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I've noticed a thread recently on the Earth Science listserve about reading to classes. The thread is about 9th grade Earth science, and some of the books suggested include Rocket Boys and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There are so many great fictional works to snare kids, and get them interested in science. One of my personal faves is Stiff by Mary Roach, and any of the Pfeffer Last Survivors trilogy seem to be interesting to upper middle school and early high school. One suggestion is to work with the librarian and literature teachers to integrate the curriculum, and read at least excerpts in class.

With so many of our students being 'digital natives,' we tried a different approach last year. Students span such a wide range of reading abilities, and there are so many good options. We set up reading groups within science, and small groups of students read different books. Over the course of a month or so, they were expected to blog and discuss the books in an online forum. The idea was for them not only to read, but to begin to formulate their thoughts in a written dialog. We had about 15 different titles, in many science disciplines. Students were expected to critically analyze the science they encountered in the book. The entire class was able to share ideas about several books, and over the course of the year, each student was expected to complete at least four books.

I'd love to find out how you integrate reading into your science classes. After all, we keep hearing how difficult it is for students to read about science; perhaps our students can become more competent readers of science by analyzing the science in fiction.

There are a huge number of YA Science Fiction titles that not only help prompt science discussion but will fit well into the reading levels of middle school students. Some of my favorites are: Ender's Game and all the ender series by Orson Scott Card The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Some adult titles that are very stong in engaging discussion about scienc etopics are Sundiver by David Brin Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear I Robot by Issac Azimov and Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

I've put together a collection of a few articles discussing integration of literature and science. Hope you find them interesting and helpful.

Literature and Science Collection (17 items)

Using Science Fiction Movie Scenes to Support Critical Analysis of Science

- Journal Article

And the Winners Are… Award-Winning Science Books of 2008

- Journal Article

Science the "Write" Way

- Journal Article

View All 17 Items

As i think about this I immediately think of Picture Perfect Science an NSTA Press book which is perfect for use in Grades K-6. A picture book is the basis for the 5E lessons that include literacy skills and inquiry science. For example,I have used the chapter " Sheep In A Jeep" with students in grades 2-6 and the engagement is high and so is the learning. I even used this lesson when I was teaching a pre-service class. I am attaching a chapter which explains how the 5E method is implemented. Kathy

Hi Kathy,
I love the book Sheep in a Jeep. Engaging for elementary school, and the kids actually think science can be fun!

I didn't notice the 5E attachment - it would be great to see the implementation.

Jennifer

[i]Edward wrote, 'There are a huge number of YA Science Fiction titles that not only help prompt science discussion but will fit well into the reading levels of middle school students. Some of my favorites are: Ender's Game and all the ender series by Orson Scott Card The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Some adult titles that are very stong in engaging discussion about scienc etopics are Sundiver by David Brin Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear I Robot by Issac Azimov and Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton'[/i] Hi Edward, I've read several of these books. I especially liked The Andromeda Strain. How do you promote discussion in your classes? Do you have all your students read the same book? Do they each choose a book and give a report?

Yes, Adah, I love using the young children's books for the older kids to start discussions in science. I have used Charlotte's Web (where she is described in some detail) to begin a unit on spiders. I use Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to alert my preservice teachers to inaccurate info (caterpillars of butterflies become a crysalis and not a cocoon) and to help integrate literacy with science. The newest rage seems to be the science graphic novels. One of my preservice teachers brought one in on magnetism last week. The middle schoolers love reading using this genre. I would be interested in hearing about some specific graphic novels for science if anyone has come across some good ones. Carolyn

A graphic adaptation worth consideration for biology is Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation. Beautiful illustrations, entertaining, and understandable at the level of a typical ninth-grade student. Most will be disinclined to read Darwin's original work, but this volume does an excellent job of explaining Darwin's ideas drawn in 19th century style images.

I am glad to see the review of the graphical version of Darwin's Origin of Species. Using graphical novels takes a lot of the processing load off the reader. I recently had a colleague recommend the Max Axiom comic book series. I purchased 4 books from the series and think they will be spot on for teaching concepts to middle school students, specially struggling readers. Has anyone used graphical novels in their classroom?

Angelika and group I am also a huge fan of graphic novels, and was recently awarded some Title I money to purchse some for each of the units I study! I will keep you updated as I progress with this journey. I know I am going to have the students practice their reading stratigies while they are reading the books, with pauses throughout the reading for discussion. Thanks Liz

This is a great approach to increasing engagement and scientific critical thinking. Ideally of course, our teams in middle school would be able to collaborate and integrate a novel into their ELA block that could also be critiqued in science for accuracy. However I think your reading groups and various titles sounds like it is working well! I ran across an article here at nsta called Reading Aloud
Journal Articleby: Lynda Delo that focused in on the importance of not only using literature for students to attach science exploration and knowledge to, but also how beneficial it can be to read that literature aloud, even in the older grades. 

While end of year test data is only a small part of what the students are learning, I started with that.  When analyzing our school wide testing a few years ago I realized that our entire school, although scoring highly in content areas, Science process and thinking skills was low.  So we began a program in 6-9 grades and had students do assignments once a month for what we called Science News Articles Summaries.  The students first did a practice article in class in groups to learn how to read and summarize the articles, which were preselected, then how to write a one page summary on it.  Then after that they were required, all year to turn in one summary a month.  After only a year their scores improved.  They even now read science news articles willingly.  Our goal was not only to increase their science thinking but to get them involved in current science news to better understand the research and development, and problems facing them when they enter the work force.  It also makes for some amazing discussions in class.  I tried to attached the grading rubric as well as the introductory page we use.  I pieced it together from resources I found online as well as my own creation.  When I tried to attach the file it is having errors on this forum.  If you are interested in seeing it let me know and I'll try to email it to you.  Let me know what you think.

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Good morning!

I love this topic and discussion about reading in science. I am a former 6th grade general science teacher but an now an Instructional Coach in our district.

I am currently working with our 6th grade Science and Reading teachers to develop an inter-disciplinary unit based on the YA book Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. I previously taught this unit called Breakout Biology in which students learned about viruses and infectious disease. Here is a brief overview:

Breakout Biology

Title: Breakout Biology

Grade Level: 6 - 8

Essential Questions: What is Science? How do we engage with science processes? How do we communicate using a universal language for science?

Big Idea/Unit: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental (and genetic) factors influence the growth of organisms

Essential Pre-Existing Knowledge: Science Process Skills (ie - observing, measuring, classifying, inferring, predicting, experimenting, and communicating)

Time Required: Ten - 40 minute class periods

Cost:

Safety: Conduct yourself in a responsible manner at all times. Wear safety goggles and other safety equipment when necessary. Know the location of all safety equipment in your classroom.

Anchor Text: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (580L)

Alternate Text: Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan (900L)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Infectious diseases have plagued and puzzled humanity from the beginning of time. From the common cold to West Nile virus, infectious diseases continue to roam our planet. Students will learn how to investigate host-agent-environmental relationships and disease causation in an effort to understand how people manage and prevent disease. Using Science Process Skills (ie - observing, measuring, classifying, inferring, predicting, experimenting, and communicating) and the anchor text “Fever 1793” students will construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental factors influence the growth of organisms.

Standards:

MS-LS1-5 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental (and genetic) factors influence the growth of organisms.

SEP3 Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

SEP6 Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

SEP7 Engaging in Argument from Evidence

CCC2 Cause & Effect

RL1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

R4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone

All the best,

Laura Riley, NBCT

Instructional Coach

Westmont Junior High

Westmont, IL