Reading in science is technical reading, and chances are your students haven’t had much experience with it, unless they actually read their textbooks. Science textbooks and journal articles are types of scientific texts.
Reading these types of texts can be difficult due to the following reasons:
Unfamiliar vocabulary
Incorporation of other types of information such as diagrams, data tables and graphs
Difficulty in making connections to prior knowledge
One strategy students can use is called text coding. Text coding is used in other subject areas, but the methods and coding strategies may be different for science. Text coding can be useful to students for several reasons.
It can familiarize students with the format of scientific information.
It teaches students how to selectively underline relevant information.
Students must read the information at least twice which is necessary to absorb unfamiliar scientific information.
With repeated use, students can internalize this method and become comfortable with technical reading.
This is not casual reading……Having a reason for reading scientific texts is key to success. Some of these reasons could be:
Personal interest
To obtain evidence to back up a claim
Background information for an experiment to learn about variables that affect the outcome
Information for designing an experiment or solving a problem
The basic process of text coding a scientific article includes the following:
Having a reason to read a scientific article
Making a list of questions.
Make a list of text codes to match the questions.
Skimming the text to make sure it is adequate for the task.
Noting vocabulary that is unfamiliar
Reading and underlining/highlighting text that is useful.
Re-reading and using text codes in the margins to identify important text
Answering questions and/or using the information for a writing task.
Text coding requires that students use a type of text that can be highlighted or underlined. This means they will need a paper copy of the text or tools available online to use to underline/highlight and place codes in the margins.
Reliable Sources: Remind students to use a reliable source. Scientific information should come from experts in the field. Academic textbooks are usually appropriate as well as peer reviewed journal articles, and .edu or .gov websites. .org sites can be used with caution. Students should note the source of their article using a bibliography format.
Text coding may need to be scaffolded at first. Some suggestions include:
Using the student’s text book as the reading source
Supplying students with the questions they need to answer
Answers are found in order in the text
Later when students are more proficient with this strategy
Choose a more difficult text or question set
Give students choices of scenarios to read about
Make questions more complex and require synthesis of answers scattered throughout a text
When students are ready, give them access to a variety of scientific texts and allow them to choose what they want to read about and what they want to know about it.
I have a text coding lesson on TPT. It gives students information about text coding and provides a worksheet that could be used with text coding, as well as scenarios, and a sample article on emerging pathogens. Check it out.
Comments