Unit 1
Investigating the CCSS in Science
Objective:
To experience a science lesson support by speaking/listening,
writing and reading and to identify Literacy in Science Standards
for grades K-12
Time:
60 minutes
Part I
Introduction
Part II
Science-ELA Investigation
Part III Content Literacy in Science
Materials:
Slides
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
S8
S9
S10
S11
S12
S13
S14
S15
S16
S17
S18
S19
S20
S21
S22
5 minutes
30 minutes
25 minutes
Unit 1 Learning Objectives
New Opportunities for All Learners
Big Idea for Science
Transition to the Investigation
Observation: Notebook Entry
Observation: Ice
Pause and Write
Compare Your Ideas
Read All About It
Pause and Reflect
Linking Science to CCSS-ELA
Oral Language in CCSS: Speaking and Listening
Standards Grade 5
Writing Standards for Literacy in Science Grades 6-8
Reading Standards for Literacy in Science Grades 9-10
Pause and Reflect
Transition to Standards Comparison
ELA Text Type and Purposes
Content Literacy in Science Text Type and Purposes
ELA Text Types and Purposes: What About Elementary
School?
5th Grade ELA: Text Type and Purposes (W5.1)
CCSS Real World Application
Pause
Handouts
H1
Why Ice Floats
H2
CCSS Literacy in Science: Example A 7th Grade Text
Types and Purposes
H3
CCSS Literacy in Science: Example B 5th Grade Text
Types and Purposes
Other
Chart Paper
LCD Projector
Science PLM: Unit 1: Content Literacy in Science Overview
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Markers
Tape
Whiteboards (1 per group of 4)
Whiteboard markers
Hard copy of CaCCSS-ELA
Density Investigation (per group of 4):
2 250 ml beakers (or 2 clear 9 oz solo cups)
Ice cubes
150 ml isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol
150 ml water
Advance
Preparation:
1. If you are going to do the whole investigation, prepare and
organize the hands-on materials
a. label 1 beaker or cup #1. Pour approximately 150 ml of
water into the beaker or cup.
b. Label the other beaker or cup #2. Pour approximately
150 ml of isopropyl alcohol
c. Gather 2 large ice cubes, one for each sample.
2. Duplicate H1 (Why Ice Floats); H2 (Example A); H3
(Example B) for each participant.
3. Read/Review the science background information in H1
(Why Ice Floats)
Procedure:
Part I
Introduction
(5 minutes)
1. Display S1 (Unit 1 Learning Objectives) and explain that in this session
participants will experience a science lesson supported by speaking/listening,
writing and reading and identify Literacy in Science Standards for grades K- 12.
2. Display S2 (New Opportunities for All Learners). Briefly describe the three
movements as complimentary opportunities to deepen student learning: The
21st Century skills call for a workforce that is creative, thinks critically, can
collaborate and communicate; The CCSS wants students to be college and
career ready through real world application experiences; and the NGSS
emphasizes that students understand scientific knowledge AND how we came to
know it. NGSS is also aligned to the CCSS making it easier for teachers to align
with both sets of standards.
3. Display S3 (Big Idea for Science) and comment on how the CCSS can support
student learning in science.
Part II
Science-ELA Investigation
(30 minutes)
Science PLM: Unit 1: Content Literacy in Science Overview
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4. Display S4 (Transition to the Investigation). Explain that participants are
going to complete an investigation to see how student experiences in the
science classroom can support the Common Core Standards in ELA by
addressing the Literacy in Science Standards.
5. Display S5 (Observation: Notebook Entry). Distribute two solo cups (#1
and #2) with the liquids to partners or table groups.
a. Ask participants to make observations independently about the two liquids
and record in their notebook. Remind them to use as many senses as they
want, except taste.
b. Ask partners or table groups to share their observations.
6. Display S6 (Observation: Ice). Place an ice cube in each cup for each table
group or partner. Ask participants to make observations of the ice in Cup #1
and Cup #2 and record their observations in their notebook.
7. Display S7 (Pause and Write). Distribute whiteboards (or chart paper) and
markers to groups of 4 participants. Ask participants to discuss their
observations, and collaborate to draw a picture on their whiteboard that
illustrates their combined explanation of what they think happened in each
sample. Direct each group to write a detailed explanation of what they think
happened in each of the samples.
8. Display S8 (Compare Your Ideas). Select a few whiteboard and have groups
share their thinking. Ask probing questions of each group to elicit their thinking
about their observations.
