Each summer, an elementary school on the New England coast is bustling with elementary students. The students are predominantly English learners (ELs) who struggle with reading, writing, and communication skills. The students are participating in a four-week summer program focused on increasing literacy skills through scientific investigations.…

In this article, a class of preschool children completed a week of lessons on worms in preparation for a visit by real worms. Prior to the real worm visit, the students learned about the bodies of worms. They also learned vocabulary words such as "segments." They documented thoughts and predictions about worms using drawings. Preparing…

The connections the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") creates between science content and practices to literacy and mathematics are especially beneficial at the elementary level. In this article, the authors present a series of lessons a second-grade teacher taught within a thematic unit that integrated standards…

This article examines the role of argument in the science classroom and how it can be used to help students develop science process skills (e.g., using evidence to defend a point of view) and literacy process skills (e.g., using language precisely to express a particular point of view and extending these understandings through the use of…

Weather is a topic in science that is applicable to our lives on an everyday basis. The weather often determines what we wear, where we go, and what we do. This month's column focuses on clouds and the part they play in determining our weather. In the K-3 lesson, students learn about different cloud types and sculpt each type out of shaving cream.…

In recent years, science has taken a backseat to reading and mathematics in many primary classrooms. Imaginative teachers have coped with this loss of science time by creatively integrating science topics into reading instructional materials (Douglas, Klentschy, and Worth 2006). In this article, the author describes an effective physical science…

This article describes an interdisciplinary project that created awareness of female scientists in a public Montessori classroom. Every spring, the author's sixth-grade students write an educational play in which the entire class participates. Following an underwhelming response to asking students who are their favorite female scientists, the…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") push students to have "a deeper understanding of content" (NGSS Lead States 2013, Appendix A, p. 4). However, with the reality of high-stakes assessments that rely primarily on multiple-choice questions, how can a science teacher analyze students' written responses…

Carefully selected trade books can introduce science concepts, develop background knowledge, reinforce hands-on lessons, support science-process skills, and at the same time enhance related literacy-process skills. They can also provide inspiration and structure for integrated science and literacy lessons. Based on these ideas, the authors…

After an outdoor excursion hunting for a "special leaf" on a delightful fall day, students returned to the classroom and were instructed to capture the leaf on a blank page in their science notebooks. They were asked to document as many details as possible, based on their observations. The overall focus of the notebooks was for students to capture…

When students are motivated, engaged, and have opportunities to practice and develop discussion skills taught during literacy time, they can deepen their understanding of science concepts. Communication is an important tool for the development of scientific knowledge; group discussions such as the one portrayed in this article are critical to the…

Are you looking for ways to effectively integrate--and assess--science and literacy learning? Try having your students create their own books! The Integrated Science Literacy Enactments (ISLE) approach to teaching and learning science is one way to develop students' science understandings while simultaneously enhancing their communication skills.…

"Reading, Writing, and Rings!" was created by a team of elementary teachers, literacy experts, and scientists in order to integrate science and literacy. These free units bring students inside NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. The authors--a science teacher and education outreach specialist and two evaluators of educational programs--have…

Despite the challenges posed by increased time, specialized vocabularies, and balance, integrating writing and drawing with science investigations is beneficial for teachers and students. This month's column explains why this integrated approach is beneficial, and illustrates how teachers can use it to meet the needs of students learning English…

For the past few decades the integration of literacy instruction has influenced the teaching of science in the elementary classroom--whether through traditional learning or as part of inquiry and hands-on methods. One reason: the ubiquitous K-W-L strategy. This popular literacy strategy is essentially a framework to guide students through a…