Reading Like a Scientist

Abstract

Calls for disciplinary literacy instruction in elementary schools encourage teachers to provide authentic opportunities for students to read and write like scientists. Enacting disciplinary literacy with problem-based learning practices to inquire about the world and find solutions to real-life problems is an effective practice for integrating elementary science and literacy instruction. Science texts found in printed and digital formats are becoming increasing multimodal in nature and require students to have complex navigation and interpretation skills when being asked to read like scientists. We provide a framework, that emerged from our work with urban elementary students in a summer camp, with steps that support students to read like scientists as they use multimodal science texts within a problem-based learning context. These concrete, practical steps combine explicit instruction using think-alouds with disciplinary literacy strategies in science.

Keywords::

• Science literacy
• problem-based learning
• think-alouds
• multimodal science texts

Acknowledgment

Indiana University Northwest provided funding for this study through a Project Support Grant.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00368148.2023.2292394.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sharon Pratt

Sharon Pratt ([email protected]) is an associate professor of elementary and literacy education at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Indiana.

Julianne Coleman

Julianne Coleman ([email protected]) is a professor of literacy education at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.