Trainer Note. Depending on the content knowledge of the group, there may be a
variety of ideas including density, convection, floating and sinking,--even gravity!
The emphasis of this part of the activity is just to reveal what they are thinking
about—not to correct the science behind their observations.
9. Build on the responses that indicate knowledge of density. Ask groups what
questions they have about density and record on the chart.
10.Display S9 (Read All About It) and refer participants to H1 (Why Does Ice
Float?).
a. Briefly explain “talk to the text” as a chance for each person to read
independently, recording their thoughts as they read by writing in the
margins, making notes, designating unfamiliar vocabulary, asking questions
and making comments and predictions.
b. Provide time for reading.
Science PLM: Unit 1: Content Literacy in Science Overview
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c. Ask participants to discuss what they understood from the text with their
partner. Note that in the classroom, partners would then share their ideas
with the whole class to help each other clarify meaning.
d. Ask partnership to make changes to their drawing/explanation based on their
reading.
e. Whip around the room the get a few responses. Remind participants that in
this overview unit, one purpose is to expose them to how reading could be
incorporated into science understanding. In the real classroom, the teacher
would take time to help students process their original thinking and their
current thinking based on what they noted from the text.
11.Display S11 (Linking Science to CCSS-ELA). Discuss their responses to the
prompt and explain that participants will now debrief the science lesson in terms
of the CCSS-ELA. Explain that for this overview, participants will see examples
of standards from elementary, middle school and high school. Of course, in
their context, they would only use the standards appropriate for their grade
level.
12.Display S12 (Oral Language is CCSS: Speaking and Listening StandardsGrade 5). Ask participants “to what extent did you engage in any processes
related to these standards while doing the science lesson?” Discuss, with a
partner, the standards you engaged in during the investigation and share with
the whole group.
Trainer Note: The sharing of the whiteboard originally, and then when revised
address the part of the standard that asks for presenting claims and evidence
(argument) emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant
evidence…..etc. As taught in this lesson, the last part of the standard (appropriate
eye contact, adequate volume….etc) was not addressed. However, it could have
been included in a more formal presentation.
13.Transition to writing standards by pointing out that oral language used by
students in authentic learning experiences, such as a science investigation is
critical to writing for a purpose.
14.Display S13 (Writing Standards for Literacy in Science Grades 6-8). Ask
participants to discuss if and how the use of science in this investigation
supported this writing standard concerning text type and purpose.
Trainer Note: State that other writing standards, such as text type and purpose #2
could also be used. The teacher needs to decide what the end goal of the writing
will be and to target instruction to that end. In this case, the goal is for students to
make a claim and provide evidence and reasoning for their claim. The activity is a
beginning experience towards that end, providing data from an experiment and
information from the text that could be used as evidence for a claim.
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15.Display S14 (Reading Standards for Literacy in Science Grades 9-10) Ask
participants to discuss how the science reading and processing of the reading
supported these reading standards.
16.Display S15 (Pause and Reflect). Ask participants to reflect: How can the of
CCSS-ELA Literacy in Science promote better understanding of the science
content and build literacy skills and understanding?
Part III
Content Literacy in Science
25 minutes
17.Display S16 (Transition to Standards Comparison). Explain that participants
will next have an opportunity to compare the ELA standards and the ELA
Content Literacy in Science Standards. They will use a middle school and
elementary example. The high school is like the middle school example.
18.Display S17 (ELA Text Types and Purposes). Refer participants to H2
(CCSS Literacy in Science: Example A 7th Grade Text Types and Purposes).
Have participants fold H2 in half, with the left side facing up. Ask participants to
review the ELA Text Types and Purposes #1-3 with a partner and describe what
they notice about the standards.
Trainer Note: For Text Types, there are 3 standards from grades K-12: #1 is
argument/opinion in K-5, switching to arguments in 6-12; #2 is
informative/explanatory; #3 is narrative
19.Display S18 (Content Literacy in Science Text Type and Purposes). Ask
participants to unfold H2 to reveal the right side of the paper. With a partner,
ask them to review these standards, then discuss similarities and differences
they notice between the ELA and Literacy in Science standards. Ask several
partners to share what they noticed. Comment on how much the standards in
ELA align with the Content Literacy in Science Standards.
20.Display S19 (ELA Text Types and Purposes: What About Elementary
School?). Refer participants to H3 (CCSS Literacy in Science: Example B
5th Grade Text Types and Purposes). Have participants fold H3 in half, with
the left side facing up. Ask participants to review the ELA Text Types and
Purposes #1-3 with a partner and describe what they notice about the
standards.
