Common Core and Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6-12

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Common Core and Reading
Standards for Literacy in Science
and Technical Subjects, 6-12.

Jessica Fries-Gaither
March 14, 2012

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About the Presenter
• Education Resource
Specialist at Ohio State
University
• Project Director for
Beyond Penguins and
Beyond Weather
• Former middle and
elementary teacher
• Pursuing a reading
endorsement

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Today’s Agenda

• Why Reading Standards in Science?
• Overview of Reading in Science and
Technical Subjects, 6-12
• Explore the Standards, One by One

Resource list at :
http://www.diigo.com/list/jfriesgaither/reading-for-liter

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Why Reading Standards in
Science?
• Reading is an important component of science
• Reading informational text is different than reading
literature
• Students struggle to comprehend informational text
• Understanding content area text is best achieved in
context
• Many standardized tests already use science-
themed passages for reading comprehension;
students have not done well with them
• Standards help content teachers facilitate
understanding of text
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Any comments or questions before
we get started?

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Key Ideas and Details
6-8.RST.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of
science and technical texts.

Students examine the details of scientific or technical text to support their
analysis of the document. Supporting evidence could include:
•Citing evidence that supports the author’s claim, conclusion, purpose, or
perspective
•Citing evidence that supports the credibility and validity of the text (research
design or sample size, date of publication, visual representations of data and
findings, or whether the supporting research has been peer reviewed.

Examples:
Cite evidence in a news article about a hurricane that supports the
author’s claim of damage.

Cite evidence from an article that supports the author’s position on
vaccinating all children.

2010 Arizona ELA Standards
Grades 6-8 Science and Technical Subjects


Not the same as asking content-focused questions after
students read a text!

Focus on the text itself – what evidence is provided?

What evidence from the
How do you know? text supports your
conclusion/statement?

Students can cite evidence orally or in writing.


Can you find evidence to support the
idea that Julian would have had a
different experience pursing a scientific
career today?

From the information in these slides,
how was Julian able to overcome racial
barriers that existed in his time?
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/drey07.soc.civil.
“Support Your Position” (p. 78)

6-8.RST.2. Determine the central ideas of conclusions of a text;
provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior
knowledge or opinions.

Students identify the key ideas of their text and provide an accurate summary for
an expository text or sequencing summary for a functional text.

Examples
After reading, students summarize information about:
•Differences between plant and animal cells
•The flow of energy through an ecosystem

When reading lab procedures, students identify key safety concerns or summarize
necessary precautions.


6-8.RST.2. Determine the central ideas of conclusions of a text;
provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior
knowledge or opinions.

Get the Gist: A Summarizing Strategy for any Content Lesson
Students read a newspaper article or an Making Science Relevant with Current Ev
article found online and use a template Students read and summarize
to record the 5Ws and H (Who? What? science current events of their
When? Where? Why? How?). The use own choosing, then write a
these notes to write a 20 word GIST “Science Tweet.”
(summary).

6-8.RST.3. Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying
out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical
tasks.

Students follow a written lab protocol or sequence of steps to accomplish an
activity. Students should pay attention to accuracy and precision when taking
measurements.

Examples
Students follow written instructions for conducting scratch tests or
use a key to classify rocks.

Students follow written instructions for using pH paper to determine
whether a substance is an acid or base.

Grades 6-8 Science and Technical
Subjects

Craft and Structure
6-8.RST.4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and
other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a
special scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts
and topics.
Students determine the meaning of words and phrases as they read science
content…They use a variety of strategies (context clues, linguistic roots and
affixes, restatement, examples, contrast, glossary, etc.) to determine the
meaning of words and phrases in the text, as well as symbols in equations or in
diagrams and flow charts.
Examples
Students read about food webs, then identify roots and affixes to help define
terms like carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, autotroph, and heterotroph.
Students determine the meaning of the direction of the arrows in food webs or
rock and water cycle diagrams.

Students determine meaning of variables in mathematical equations
(f=ma) or symbols in the Periodic Table.

Craft and Structure
6-8.RST.4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and
other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a
special scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts
and topics.

A Prereading Strategy: Using the Vocabulary, ABC Bookmaking Builds Vocabulary in Content
Language, Prediction Approach
Students participate in oral language Students create ABC books to
activities as a basis for predicting the demonstrate understanding of content
meaning of words and the content of area words. Flexible lesson can be
an informational text. These modified in many ways!
activities include using affixes and
other means of word study. After
reading the text, students modify
their predictions. Build understanding through hands-on
investigation
Use nonlinguistic representations to
demonstrate knowledge

Craft and Structure
6-8.RST.5. Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a
text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole
and to an understanding of the topic.

Students analyze the use of different text structures (compare and contrast,
cause and effect, problem and solution, sequence, and description). Students
also identify different features within a text (headings, sub-headings, bold words,
pictures, graphs, data tables, paragraphs) and explain how the visual structures
support, reinforce, or provide additional information to the paragraph text.
Examples
Students identify signal words and other features of text structures found in a
textbook and explain how the structure contributes to the author’s key points.

Students read a section from a textbook and analyze how text structures and
features help the reader understand the meaning of the text.

Students read an article or lab report and explain the purpose for each section.

