Secondary Science Teaching for English Learners
Developing Supportive and Responsive Learning Contexts for Sense-Making and Language Development
By (author) Edward G. Lyon, Sara Tolbert, Jorge Solís, Patricia Stoddart, George C. Bunch
Publication date:
20 June 2016Length of book:
258 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442231252
Secondary Science Teaching for English Learners: Developing Supportive and Responsive Learning Context for Sense-making and Language Development provides a resource for multiple audiences, including pre- and in-service secondary science teachers, science teacher educators, instructional coaches, curriculum specialists, and administrators, to learn about a research-based approach to teaching science that responds to the growing population of English learners in the United States.
The book offers clear definitions of pedagogical practices supported by classroom examples and a cohesive framework for teaching science in linguistically diverse classrooms. The Secondary Science Teaching with English Language and Literacy Acquisition (or SSTELLA) Framework addresses how learning science is enhanced through meaningful and relevant learning experiences that integrate discipline-specific literacy. In particular, four core science teaching practices are described: (1) contextualized science activity, (2) scientific sense-making through scientific and engineering practices, (3) scientific discourse, and (4) English language and disciplinary literacy development. These four core practices are supported by sound theory and research based on unscripted guidelines and flexible modifications of science lessons. Moreover, the four interrelated practices promote students’ use of core science ideas while reading, writing, talking, and doing science, thus reflecting principles from Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, and English language proficiency standards. Secondary Science Teaching provides readers with a historical and theoretical basis for integrating language, literacy, and science in multilingual science classrooms, and well as explicit models and guided support teachers in enacting effective teaching practices in the classroom, including comparative vignettes to distinguish between different types of classroom practice.
Teachers who work with English Language Learning (ELL) students have an excellent resource in the book Secondary Science Teaching for English Learners. This book provides strategies for helping their students make sense of science. One of the major challenges of teaching science to ELL students is helping them to understand science concepts while they are still developing their mastery of a new language. This book provides several examples of effective teaching strategies along with the research that validates each approach.... Secondary Science Teaching for English Learners is written for secondary science teachers and the ELL teachers who work collaboratively with them. The SSTELLA framework and the four practices that are highlighted provide a solid framework for teachers to create lessons that will help their students better understand challenging science concepts and thus prepare them for the future.