Closing the Achievement Gap: Science Notebook Writing

1
Closing the Achievement GapScience Notebook
Writing

• Lorraine S. Theroux

2
Table of Contents

1. Intro Why teach science?
2. The Key Components
3. Workshop
4. Inquiry Science
5. Vocabulary Development
6. Notebook reasoning, components, PD
7. Assessment and feedback
8. Teaching Tips How to start
9. Looking at Student Science Notebooks
10. Adult Science Notebooks from the workplace

3
Intro

• Closing the gap in ELA and math
• Brain Research on Learning
• The El Centro and Fresno experience
• Why Science?
• Develops Critical Thinking Skills

4
Science Key Components

• Workshop A Best Practice
• Guided Inquiry with Quality Kits
• Conceptual Understand Emphasized and Memorization
  De-emphasized
• Notebooks Not Worksheets
• Feedback Immediate and meaningful
• Compliance with Learning Standards

5
Inquiry

• Guided inquiry, with structured activities
• Opening up inquiry Asking what if Asking
  what would you change
• 5Es Engagement, Exploration, Explanation,
  Elaboration, Evaluation

6
Notebook

• Value Goals
• communicates conceptual understandings
• teaches features of text and informational books
• improves test-taking skills
• structures conversations between learner and
  teacher
• Use is developmental (for teacher and learner)
• Expectations are specific and explicit
• First-draft writing so spelling and mechanics can
  be approximate

7
Notebook - Its Structure

• Notebook as a whole
• Cover, page numbering, glossary, table of
  contents
• Consider student-assembled options (stapled or
  3-ring) - its fixable
• Each entry these are the bones
• Date
• The Question serves as the title
• Drawing, labels bridge between conceptual
  knowledge and language
• The Answer (must be connected to all the other
  parts)
• Develop Drawings and Labels into Observations
• details, data, tables and charts, explanations
• More Components
• May be introduced once the bones are mastered

8
Drawings

• Provide insight into student thinking
• Gets around poor writing skills
• Very different from artistic drawings
• Emphasis is to show observed parts and changes
• animal body parts are correct in number and
  location
• All significant features must be labeled
• Any observed change is evident
• May do a before and after set of drawings

9
Sharing Work

• Important Part of Workshop
• Pair Share
• Notebook Walk
• Line of Learning

10
Assessment and Feedback

• Four-point rubric
• (1, 2, 3, 4) simple, universal criteria for
  each,
• Level 3 meets expectations
• student completes all requirements of work
• mostly correct
• Stamp grades onto notebook pages
• 3 stamps L3

11
Vocabulary

• Glossary
• student should add personal definitions as they
  add words

12
Learning Text Features

• Table of Contents
• Page numbering
• Captions
• Graphics
• Tables and Charts
• Graphs
• Photos and drawings
• Plan view, side view, cut-away

13
Standards

• Local, State, and National
• Local Assessment
• High-Stakes Assessments

14
Teaching Tips

• IF science, inquiry, and science notebooks are
  all new to you (or to the students)
• Routinely have students use notebooks, only
  require date and title and labeled drawings.

15
Looking at Student Notebooks
16
Adult Science Notebooks

• From the workplace
• Crossing out errors
• No blank sheets
• Dates and page numbering
• Work from ONE person

17
References

• Books
• Online references
• Further resources