Craft and Structure
6-8.RST.5. Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a
text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole
and to an understanding of the topic.

How do the headers/boldfaced
Comparing and Contrasting: Picturing an Organizationalwords/pictures help you
Pattern
Students investigate picture books understand the text?
organized in various compare-contrast
patterns and apply what they’ve What words tell us that this is
learned to their own writing. written in compare/contrast
[or other] form?

Identify and discuss the types of text How does the author use this
structures found in your textbook. text structure to convey
Identify signal words that indicate his/her point(s)?
which structure is being used, and
discuss why an author might choose
this structure for this particular
purpose.

Craft and Structure
6-8.RST.6. Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an
explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an
experiment in a text.

Students explain why an author included a particular section or description in a
text. This is often closely tied (or at least related) to identifying the author’s
purpose in writing the text as a whole.

Examples
Students read a science article that describes the procedure for measuring
earthquakes and analyze why the author included the procedure in the text.

Students read an article that provides information about what constellations are
visible this month; the article contains an explanation on how to identify the major
constellations. Students explain why the author included information on how to
identify constellations in the article.


Craft and Structure
6-8.RST.6. Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an
explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an
experiment in a text.

Why do you think the author
chose to include an explanation
of how to identify constellations
in this article?

What was the author’s purpose
in writing this book? How did
this purpose affect the types of
information she included?

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
6-8.RST.7. Integrate quantitative or technical information
expressed in words in a text with a version of that information
expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph,
or table).
Students will use words in a text and information expressed visually to obtain
information about a given topic.

Examples
Students integrate written descriptions in a textbook with visual images
of the rock cycle.

Students integrate written descriptions of weather systems on a web site with
graphical representations of weekly weather data.

Students integrate written descriptions in a lab journal of measured movement
over time with position-time graphs.


6-8.RST.7. Integrate quantitative or technical information
expressed in words in a text with a version of that information
expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph,
or table).

Critical Literacy in Action: Multimodal Texts on Global Warming picture/graph/
How does this
Students explore the topic of global chart/table add to your
warming through a variety of pictures, understanding of the topic?
texts, and web sites. Students evaluate
these sources of information and How does the information in
synthesize information. (Could be the
adapted to any topic, given sufficient picture/graph/chart/table
resources.) compare to that written in
the text?

6-8.RST.8. Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on
research findings, and speculation in a text.

Students determine what parts of a text are facts and which parts are judgment
or speculation. This is an extension of differentiating between fact and opinion
that is commonly taught in the lower grades.

Example
Students read a letter to the editor that proposes solutions to prevent
flooding during summer rainstorms. They analyze the text to identify which
claims are supported by evidence and facts in the text and which claims are
based on speculation or reasoned judgment.


6-8.RST.8. Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on
research findings, and speculation in a text.

Is this information a fact? How do you
Information Age Inquiry know?
Not a lesson, this page
contains a host of resources to Does the author know this for sure, or
help students effectively is he drawing a conclusion based on
conduct online inquiry. other research?

6-8.RST.9. Compare and contrast the information gained from
experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with
that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

Students compare and contrast the information gained (depth and scope of
content, author’s purpose, whether the source provides new information or
summarizes known information, etc.) from various sources.

Example
Students perform a series of experiments that show different types of evidence of
chemical reactions (precipitate, gas, color change, change in temperature). After
collecting data, they read text that describes different chemical reactions and the
different types of evidence of that reaction. Students compare and contrast the
amount of information conveyed by the experiment to that conveyed in the text
and explain how each source of information helps to develop understanding of
chemical reactions.


6-8.RST.9. Compare and contrast the information gained from
experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with
that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

How does what you learned from the
experiment compare to what you Create a two-column graphic
read in your textbook? organizer. Students record
notes from
experiments/simulations/
video/multimedia on left, and
information from text on
right. Underneath the table,
they synthesize the
information to explain what
they’ve learned.
Do first, then read!

6-8.RST.10. By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science
and technical texts in the grades 6-8 range independently and
proficiently.

Textmasters: Shaking Up Textbook Reading in Science Classrooms
Students read the textbook in An Exploration of Text Sets: Supporting All R
collaborative groups, following an Students work in collaborative
assigned schedule. groups to create a text set on a given
topic, then practice various
comprehension strategies before,
during, and after reading.

Building Reading Comprehension Through Think-Alouds
In this lesson, the teacher models the
think-aloud process for students.

Finding the Time
• Think mini-lessons
• Consider “flipping” your classroom as needed
• Collaborate with your English Language Arts
teacher, other content area teacher, librarian
• Work on these skills periodically – align them
with your science units
• Remember these are endpoints for 8th grade!

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References
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices,
Council of Chief State School Officers. 2010. Common
Core State Standards. National Governors Association for
Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers,
Washington, D.C. http://www.corestandards.org/

2010 Arizona ELA Standards: Grades 6-8 Science and
Technical Subjects.
http://www.azed.gov/standards-practices/files/2011/11/rst-whst-6

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Any questions for Jessica?

Jessica Fries-Gaither
fries-gaither.1@osu.edu

Join the conversation in the MSP2 Group –
Literacy in the Content Areas:
http://www.msteacher2.org/group/literacy

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