21.Ask participants to unfold H3 to reveal the right side of the paper. What do
they notice? Facilitate a discussion that leads participants to the realization that
the 5th grade standards do not include specific literacy in science standards;
instead, they are embedded in the ELA standard. Click to display the second
part of S19.
22.Display S20 (5th Grade Text Type and Purposes). Ask participants to pay
particular attention to text type#1: argument/opinion. Have participants
Science PLM: Unit 1: Content Literacy in Science Overview
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discuss opinion in ELA writing and opinion in science. Share whole group,
making the point that while an opinion is valid in ELA writing, an opinion is not
appropriate in science. In science, students need to use claims, evidence and
reasoning to build an argument.
23.Display S21 (CCSS Real World Application). Remind participants that both
NGSS and CCSS have real world applications in their lesson design and the
student work that is generated in the lesson.
24.Display S22 (Pause). Provide time for participants to browse the ELA Content
in Literacy Standards for their grade in Speaking, Listening, Writing, Reading
and Language. Have them select particular ones they might want to explore in
Unit 2.
Science PLM: Unit 1: Content Literacy in Science Overview
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H1
Why Does Ice Float in Water and not in Alcohol?
Maria C. Simani, Ph.D.
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of California, Riverside
Why does a cube of ice float in a cup of water, but not in a cup of alcohol?
In order to answer this question, we need to understand the principle by which something may
float when placed into a liquid, and then to examine, in detail, why ice, which is frozen water,
floats on liquid water instead of sinking to the bottom of the cup.
In general, a substance floats on the surface of a fluid if the substance is less dense than the
fluid. That is, the substance must have less mass per unit volume than other components in the
fluid. For example, a rock placed on the surface of water in a bucket will sink to the bottom
because the rock is denser compared to the water’s density. The water in the bucket, which is
less dense than the rock, floats to the top.
When a cube of wood is placed into a bucket of water, the cube of wood will “push” the water
out of the way, or displace it, until the cube of wood reaches equilibrium with the water at which
point the cube of wood will float. When conducting this experiment, you will notice that the level
of the water in the bucket increased when the cube of wood was placed on the water. If you
measure the weight of the volume of water that the cube of wood displaced, you will find that it
is equal to the weight of the cube. The cube, because of its mass, is pushing the water down,
but it also feels an upward force called buoyancy. The buoyancy force is exactly equal to the
weight of liquid displaced by the cube. Therefore, the cube of wood floats because it displaces a
weight of fluid equal to its own weight. Finally, the volume of the water displaced by the cube is
less than the volume of the cube of wood itself; therefore the density of the cube is less than the
density of the water. This situation is true also for fluids that may float on the surface of other
fluids. For instance, oil will float on water because oil is less dense than the water.
Now, let’s get back to the ice cube in water.
In general, most substances have a lower density when they are in a liquid phase then when
they are in a solid phase or frozen. Water, however, is an exception. Water reaches its
maximum density at 4°C (approximately 40°F). As it cools down further and freezes into ice, it
actually becomes less dense. The reason why an ice cube is less dense than water is found in
the molecular structure of the water and because of its hydrogen bonding.
A water molecule is made of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen
atoms strongly joined to each other by covalent bonds. The sharing
of the negatively-charged electrons among the three atoms creates
a feature by which, overall, the charge of the hydrogen atoms
become slightly more positive compared to the charge of the oxygen
atom that, instead, become more negative. For this reason, water
molecules are also attracted to each other by weaker hydrogen
bonds between the positively charged hydrogen atoms and the
negatively charged oxygen atoms of neighboring water molecules. As water is cooled below
4°C, the hydrogen bonds adjust to hold the negatively charged oxygen atoms apart leaving a
space in between these atoms. This effect produces a crystal lattice, commonly known as ”ice.”
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H1
In this configuration, ice is about 9% less dense than liquid water.
In other words, ice takes up about 9% more space than water, so
a liter of ice weighs less than a liter of water. Thus, ice water is
less dense than liquid water.
One fortunate consequence of this physical phenomenon is that
lakes and rivers freeze from top to bottom, allowing fish to survive
even when the surface of a lake has frozen over. If the ice on top
of the lake sank, the water would be displaced to the top and
exposed to the colder temperature, forcing rivers and lakes to fill with ice and freeze solid, which
would, in turn, kill the fish and other life found in the rivers and lakes.
