SCIENCE

21st Century STEM Learning, Language and Culture (Grades K-12)

Essential Question: How can language and culture be used to anchor 21st century STEM learning?

Guiding Questions:

Unit 1: How do the Next Generation Science Standards cultivate learning, language development and cultural competency?

Unit 2: Which cross-cutting concepts in science have parallel language conventions? How can they be used to leverage learning?

Unit 3: How can strategies for technical communication be used to promote science learning practices?

Unit 4: How do the core idea criteria statements support interdisciplinary literacy for students?

Unit 5: How can technology be used to enhance language and content literacy for multicultural students?

Unit 6: Answer the Essential Question

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Language in the Multilingual Science Classroom (Grades 3-5)

Essential Question: How can I create a culturally and linguistically rich classroom environment in a science unit?

Guiding Questions:

Unit 1: How can I help my bilingual learners connect to the world and their community through the study of science?

Unit 2: How can I include activities that bring out science talk for bilingual learners?

Unit 3: What do I need to know to effectively teach the academic language of a science unit to bilingual learners?

Unit 4: How can I support bilingual learners in reading grade level science texts?

Unit 5: How can I reinforce science learning with fun, engaging writing activities?

Unit 6: Answer the Essential Question

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Science Inquiry: Engaging Bilinguals In Scientific Questioning (Grades 4-8)

Essential Question: Why does inquiry science especially benefit bilingual learners?

Guiding Questions:

Unit 1: How can open-ended pre-assessments inform me of my learners’ assets in language and science?

Unit 2: How can we use student observations to launch the inquiry cycle?

Unit 3: How can teachers help bilingual students generate testable questions?

Unit 4: How can we support bilingual learners as they make plans to test a scientific hypothesis?

Unit 5: What strategies facilitate great discourse?

Unit 6: Answer the Essential Question

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Secondary Science (Grades 6-12)

Essential Question: How can the secondary science classroom be organized to maximize academic language development?

Guiding Questions:

Unit 1: Why is a great science classroom, one that utilizes the science and engineering practices described in the Next Generation Science Standards, a natural fit for language learning?

Unit 2: How can we use our science classroom space to affirm the linguistic and cultural diversity present among our students?

Unit 3: How can open questions, asked with the right supports, improve the engagement of bilingual students in deeper thinking?

Unit 4: How can flexible grouping arrangements lead to academic success with language and science content?

Unit 5: How can we diversify classroom activity to maximize differentiation?

Unit 6: Answer the Essential Question

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The 5E Science Model for Multilingual Students (Grades K-8)

Essential Question: How can I use the 5E Instructional Model to improve my science instruction to engage multilingual students more meaningfully in the development of science knowledge and academic language?

Guiding Questions:

Unit 1: How can I plan dynamic science instruction that supports multilingual students’ growth in science knowledge and language development?

Unit 2: How can I use Engage and Explore activities to make science concepts accessible for multilingual students?

Unit 3: How can I provide comprehensible input for multilingual students in the Explain phase of a 5E Model lesson?

Unit 4: How can I support multilingual students in the ELABORATE phase of a 5E Model lesson so that their content and language learning go deeper?

Unit 5: How can I appropriately and effectively measure multilingual students’ learning in a science unit?

Unit 6: Answer the Essential Question

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Writing in Science (Grades 3-12)

Essential Question: How can we teach academic writing through meaningful STEM activities

Guiding Questions:

Unit 1: What kind of meaningful science work can be used to launch an extended writing process?

Unit 2: How can we improve engagement in science writing by identifying an audience?

Unit 3: What pre-writing activities set up bilingual students for success with communicating scientific thinking?

Unit 4: How can teachers and students set language goals that go beyond students’ existing abilities?

Unit 5: How can self and peer assessment lead to writing success without consuming every waking hour of teacher’s time?

Unit 6: Answer the Essential Question

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