetic
information that makes you you. The
cytoplasm buzzes like a New York City street.
It’s crammed full of molecules and vessels
endlessly shuttling enzymes and sugars from
one part of the cell to another, pumping water,
nutrients, and oxygen in and out of the cell. All
the while, little cytoplasmic factories work
24/7, cranking out sugars, fats, proteins, and
energy to keep the whole thing running and
feed the nucleus – the brains of the operation.
SHIFT 4
Text-based
Answer s
Question:
Analyze the
author’s
similes to
describe the
cell. How
does her
language
choice convey
the function
and structure
of a cell?
Use specific
examples
from the texts
to suppor t
your answer.
SCIENCE PRE AND POST SHIFTS NOTES
WRITING FROM
SOURCES
Three
Text
Types
Argument
Informational/
Explanatory
Writing
Narrative
Writing
SHIFT 5
Supporting a claim
with sound
reasoning and
relevant evidence
Increase subject knowledge
Explain a process
Enhance comprehension
Conveys experience
i.e. fictional stories,
memoirs, anecdotes,
autobiographies
Argumentative
writing is
especially
prominent in
the CCLS
Appendix C:
Samples of
Student Writing
Pre-CCLS
SHIFT 5
Write about a time you were
treated unfairly or dishonestly.
Describe the situation and
how you reacted.
Writing
from
Sources
SHIFT 5
Post-CCLS
Select a bio ethics article to read. Write
a critical essay in which you discuss the
article you have chosen and The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks from
the perspective provided in the quote.
Provide a valid
interpretation of
the quote.
Agree or
disagree with
the quote as
you’ve
interpreted it.
Support your
opinion using
specific
references from
the two works
listed above.
Writing
from
Sources
“We must not see
any person as an
abstraction. Instead,
we must see in
every person a
universe with its
own secrets, with its
own treasures, with
its own sources of
anguish, and with
some measure of
triumph.”
~Elie Wiesel
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Tier One
Words
• Words of everyday speech
Tier Two
Words
• Not specific to any one
academic area
• Generally not well-defined
by context or explicitly
defined within a text
• Wide applicability to many
types of reading
Tier
Three
Words
• Domain specific
• Low-frequency
• Often explicitly defined
• Heavily scaffolded
SHIFT 6
Ramp up
instruction of
Tier Two
words
TURN AND TALK
With a partner…
Share your initial
thinking and
reactions
Pre-CCLS
Cell
membrane
cell wall
nucleus
cytoplasm
SHIFT 6
Academic
Vocabulary
Post-CCLS
Tier 3
Words
Tier 2
Words
Cell
membrane
buzzes
Cell wall
crammed
nucleus
shuttling
cytoplasm
cranking
SHIFT 6
Academic
Vocabulary
SCIENCE PRE AND POST SHIFTS NOTES
TURN AND TALK
With a partner…
Share your initial
thinking and
reactions
QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? NOTICES?