Teaching students to write like scientists
People tend to think of themselves as either a 鈥渟cience person鈥� or an 鈥渁rts person.鈥� But for science students today, it doesn鈥檛 have to be that way.
Writing and communicating are essential parts of being a scientist, which is why they鈥檙e also essential parts of a science curriculum.
A science teacher is uniquely qualified to , which can in turn improve their writing skills overall. It鈥檚 a win-win! And even though writing styles may vary across the two disciplines, we bet ELA teachers will notice the improvement in students鈥� writing abilities.
Integrating science and writing skills
The science classroom and the ELA classroom are partners in developing student literacy. The following five principles can help teachers make the most of that partnership.
- Science writing is more than fill-in-the-blank. Science writing involves critical thinking, analysis, and the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively鈥攊n research, proposals, and more. To , teachers can ask students to create presentations and lab reports, and to read journals and each other鈥檚 work.
- Technical writing goes beyond the technical. It鈥檚 important for students to learn to vary their writing styles for different audiences and purposes. Practicing (even instructions for making a sandwich) can help students learn to write鈥攊n all disciplines鈥攚ith clarity and precision.
- Writing takes phenomena-based learning to the next level. Writing about a phenomenon encourages students to communicate hypotheses, arguments, and opinions. They need to provide detailed evidence for their assertions and explain why they matter鈥攋ust as they would in an essay for ELA.
- The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are designed to support science instruction that鈥檚 rich in writing. Here are just a few places where the NGSS connect to common core writing standards: , , , and .
- Integrating writing into science encourages science and ELA growth. The more students practice , the more adept they will be at forming arguments both in and out of the science classroom. When science and ELA teachers use similar strategies, they鈥檒l reinforce the learning across classrooms and create even stronger writers.
Learn more
- Science Connections: S1-03: Ways to integrate literacy skills into a K鈥�8 science classroom: Rebecca Abbott
- Amplify Science encourages students to write like scientists
- , including the proven Do, Talk, Read, Write approach
