Transcript How to Read Science/Social Studies Texts

College and Career
Readiness Conference
2014
Participants will examine strategies
and skills that support the
understanding of Social Studies and
Science texts through close reading.

A close reading is the careful, sustained analysis of
any text that focuses on significant details or patterns
and that typically examines some aspect of the text’s
form, craft, meanings, etc.
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/751/01/)
What does PARCC say?
Close analytic reading entails the careful gathering of
observations about a text and careful consideration about
what those observations taken together add up to —
from the smallest linguistic matters to larger issues of
overall understanding and judgment.

PARCC Model Content Frameworks for ELA/Literacy, p.6
Why do you think students experience difficulty
in reading in the content areas?
Identify the reading behaviors used in the
following slides.
Turn and Talk, and then share.
A Child’s Garden of Verses: Selected Poems
By: Robert Louis Stevenson
My Bed Is A Boat
My bed is like a little boat;
Nurse helps me in when I embark;
She girds me in my sailor’s coat
And starts me in the dark.
At night I go on board and say
Good-night to all my friends on shore;
I shut my eyes and sail away
And see and hear no more.
And sometimes things to bed I take,
As prudent sailors have to do;
Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake,
Perhaps a toy or two.
All night across the dark we steer;
But when the day returns at last,
Safe in my room beside the pier,
I find my vessel fast.
Mighty Morphin Milk
Who knew that moo juice could be so much fun? Mix milk and vinegar together
to create your own plastic, ready to be molded into any shape you want!
You'll need:
- 4 ounces of milk
- 1 teaspoon of vinegar
- a small pan
- a small clean jar
What to do:
1. Heat the milk in a pan until it curdles, or forms lumps.
2. Slowly pour off the runny liquid.
3. Put the lumps in the jar and add vinegar. Let it stand for an
hour or so.
What happens:
After an hour or so, you'll find that a rubbery blob has formed in the jar! Slowly pour off any runny
liquid inside. Then take the blob out and shape it into a ball or some other simple shape. Let it harden
in the open jar or on a paper towel for a few hours or longer. Once it has dried, you may want to
decorate it with acrylic paints.
Why this happens:
When the milk and vinegar (or any kind of acid) are mixed together, the milk separates into a liquid and
a solid made of fat, minerals, and a protein called casein (KAY-seen). Casein is made up of very long
molecules that bend like rubber until they harden.
Resource: http://kids.discovery.com/activities/science-experiments/mighty-morphin-milk
Reading Like A Scientist
Reading Like A Historian


Ask questions about what was
going on in the world at the time
the text was written
Think carefully about what the
author is saying to check for
accuracy

Ask questions based on facts

Read back and forth between the
words and the visuals because it helps
to understand the ideas

Make predictions about what they read

Think and make their own pictures in
their thoughts while reading

Think about things that could be
shaping the author’s ideas

Read closely about an idea or
experiment

Check the facts to be sure they
are correct


Think about why the author chose
to use certain words
Consider data-based graphs and
charts as important as the words in a
text

Read graphs and charts to find
patterns and relationships in the data

Evaluate and collect evidence

Read to understand discipline specific
terms


Compare the text with other
sources
Write down who, what, when
where, and why to understand
connections
Science:
Graphic displays
Data
Charts and
Graphs
Models and
Diagrams
Procedures
Videos &
Simulations
Social Studies:
Primary Sources
Maps
Videos
Photographs
Objects
 Read
the text
 Chart reading behaviors to consider:
*In Red: write reading behaviors of a
Historian or Scientist
*In Purple: circle reading behaviors you
would like to use but are not as familiar with
“Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” Speech
Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775
Speech Excerpt:
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace -- but there is no peace.
The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash
of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that
gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at
the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! -- I know not what course others may
take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
Full speech text available at: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/patrick.asp
Image source: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b50326/
Before
What is the content standard and MCCRS Focus? Have my students been exposed to these
types of texts before? Level? What examples do I need to provide? What prior knowledge is
needed?
During
Am I using Text Dependent Questions – is it rigorous enough? Is there a variety of complex
texts? Am I providing opportunities for Speaking & Listening?
After
Are students being asked to use Text-Based Evidence to cite examples? Am I using formative
assessments to document progress and track data? Is writing connected to content
understanding? Have we reached the ultimate goal/task?
Read the sample texts
 Take a Gallery Walk
 What makes this text complex? (Green)
 What considerations will I use in planning?
(Blue)
 What are the unique discipline reading
behaviors? (Red)

The Preamble to the Constitution of
the United States
We the People of the United States, in
Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the
general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and
our Posterity, do ordain and establish
this Constitution for the United States
of America.
Monarch Butterfly Sightings Spring
2014
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/monarch_spring2014.html
ANGANGUEO, Mexico — Every year, millions of orange-and-black
butterflies fly the length of North America. They travel to Mexico to spend
the winter there. But their journey is in danger.
The number of these monarch butterflies is falling. There are many
reasons why. Farmers are using more weed killer. Also, the weather has
been severe. And more and more forests are being cut down.
The monarch butterfly colonies in Mexico were much smaller this year
than ever before. Scientists say these butterfly groups may soon
disappear. The orange-and-black butterfly is a popular insect that most
school kids can easily recognize.
Scientists say there are many reasons for the drop in the number of
monarch butterflies. But they are focusing on one main reason: The
butterflies can't live without a plant called milkweed.
Big Drop In Milkweed
Female monarchs lay eggs on milkweed. When they hatch, the larvae
grow into caterpillars that eat the milkweed’s leaves. Those leaves
contain a poison that protects the monarchs from their predators. The
caterpillars then form chrysalises and soon emerge as butterflies.
But the milkweed plant is widely treated as a weed to be destroyed.
The number of fields that have milkweed in them has dropped in the past
10 years. Corn and soybean crops have been changed and weed killer
can't hurt them. So farmers can now use a stronger weed killer. That
makes it harder for milkweed to grow in the fields.
Most monarch butterflies live only a little more than a month. But some
live for seven or eight months. That is long enough to fly to Mexico for
the winter. In Mexico, the butterflies often stay in the same trees that
their parents or grandparents did.
The butterflies fly back north in the spring. There, they lay eggs on
milkweed and then die, making way for the next generation.
Resource: http://newsela.com/articles/monarch-crisis/id/3430/
Speaking & Listening –
examine MCCRS
 Include Short Focused Research
opportunities for students
 Select Multiple Texts = more
powerful understanding
 Set a Classroom Goal for
Disciplinary Literacy Reading AND
Content!
 Encourage
SPEAKING &
LISTENING
READING & WRITING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL
STUDIES
Turn and Talk:
How does linking literacy strategies
into content areas create a more
powerful lesson?
On index cards, list five or more
considerations when reading a text in
your content area. (One idea per card)
 Stand Up!
 If you wrote the same consideration as
the one being shared aloud, put it in
the “Great Idea!” Pile in the middle of
your table.
 The last teacher(s) standing may have
thought of something to consider that
you didn’t. Remember – let’s learn from
each other, we are each other’s
greatest resource!
