science notebooking: building inquiry through communication amanda justice
TRANSCRIPT
Science Notebooking: Building Inquiry through
Communication
Amanda Justice
“Scientific principles and laws do not lie on the surface of nature. They are hidden, and must be
wrested from nature by an active and elaborate technique
of inquiry.” ~John Dewey
“Science is built up of facts, as a house is built of stones; but an accumulation of facts is no more a science, than a heap of stones is a house.” ~Henri Poincare
“The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he’s the one who asks the right questions.” ~Claude Levi-Strauss
“Facts are not science – as a dictionary is not literature. ~ Martin H. Fischer
“The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.” ~ Albert Einstein
What is a scientist???
From Barbara Lehn http://www.slideshare.net
What is a Science Notebook?
“Notebooks are meant to be tools for students to record both their data and thinking as they work with
materials. They are utilized prior to the investigation to record the students’ thinking or planning; during
the investigation to record words, pictures, photos, or numbers, possibly getting wet and messy in the
process; and after the investigation to help students reflect on their thinking and data in order to share
them with others.”
From Science Notebooks: Writing About Inquiry by Brian Campbell
and Lori Fulton, p. 2
Science Notebooks are a place to record…
• Date and Time• Table of Contents• Questions• Predictions• Plans (Materials and Procedures)
• Data Obtained (Observations)
• Claims and Evidence (Graphs/ Charts)
• Conclusions• Reflections*Every entry will not necessarily have
ALL of these components.
What does recording and organizing data look like?
• Notes and lists• Technical drawings and diagrams with
labels• Charts• Tables• Graphs• Written observationsFrom Science Notebooks: Writing About Inquiry by Brian Campbell
and Lori Fulton, p. 25
Sample Sentence Starters• Today I learned that…• I predict that…• What we did in science today reminds me of…• I am confused about…• I previously thought _________, but now I think ____________.• I would like to explore _____________ because _______________.• In another subject [social studies, reading, math] we talked about
_________, which related to science because…• I wonder why…• I was surprised when…• This relates to…• I observed that…• What if…• I see a pattern in…
Who uses Science Notebooks?Thomas Edison
Lewis and Clark
Leonardo DaVinci
Why use Science Notebooks?
• Scientist keep notebooks in “real life”!!! From NSTA
• Notebooks are Thinking Tools• Guide Teacher Instruction• Enhance Literacy Skills
(expository writing – procedural writing, narrative writing, descriptive writing, labeling)
• Support Differentiated Learning• Inquiry based • Gives students VOICE for their experiences
From Five Good Reasons to Use Science Noteboooks
•Allows students to describe in writing the experiments
they perform and their interpretation of the results.
•Students are able to clarify what they know and expose what they don’t know.
•Involves students in the process of constructing knowledge (Writing to learn)
•They’re FUN!!!From Using Science Notebooks to Improve Writing Skills and Conceptual Understanding
Research based method for higher achievement…
• Fourth graders in El Centro School District, in California, participated in a study where student writing was accompanied by an active science program.– Students more than doubled their statewide
standardized test scores in science and reading and almost doubled their math scores.
• Sixth graders experiencing the same program for 4 years, almost quadrupled their writing scores. (a large percent of this population were English language learners)
Using Science Notebooks to Improve Writing Skills and Conceptual Understanding
Basic Theory• Notebook assignments hit
multiple learning styles
• Mulitiple points of processing
(The more they hear it, look at it, write it, the more likely they are to retain it)
• Impersonal science topics become personal for students
www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/08/eann1/How%20...
S.C. State Standards (Overview)“The goal of science in grade one is to provide the opportunity for
students to develop the skills of wondering, questioning, investigating, and communicating as the means of making sense of the world.”
• Building Inquiry Starts Early!!!“The skills and tools listed in the scientific inquiry sections will be
assessed on statewide tests independently from the content knowledge in the respective grade or high school core area under which they are listed. Moreover, scientific inquiry standards and indicators will be assessed cumulatively. Therefore, as students progress through the grade levels, they are responsible for the scientific inquiry indicators – including a knowledge of the use of tools – from all their earlier grades.”
Activity
• Classify
• Record Data
• Share
How can I build vocabulary and encourage reluctant
writers to communicate using science notebooks?
Technical Drawings
• “Labeled diagrams work like glossaries and they can be a more powerful tool than vocabulary lists…the words are supported by pictures which help to define or explain the meanings of the words especially for very young students or those students who are learning English as a second language.”
From Science Notebooks: Writing About Inquiry by Brian Campbell
and Lori Fulton, p. 35, 36
Dynamic Word Walls
• Words, definitions, and illustrations added lesson by lesson
• Goal is to create a word wall for students to use rich academic language as they listen, speak, read, and write
• Gives a visual reference to use
when writing in notebooks.From Scaffolding Science Inquiry Through Lesson Design
http://www.sciencenotebooks.org/
Tying it All TogetherKathie Wood Ray’s Inquiry Framework
How this applies to science…
Gathering Texts Gathering Materials
Setting the Stage Guided Questions
Immersion Immersion
Close Study Close Study
Writing Under the Influence Writing Under the InfluenceFrom Study Driven pg. 19
Butler., M. B., & Nesbit, C. (2008). Using Science Notebooks to Improve Writing Skills and Conceptual Understanding. Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas , Vol. 44, 137-145.
Campbell, B., & Fulton, L. (2003). Science Notebooks: Writing About Inquiry. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Klentschy, M. P. (September 2008). Chapter2: What Is a Science Notebook? NSTA Reports , Vol. 20 (Issue 1), 7-9.
Klentschy, M., & Thompson, L. (2008). Scaffolding Science Inquiry Through Lesson Design. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Ray, K. W. (2006). Study Driven: A Framework for Planning Units of Study in the Writing Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Using Science Journals to Encourage all Students to Write. (Nov. 2008). Science Scope , 41-45.
Gilbert, J., & Kotelman, M. (2005). Five Good Reasons to Use Science Notebooks. Science and Children, Vol. 43, 28-32.
Works Cited