Vroom,
Vroom, Beep,
Beep:
Connecting
Common Core ELA
Standards and STEM
Jennifer L. Altieri, Ph.D.
RETHINKING LITERACY INSTRUCTION
 Vision
of literacy is broader
 Text
is more than traditional printed
pages
 Emphasis
on content literacy is
increased
CCSS Introduction describes the “vision of what it means
to be a literate person in the twenty-first century” (CCSSI,
2010a, p. 3).
We must look at various literacies
as working not in competition
but in cooperation with each
other (Plummer & Kuhlman,
2008, p. 96).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
SCIENCE “TEXTS”
 Use
diverse materials
 Focus
on informative texts
 Incorporate
local texts
CCSS clearly focus on the importance of familiarizing
children with informational texts.
By incorporating informational
texts into science, we can develop
content-knowledgeable students
with strong literacy skills.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
MEETING THE READING
COMPREHENSION DEMANDS
Key Ideas and Details
GIST
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
(Cunningham, 1982)
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
10 IMPORTANT WORDS PLUS
(Yopp and Yopp, 2003)
ORALLY COMMUNICATING
KNOWLEDGE
 Helps
get technical words into students’
speaking vocabulary
 Is
important due to the high degree of
lexical density found in scientific writing
CCSS Speaking and Listening Standards K–5 require that
kids be confident in their ability to share ideas and to listen
to and comprehend information they receive.
LIST-GROUP-LABEL
spaceship
steamboat
surfboard
taxicab
toboggan
subway
tricycle
wheelbarrow
shopping cart
submarine
water skis
wheelchair
golf cart
hot air balloon
blimp
18-wheeler
crop duster
dogsled
ambulance
covered wagon
gondola
helicopter
motorcycle
tram
yacht
SCAVENGER HUNT
skiff
Zamboni
zeppelin
thresher
autogiro
dinghy
brougham
man-of-war
dirigible
glider
Text Types and Purposes
WRITING TO LEARN
Engages students with content-area
vocabulary
 Extends thinking by allowing children to
know what they do and do not understand
 Helps students share information with others
 Requires active involvement
 Is enhanced with quality informational texts

CCSS College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing,
Standard 10—Write for extended time frames (research, reflection and
revision) and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and
audiences.
FOUND POETRY
(Fletcher, 2002)
PI
Never ending, never ending
Now used all the time
Planning routes of airliners,
Analyzing sound waves,
Building cars,
Understanding planets’ movement,
Infinitely it goes on..
The computer banks will work on the problem
until we order it to stop.
It’s irrational
BUT
We celebrate you today.
Pi I got your number 3.14159.
Albert Einstein, beloved icon of math, shares your day.
Never ending, never ending
Pi
from Teacher to Teacher, IRA, March 12, 2012
Motion and Design
Going Place to Place
Rubber band energy
Makes it Go!
Increase friction
S-l-o-w-s down, S-l-o-w-s down
Wasteful friction? Useful friction?
Add a propeller, Add a sail
Collecting Data, Collecting Data
Make it Go! Make it Go!
Going Place to Place
Scientists helped us.
Bicycles, planes, boats
Scientists on the Move
Collecting Data, Collecting Data
Wright Brothers built a lighter engine.
Ford built a car we could afford.
From Hobby horse bikes to 10 speeds
From Model T to modern cars
From heavy-steam engine plane to nonstop
jets
Going Place to Place
Motion and Design
Carousel brainstorming
How does it work?
From Content Counts! Developing Disciplinary Literacy Skills, K–6 (p. 125-129) by Jennifer L. Altieri. ©
2011 International Reading Association.
How can we tie this
in with motion and design?
OTHER IDEAS
 Pioneer
 Early
 The
Pilots
Rocket Scientists
history of bicycling
 Henry
Ford and the Model T
CREATING MEANINGFUL VISUALS
AND DEVELOPING VIEWING SKILLS
Often the curriculum has an irrational loyalty
to reading and writing (Flood & Lapp, 1997).
 Different genres of drawing serve different
purposes (Anning, 1999).
 The ability to visually represent information
requires that children take into
consideration audience, purpose, and
form.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading,
Standard 7—Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse
media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well
as in words.
RAFT
Role
Audience
Format
Topic
VISIT THE CAROLINA BOOTH
 Explore
the
workshop materials
 Ask questions
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information