{"id":287,"date":"2011-10-10T13:59:47","date_gmt":"2011-10-10T18:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biologycorner.com\/?p=2000"},"modified":"2016-04-02T17:14:58","modified_gmt":"2016-04-02T22:14:58","slug":"dissecting-science-literacy-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/2011\/10\/10\/dissecting-science-literacy-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Dissecting Science Literacy Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"My last entry, \u00a0\u201dWhy the Common Core Standards Are Good For Educators<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0described some of the changes that will occur for Illinois educators, specifically science teachers, when the common core standards go live. \u00a0 The common core will require some changes to how you currently teach your subject matter, and there are extensive resources at the Common Core State Standards website<\/a>. \u00a0 However, the volume of information at this site can be overwhelming, and a classroom teacher with an already busy day can find themselves intimidated, or not even knowing where to start. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I spent two days as a common core training workshop and can share some of the strategies for implementing the standards within your curriculum, \u00a0a process that won\u2019t be as painful as you might imagine.<\/p>\n

Superficial Observations<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The science literacy standards are numbered one to ten, then divided into two sections: \u00a09th and 10th followed by 11th and 12th. \u00a0It looks like a lot to take in, but upon closer observation, the #1-10 standards are the same, just slightly modified for difficulty as you go to the 11th and 12th grade sections. \u00a0 If you care to go even further down the rabbit hole, you may find that the \u00a0standards will follow a child all the way back to kindergarten, the wording and difficulty level being modified for each age group. \u00a0When a child reaches the 6th grade, there are new standards called Literacy in History\/Social Studies, and Science and Technology. \u00a0(See Common Core Anchor Standards<\/a>)<\/p>\n

For example, at the 9th grade, RST (Reading for Science and Technology) states: \u00a0Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.<\/p>\n

At 11th and 12th grade, the same standard reads: \u00a0\u00a0Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.<\/p>\n

For someone like me, with several mixed classes, it is important to remember that the standards are essentially the same for all grade levels, with a ramped up difficulty within advanced classes. \u00a0 Seniors may be exposed to more difficult text than 9th graders, but the goal is very similar for both groups.<\/p>\n

Going Deeper<\/h2>\n

While it\u2019s not a bad idea to read all of the standards, it\u2019s probably more practical to take each standard one at a time, and brainstorm ways you can add or modify your current curriculum to include the common core goals. \u00a0 Many of the standards are already being addressed in your classroom and may just require minor tweaking of content or spending more time reading, and teaching kids how to read. \u00a0 We assume that when we hand students a textbook, or an article, or even notes on an overhead that they can read what it says. \u00a0 For the most part, students can read the words, but they don\u2019t always *understand* what they are reading. \u00a0 \u00a0They may have difficulty tying what they read to broader principles, connecting ideas, or even analyzing a specific word or phrase that doesn\u2019t make sense to them.<\/p>\n

Focus on \u00a0RST \u00a0Standard #1<\/h1>\n

In this section, I want to look at \u00a0a single standard and describe ways you can modify your current documents or add simple activities to your current curriculum. \u00a0 \u00a0This is no way implies that everything you do needs to be changed; some worksheets, activities, and labs will be a better fit for this goal than others. \u00a0 RST standard #1 states:<\/p>\n

\u00a0Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.<\/p>\n

\"\"Stategy 1 : \u00a0Add a Cite Section<\/h3>\n

Do you have your students read the chapters, or sections in the text? \u00a0 I have a collection of chapter worksheets that students fill in as they read a section, such as this worksheet on the cell<\/a>. \u00a0 \u00a0I do not plan to completely eliminate these worksheets, but I see that with minor adjustments we can change them to address standard 1. \u00a0 At the end of the worksheets, I can simply add a section that requires students to find page numbers and paragraphs where certain information can be found. \u00a0This requires students to actually look back to the information they just read to find information they may have skimmed over the first time they read it. \u00a0 \u00a0 A simple addition to the bottom of the worksheet now requires students to CITE sources in their textbook, as seen in the new worksheet, the addition simply says:<\/p>\n

Part II: Reread the section and find the exact spot that addresses each of the topics\/questions.
\nIndicate page number, and paragraph number.<\/p>\n

1. Which type of cell has a nucleus: page ____ paragraph _____
\n2. What type of microscope is used to see cells: page ____ paragraph _____<\/p>\n

Seems simple enough? \u00a0 Citing and locating information in text is something we already require students to do, but chances are we didn\u2019t refer to it as \u201cciting\u201d. \u00a0 Students should become familiar with this reading strategy: \u00a0looking at text, finding specific information and indicating where that information can be found.<\/p>\n

\"\"Strategy 2: \u00a0 Highlight Information in Articles<\/h3>\n

Science is a great subject to teach in this age, as new discoveries occur every day. \u00a0 I use many news articles in my class to supplement the textbooks, which are seven years old and already showing their (information) age. \u00a0 \u00a0Most of the articles I assign include questions at the end for students to answer to show me they have read it. \u00a0 \u00a0Usually I assign this article as they leave and expect it to be completed for discussion the next day. \u00a0 \u00a0 Here is an example of an article my anatomy students read about the body farm: \u00a0\u201dThe Remains of Doctor Bass<\/a>\u201d where at the end is a collection of questions. \u00a0I have modified the questions to also cite specific areas of the text, but since this is an article students can write on, the assignment requires them to circle, highlight, put a star next to\u2026etc\u2026 areas of the text that address specific questions.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0Strategy 3: \u00a0Paragraphs on the Overhead<\/h3>\n

You can also show text on a paragraph to be displayed to the class. \u00a0 One source for short, interesting paragraphs is Wikipedia\u2019s featured article<\/a> page. \u00a0Usually the featured article has a short introductory paragraph that contains a lot of information about what the article is about. You can put this on an overhead and ask students to read it and to CITE specific words or ideas. \u00a0 This is also a good opportunity for you to MODEL how to read complicated text. \u00a0Show students that sometimes you don\u2019t know every word you read, but you can make a guess about what it means. \u00a0 Show students that it\u2019s okay to read something twice to find the answer.<\/p>\n

Storage and Disposal<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

RST #1 is one of 10 standards we will be looking at, though there is some amount of overlap with the strategies. \u00a0 As you can see from the strategies above, it should not be necessary to throw away all of your old worksheets and projects, but certainly this is a good time to give them another look and consider revisions that align more closely to the science literacy standards. \u00a0 I am pretty sure that not a day goes by that you don\u2019t have your students read something, whether it is notes on the board, an article, \u00a0a section of text, \u00a0or laboratory procedures. \u00a0 \u00a0 Go over the instructions and ask students to CITE a particular part of the instructions where it tells you what to do with your equipment or dead frog. \u00a0 How often do you hand a worksheet to your students and the first thing they ask is \u201cwhat page is this on?\u201d \u00a0 Tell students to find the page on their own next time. \u00a0 \u00a0With these tiny little changes, you have addressed RST #1.<\/p>\n

Resources:<\/p>\n

English Language Arts Standards for Science and Technology 9th and 10th Grade<\/a>
\nEnglish Language Arts Standards for Science and Technology 11th and 12th Grade<\/a><\/p>\n

Coming Soon: \u00a0Dissecting Standard #2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article examines the common core standards for science literacy, specifically standard #1; summarizes strategies of addressing the standard, and describes ways you can modify your current documents or add simple activities to your current curriculum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[168,104,105,166,167,169,106,29],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":812,"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions\/812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/facultycorner.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}