The most energetically favorable configuration of water
molecules is one in which each molecule is hydrogen-bonded to
four neighboring molecules. Because of the thermal motion of
the molecules above the freezing point, this ideal configuration is
never achieved in the liquid phase. But when water freezes to
ice and thermal energy is removed, the water molecules settle
into exactly this kind of an arrangement in the ice crystal.
To make the comparison more explicit, two three-dimensional
views of a typical ice (top) and liquid water (bottom) follow.
Ice: Notice the greater openness of the inside the ice, which is
necessary to ensure the strongest degree of hydrogen bonding in a
uniform, extended crystal lattice when the amount of thermal energy
available to the molecules is less.
Liquid water: Instead, in liquid water a more crowded and jumbled
arrangement of water molecules is possible because of the greater
amount of thermal energy available above the freezing point.
The two arrangements show that when hydrogen bonding is at its
maximum in ice, ice has a more open structure and thus a lower density than liquid water.
What about a cube of ice into a glass of alcohol?
The molecular structure of liquid alcohol is very different than that of liquid water and more
complex. In particular, the spacing between molecules in liquid alcohol is larger per unit volume
than that of ice. In other words, the density of alcohol is less than the density of water either as
ice or liquid. For this reason, the ice cube will sink at the bottom of a glass of alcohol.
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H3
CCSS Literacy in Science: Example A
7th Grade Text Types and Purposes
ELA
Literacy in Science
Text Type and Purposes
1.Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons
and relevant evidence.
a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and address
alternative or opposing claims, and organize the
reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) or counterarguments with
logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using
accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an
understanding of the topic or text.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion
and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons,
and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that
follows from and supports he argument presented.
Text Type and Purposes
1.Write arguments focused on discipline-specific
content.
a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue,
acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from
alternative or opposing claims, and organize the
reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and
relevant, accurate data and evidence, that
demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text,
using credible sources.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion
and clarify the relationships among claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that
follows from and supports the argument presented.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a
topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information
through the selection, organization, and analysis of
relevant content.
a. Introduce a topic or thesis statement; clearly
previewing what is to follow; organize ideas,
concepts, and information, using strategies such as
definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and
cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings),
graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when
useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other information and
examples.
c. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and
clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain specific
vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that
follows from the information or explanation
presented.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts including the
narration of historical event, scientific
procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
a. Introduce a topic clearly; previewing what is to
follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into
broader categories as appropriate to achieving
purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics
(e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to
aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, well-chosen
facts, concrete details, quotations, or other
information and examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create
cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas
and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain specific
vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective
tone.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that
follows from and supports the information or
explanation presented.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events using effective technique,
relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event
sequence.
a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a
context and point of view and introducing a narrator
and /or characters; organize an event sequence that
unfolds naturally and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing,
and description, to develop experiences, events,
and/or characters.
c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and
clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one
time frame or setting to another.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant
descriptive details, and sensory language to capture
the action and convey experiences and events.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated
experiences or events.
3. (See note; not applicable as a separate requirement)
Note: Students’ narrative skills continue to grow in
these grades. The Standards require that students be
able to incorporate narrative elements effectively in
arguments and informative/explanatory texts. In
science and technical subjects, students must be able to
write precise enough descriptions of the step-by-step
procedures they use in investigations or technical work
so that others can replicate them and (possibly) reach
the same results.
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H3
CCSS Literacy in Science: Example B
5th Grade Text Types and Purposes
ELA
Text Type and Purposes
1.Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a
point of view with reasons and information.
a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion,
and create an organizational structure in which ideas
are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
b. Provide logically ordered reasons that are
supported by facts and detail.
c. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and
clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically).
d. Provide a concluding statement or section related
to the opinion presented.
Literacy in Science
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a
topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
a. Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general
observation and focus, and group related information
logically; include formatting (e.g., headings), and
multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and
examples related to the topic.
c. Link ideas within and across categories of
information using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g.,
in contrast, especially).
d. Use precise language and domain specific
vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section related to
the information or explanation presented.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events using effective technique,
descriptive details, and clear event sequence.
a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and
introducing a narrator and /or characters; organize an
event sequence that unfolds naturally.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing,
and description, to develop experiences and events to
show responses of characters to situations.
c. Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and
clauses to manage the sequence of events.
d. Use concrete words and phrases, and sensory
details to convey experiences and events precisely.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated
experiences or events.
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