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Mastery of Knowledge & Skills - Literacy:

Literacy - Close Read in Science

The Nature of Science - Using the Close Read Protocol in 6th Grade Science
by Quinn Daily (REALMS Science and Technology Teacher)
 

READ, THINK, WRITE, TALK: As a science teacher, my goal is to inspire a future generation of scientists who are scientifically literate.  This means they have the skills to think critically, to dissect nonfiction text for meaning and to locate and cite relevant information as a tool for solving problems. Because incoming 6th graders arrive at REALMS with varying backgrounds in science, I begin each school year with an expedition that teaches the Nature of Science, the framework behind what science is and how science is actually done.  This expedition begins by identifying student ideas and misconceptions of who scientists are and what scientists do.  We then grapple with a complex text that helps to build background knowledge for the nature of science using the close reading protocol.

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Building students mastery of knowledge and skills in science requires students to be both scientific and literary! When I use the close reading protocol in science, my goal is that students build their ability to better understand a difficult, scientific text. Specifically, I want students to create understanding by reading multiple times; thinking about the concepts; summarizing and responding in writing; and talking with peers about the meaning. This experience makes a challenging text accessible for 6th graders of all levels - students practice these higher order literacy skills without being bogged down in a big writing assignment.

Guiding Question & Learning Targets (Drawn from CCSS and NGSS)
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  • I can follow the close-reading protocol for a piece of non-fiction text in order to take the most meaning I can out of a reading. 
  • I can describe different types of scientists and explain how they contribute to our body of knowledge.
  • I can distinguish scientific knowledge from other types of knowledge.

Instructional Process For NOS Close Read:

 

The reading I shared with students is high level (lexile 1200 – high school level) text focused on the Nature of Science. The process I use in class with students roughly follows the sections laid out below:

Student Work for NOS Close Read

Complex Text: The reading passage that was given to students.
 
In this example of student work, the student has completed all of the steps of the close read protocol.  Evidence includes gist statements in the margins, highlighting (determining importance) and circled vocabulary words (identification of unknown and/or essential vocabulary).
 
Students independently read for flow (2 pages, approximately 10 minutes)

 

Students independently read the text a second time and interact with the text in two ways: 

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  • circle vocabulary words (unfamiliar words and what students deem as important science words)

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  • selectively highlight the most important information (remind students that using a highlighter is similiar to spending money and should be used conservatively)

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  • eventually, students add these unfamiliar words into their digital science notebook (see below).  For each entry, they are required to  include the word, the definition and a drawing of what the word means to them.  The digital science notebook is a file that is accessed using the Notability App on each students' iPad.

 

Writing Gist Statements
 
Students independently read the text a 3rd time and write gist statements for each paragraph along the margins of each paragraph.   It is essential to give a clear definition of what a gist statement is and to model the process in front of the class using a document camera.  I ask students to paraphrase and to restate the next step then I give them class time to begin the process.  After 10 minutes, I ask students to share their initial gist statements with other students in the class so that they have the opportunity to compare and contrast.  Students also have the ability to revise their initial gist statements at this time.  Next, I ask students to complete their gist statements as homework so that we can move on to the next step at the beginning of our second class.
Student Example from Paragraph 3
 
Here is an example of a gist statement from paragraph three of the reading.  The gist statement is highlighted on the right hand margin of the image.  There is evidence that the student has analyzed the complex text and demonstrated a trasfer of understanding into the gist statement.  The gist statement has been typed using the Notability program on the student iPad.
Student Example from Paragraph 4
 
Here is an example of a gist statement from paragraph four of the reading.  The gist statement is highlighted on the right hand margin of the image.  There is evidence that the student has analyzed the complex text and demonstrated a trasfer of understanding into the gist statement.  The gist statement has been typed using the Notability program on the student iPad.

Text Dependent Question Posters

 

In advance of the start of class, I prepare six different posters, each of which contains a text-dependent question.  Text-dependent questions can be answered only by referring explicitly to the text being read.  This encourages students to reread the text for further analysis and allows for a deeper understanding.  Questions ranged in complexity from comprehension to evaluation on Bloom's Taxonomy.  The following text-dependent questions were used:

  • Can the knowledge we gain from science change over time? Explain.

  • How does science help us?

  • How is science different from belief?

  • Why is imagination important when it comes to science?

  • What does it take to make strong explanations / inferences?

  • How are science and evidence related?

 

This is one of the six posters that were used during the gallery walk.  The text-dependent question is at the top of the poster and there are responses to the question from different students (shown in different marker colors).  Along with the response, students were asked to indicate from where in the text (which paragraph number) they located the answer to the question.

Text Dependent Question
Student Response
 
This is one of the six posters that were used during the gallery walk.  The text-dependent question is at the top of the poster and there are responses to the question from different students (shown in different marker colors).  Along with the response, students were asked to indicate from where in the text (which paragraph number) they located the answer to the question.
Text Dependent Question Poster
 
This is one of the six posters that were used during the gallery walk.  The text-dependent question is at the top of the poster and there are responses to the question from different students (shown in different marker colors).  Along with the response, students were asked to indicate from where in the text (which paragraph number) they located the answer to the question.
Text Dependent Question
Student Response
 
Here is a student response from the poster above.  This response demonstrates transfer of understanding from the analysis of complex text to the poster.  In addition, the student has cited textual evidence in his reference to P4 (paragraph 4).
Final Steps - Discussing and Sharing
 

Chalk Talk

At the start of class, the six text-dependent question posters are hung up on the walls throughout the classroom.  Students are asked to silently visit each poster and to respond to each text-dependent question by writing their response on each poster.  Along with their response, students are asked to write their name and to cite the paragraph in the reading from which they can justify their response.  After visiting each poster and writing their initial responses, they keep circulating and returning to posters in order to read and respond to other student answers.  This is a silent and written conversation that takes place 30 - 40 minutes.

During this time, I circulated to assist students.  I asked questions to encourage them to refer to the text:

  • How did you come to that answer?  

  • Can you use details from the text to support your answer?  

  • Can you point out that answer in the text?

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Small Group Go-Round All

As students come in to class today, I ask them to sit at a poster along with three other students.  They spend time independently reading the text-dependent question responses at the poster that is in front of them.  Due to time restraints, each group of students is able to analyze one of the six posters.  As they read, they are searching for patterns and themes to the poster in front of them.  Students then follow the small group go-round all protocol during which each person gets to share (one at a time) the patterns and themes they have identified at their poster.  The go around continues for five minutes.  If everyone in the group has shared, groups are encouraged to keep going around and contributing to the conversation (one person at a time).  **Reflection: create a list of prompts for them to follow during the go round.

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Small Group Class Share

In the same small groups, students are asked to prep one student at their table to be a spokesperson for the group.  The spokesperson's responsibility is to share with the entire class the patterns and themes that were discussed during the small group go-round all.  

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