Three Steps for Better Reading in Science: Before, during, and After

Walton, Susan, Science Scope

Byline: Susan Walton

Photo courtesy of the author

It's exciting to have a beautiful new science textbook-if students can read it! Unfortunately, many students can't read their science textbooks unassisted. This may be because students are reading below grade level, or because the material, like that of many science texts, has a readability one or more grade levels above the grade in which it is being taught. In either case, teachers must provide a structure that brings the material to students' level and engages them with the text.

While there are many reading strategies available, some are more effective with the informative, nonfiction texts used in science classrooms. A good model for literacy instruction in the science classroom includes strategies students can employ before, during, and after reading (Robb 2003).

We used several different forms of readability tests on our text choices during the last adoption and found the choices to be at a much higher level than the publishers' literature had claimed. This is probably because textbook publishers may not include the difficult science vocabulary when they calculate readability. For examples, see "Readability Levels of the Science Textbooks Most Used in Secondary Schools" (Chiang-Soong and Yager 1993) and Content Area Reading (Vacca and Vacca 2004).

Teaching strategies for reading instruction

Think-alouds Practice makes perfect for teachers and students not familiar with reading strategies. Teachers can model the strategies for the class using overhead transparencies or chart paper. A think-aloud procedure demonstrating the thought processes used for successful reading can make all the difference for students who struggle to read the text (see think-aloud sidebar). A good example would be to read through a text selection with the class, thinking aloud at every possible point, and demonstrating how to use all of the reading helpers provided by the text, such as pictures, captions, and bold-faced terms.

Think-aloud

Talk with students about metacognition when you model and think aloud with them. They don't need the details, but they do need to know that you want them to think about thinking and how they learn. Here's an analogy that makes a good introduction: The brain and all of its neurons are like the dense undergrowth in the forest. It's really difficult to whack a trail through the first time around. But, the more you use the trail, the smoother the path becomes and the easier it is to travel. When you learn a new idea, it is like the dense forest. The more you use the idea path, the easier it is to understand the concept.

Don't worry about going overboard with examples during your first few think-alouds. Make it highly visual and very personal. Remember, brain research tells us that those images and connections are the key to remembering new vocabulary.

Students will need to see and hear examples of different kinds of mental references. "Look at those children on …

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Publication information: Article title: Three Steps for Better Reading in Science: Before, during, and After. Contributors: Walton, Susan - Author. Journal title: Science Scope. Publication date: December 2006. Page number: 32+. © 2009 National Science Teachers Association. COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group.

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