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Growing Literacy in
Math and Science
Shanelle Bice
Strengthening Literacy
American College of Education
17 December 2014

Where is the greatest

literacy need?

The greatest literacy need at a charter school in

Nevada is found in the Math and Science classrooms.

Students are unable to complete word problems and

labs to an acceptable degree because they do not
comprehend the directions or problem

Literacy is impacting these subjects in a previously unthought of way. Students cannot show their knowledge
if they do not understand what is being asked of them.

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Research to Guide Instruction
Math
Emergent
Meets

13%

The chart to the left shows the

results of the Nevada State
Report Card (2014). 36% of
students are not meeting the
standards.

As research was done through

STAR testing results, it became
clear that the major issue was
word problems and being able to
break them down in order to
correctly apply the math skills.

While Science experiences

slightly better numbers, the
need to deconstruct text in order
to make sense was apparent.

Approaching
Exceeds

11%

25%

51%

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Lesson Plan for ELA to Support
Math and Science
Lesson

Title: Annotated Reading of Story Problems and Labs

Overview:

The lesson will review reading strategies and practice annotation in

order to understand the instructions given and break down problems that seems
insurmountable before.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.8
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing
whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient;
recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Objectives/

Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to read a story problem,

annotate it to show understanding and explain what is being asked. Students
will read and annotate instructions and summarize the instructions in their own
words to show understanding.

Materials,

Resources and Technology: Story problem examples that the students

have not yet encountered, but will encounter within the unit of study, will allow
them to annotate and prepare with realistic text. Lab instructions for an
upcoming Science lab will also be required. Students will need colored pencils,
pens, or highlighters to aid in annotation.

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Procedures - Vocabulary
The

first step in understanding a question is

an understanding of the vocabulary used.
Sedita (2011) focuses on vocabulary
acquisition to increase comprehension. The
teacher will similarly begin the lesson be
reviewing roots and base words so students
have a clear understanding of the words used
in the instructions and the word problems. By
focusing on the meaning of these words,
students will gain a stronger grasp on how to
apply them. English teachers can get the
needed words from the Math and Science
teachers.

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Procedures Modeling
After

students understand the vocabulary the

teacher will model how to read an equation or
instruction sheet. Mestsisto (2005) states that
research indicated that Math texts have more
concepts per sentence than any other type of
text. Students need to be guided in how to read
and separate the concepts. The teacher will
instruct the students on how to separate the
concepts based on the vocabulary words, verbs,
and nouns. When a student is able to identify the
verb, or do, of the problem/instruction, they
have a clearer understanding of what is being
asked of them.

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Procedures - Annotation
The

next strategy is closely linked to the

previous: annotating a text. The teacher will
instruct them to take annotation to the next
level by making notes on the text as they
read, students practice writing and
metacognition. Matheny (2009) recommends
using a similar set up to aid students in
gaining confidence in literacy: vocabulary,
comprehension, and writing. As the students
write what the see and their ideas about
what could happen, they are making a deeper
connection to the text.

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Finishing up

Student Groupings: Instruction will be given in a whole group format.

After modeling annotation students will split into groups of four. Half of
the groups will work with a Mathematics problem; the other half will
work with the Science lab instructions.

Presentation: After students finish their annotation/summarization,

groups will pair up and teach each other what they learned in their
different processes.

Assessment/Evaluation: The assessment will take place in 3 classrooms.

The ability to teach another student how to break down a word problem or lab
instructions the Language Arts classroom

The ability to break down a math problem and complete it using the corrects
processes Math classroom

The ability to annotate and follow lab directions correctly and defend the
findings Science classroom

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References
Kenney, J.M., Handewicz, E., Heuer, L., Metsisto, D. and Tuttle, C.L. (2005). Reading in the
Mathematics
Classroom. In, Literacy Strategies for Improving Mathematics Instruction.
Retrieved from:http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/105137/chapters/Reading-in-theMathematics-Classroom.aspx
Matheny, K. (2009, February). Addressing Literacy in the Science and Mathematics Classroom.
Adolecent Literacy in Perspective. (pp.17 21). Retrieved from: http://ohiorc.org
/orc_documents/ORC/ Adlit/InPerspective/2009-02/in_perspective_2009-02.pdf
Nevada Department of Education. (2014). State report card. Retrieved from http://
www.nevadareportcard.com/PDF/2014/18423.E.pdf
Sedita, J. (2011). Adolescent Literacy Addressing the Needs of Students in Grades 412.
Retrieved December 3, 2014, from http://www.keystoliteracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/
08/ Adolescent-Literacy-addressing-the-needs-of-students.pdf