the science of writing and the writing of science cari cockrell denton isd ccockrell@dentonisd.org

The Science of Writing and the

Writing of Science

Cari Cockrell

Denton ISD

ccockrell@dentonisd.org

How we gather around the pond…

Children illustrate a pond.

Share books about ponds.

Play with pond poems and songs.

Learn through center activities during the day.

Jump in! Select an animal to research.

Read nonfiction books to locate specific information.

Transfer information to graphic organizer.

Publish information in group-selected genre.

Publish and present Big book

Poem

Song

Reader’s theater

Research Says…it engages learners

Including more informational text in classrooms may improve attitudes toward reading and even serve as a catalyst for overall literacy development (Caswell and Duke,1998)

Exploring Informational Texts:From Theory to Practice

Research Says…it expands knowledge

IRA [ International Reading Association] and NAEYC [National Association for the Education of Young Children] contended that to experience expected vocabulary development, kindergartners “need to be exposed to vocabulary from a wide variety of genres, including informational texts as well as narratives” (p. 203) (Richgels, 2002)

Research says…it is authentic

It is not possible to question, investigate, analyze data and revise without written records. (Saul, Reardon, Pearce, Dieckman and Neutze, 2002)

Science Workshop: Reading, Writing and Thinking Like a Scientist

Relation to TEKSScience

…ask questions about organisms, 2A. …describe properties of objects and characteristics of organisms, 5A …sort organisms into groups according to parts, 6A …record observations about parts of animals, 6C

Language Arts and Reading …write labels, notes, and captions for illustrations, 15B …write to record ideas and reflections, 15C …record or dictate questions for investigating, 16A …record or dictate his/her own knowledge of a topic in various

ways…and showing connections among ideas, 16B

Bibliography Chesworth, M., (1994). Archibald Frisby. Farrar, Straus

and Giroux. Hoyt, L., Mooney, M. and Parkes, B. (2003). Exploring

Informational Texts: From Theory to Practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman.

Saul, W., Reardon, J., Pearce, C., Dieckman, D.,Neutze, D. (2002). Science Workshop: Reading, Writing and Thinking Like a Scientist. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman.

Richgels, D., (2002). Informational texts in kindergarten: informational texts can be valuable sources of content knowledge and provide emergent readers and writers with opportunities to explore the workings of written language. The Reading Teacher, 55 (6), 586+.