Writing in Science

1. Writing in Science Fall MDSD – First Grade Please sign in. Find a table labeled with your current science kit, and talk to teams from other buildings about the kit. Share the resource/idea your team brought today.

2. Goals for Science Today • Share ideas and resources for science units with other building teams • Provide hints and tips for teachers that teach your current unit later in the year • Understand the importance of modeling and scaffolding in science writing • Learn a compare and contrast scaffold strategy to use with students

3. Sharing Time • Work together to brainstorm hints and tips to pass along to teachers who have your unit later in the year , and record on chart paper. • All of the resources, hints, and tips will be collected and shared on Connect for teachers to access when planning science lessons. • If you have an electronic version to share, please email it to Angela Morrison.

4. Writing in Science • Visual scaffolding is critical in helping students master scientific vocabulary and write like scientists. • A word bank allows students to access vocabulary they need during writing time. • Display two word banks: one for specific terms for the unit and one for general science words and phrases to use in scientific writing.

5. Science Terms Word Bank

6. Word Bank Tips • Use pocket charts with word cards. • Introduce words as students need to know them, AFTER having a concrete experience or investigation with the new term. • During science discussions, point to the words or remove them from the pocket chart to hold up as visual reminders for students. • Allow students to take words (on small cards) to their seats as needed during writing time.

7. Writing Scaffolds • Students need to see models of how to write like scientists. • Scaffolds for writing include phrases and sentences used during a shared-writing lesson. • Once you finish the shared-writing as a class, remove the modeled writing and replace it with a writing frame or sentence starter for students to use as they write independently. • The frame provides a structure for their writing. Students provide the content.

8. Writing Scaffolds

9. Student Writing

10. Final Thoughts • Avoid using typed fill-in-the-blank writing frames. • Allow students to write in their notebooks, using the scaffolds posted in the room. • Student notebooks are valued because of the students’ scientific thinking and not because of the appearance of the entries.