Running Head: EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES 1

Evidence-Based Strategies

Laura A. Krcelic

American College of Education

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Evidence-Based Strategies

Utilizing evidenced-based strategies for implementing literacy into the classroom is a

foundational practice for instructional planning. These strategies provide the teacher the tools to

be able to seamlessly embed various literacy practices into any content area so that content is still

being instructed; however, English/language arts skills are still being supported. Across the

content areas, teachers need to provide students opportunities to practice skills in the various

environments outside of English/language arts. In the following lesson plan, five literacy

strategies will be used within a science lesson to address the area of vocabulary development. At

Jefferson pK-8, it has be noticed that students in grades 6th through 8th are weak in the area of

determining the meaning of vocabulary within their reading, therefore, hindering their

understanding of the text they are reading.

School-Wide Literacy Lesson Plan

School-Wide Literacy Meaning: Determining meaning of content-specific vocabulary to

effectively read text content and develop written responses accurately using vocabulary

Lesson Title: Discover Soil Composition

Overview:

Soil has components that scientists use to determine if it is nutrient rich. The composition

of soil could vary across regions and biomes which can be noted through the biodiversity of the

region. Clay, sand, and silt are common particles that compose soil, however, the ratios of each

particle in the soil type varies. The amount of organic material, or hummus, found in soil has a

direct correlation to the health of the soil. Soil forms in layers which are bedrock, parent
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material, subsoil, topsoil, and hummus. These layers are labeled typically in diagrams soil

horizon lettering—O, A, B, C, and R.

Standards:

6.ESS.4 Soil is unconsolidated material that contains nutrient matter and weathered rock

RH.6.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including

vocabulary specific domains related to [science]

Learning Objectives:

• Compare the composition of soil through a reading a grade level text.

• Define content-specific vocabulary through context clues and morpheme knowledge.

Materials, Resources, and Technology

Materials required for the execution of the lesson are copies of the SEPUP Earth Science

text pages A-17 through A-24 so that students may annotate the text. Student groups also require

post-it notes to be able to respond to Stopping to Think questions within their group and respond

on the chart paper throughout the room. Students also require a writing utensil and their

notebooks; notebooks will be used to complete the analysis questions following the reading. The

teacher will require chart paper to label Stopping to Think questions along with highlighters for

working within the small group. Anchor chart to provide students a resource for which type of

annotation marks to use within their reading.

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Instructional Procedures

The teacher will begin the lesson by having the students complete a Do Now prompt as

they enter the classroom. The Do Now is a vocabulary sort where students will place vocabulary

terms in their notebook into a table labeled “I have never seen/heard this word”, “I have heard

this word, but do not know what it means”, and “I know and can define this word”. The words

being sorted revolve around soil composition: sand, silt, clay, composition, weathering,

decomposing, organic matter, nutrients, topsoil, subsoil, parent material, and bedrock. This is

allowing the teacher the opportunity to front-load vocabulary that will be addressed within the

reading along with observe where students may struggle and need extra assistance in the

assignment. According to Wilhelm (2013), when front-loading the vocabulary prior to reading,

the students are able to make valuable connections in the reading to learn activity. The teacher

will discuss with the class where they each stand in terms of the vocabulary introduced and

provide expectations for working within their small groups.

Within small groups, students will read-aloud the text and determine appropriate

annotations that are valuable for the text. They may use the anchor chart for various annotation

marks they can utilize in the text, such as underlining and circling key words, phrase, and

definitions. The annotation of the text keeps the students engaged in the reading to learn activity

while providing a reference for the teacher to where they are pulling their ideas and definitions

from within the text (Herman & Wardrip, 2012). As students are reading aloud, there are

Stopping to Think questions within the text to prompt discussion within the groups regarding the

text. Students are able to directly discuss vocabulary within their groups to determine the

Stopping to Think response their group in putting onto the post-it note then moving over to the

chart paper (Bintz, 2011). The Stopping to Think responses gives teachers a visual clue as to the
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progression of the groups reading while they are working with a small group. The Stopping to

Think responses and annotation allow students to maintain their engagement in the reading and

focus discussions throughout the activity. Students will be able to academically communicate

ideas carried in the text in their responses using key vocabulary introduced (Moje, 2015).

Once students have completed the reading, they will go back into the text to compare

sand, silt and clay using a three-part Venn diagram in their science notebooks. Students will

work together to pull key information from the text to develop a relationship between the various

components of soil. The teacher will pull the class back together to have a whole group

discussion around the vocabulary from the beginning of the period. As a whole group, the class

will develop definitions for each of the vocabulary terms and discuss where this word could be

seen in action outside of the classroom. The teacher will be able to discuss the meaning of words

beyond context clues by using roots and affixes to determine the meaning of the words (example:

subsoil, “sub”= below, therefore it is soil below the surface) (Goodwin, Lipsky & Ahn, 2012).

To close the lesson, students will complete an exit slip of choosing three vocabulary words to

define using common language and illustrate the meaning of the vocabulary term before leaving

the class.

Student Groupings

Students will be working within groups of 3-4 at their science tables. When determining

which students will be grouped together, various aspects come into play including student

reading levels, behavior concerns, etc. The teacher could choose to group students in

homogenous groups where students with high reading levels are grouped together and low

reading levels are grouped together for the activity or they may choose to use heterogeneous
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groups where students are mixed with their reading levels. In this classroom environment, we

will be using heterogeneous grouping to allow students to work together to achieve a common

goal. Students will be able to word collectively to determine the meaning of the vocabulary and

how they used the strategies to find the meaning.

Presentation

In the post-reading discussion, students will be able to share out their thoughts from the

reading beginning with vocabulary meaning. Students will share out with the class the meaning

of the word and how they worked in their group to determine its meaning. Groups will also be

able to discuss the responses to the Stopping to Think questions and decide whether they agree or

disagree with the group’s response. During the discussion, students will be able to use the

“Accountable Talk” graphic organizer on their table to respectfully guide their discussions.

Evaluation

Students will be assessed based on accuracy of their responses in the Stopping to Think

questions. The teacher will record whether or not the students are on the right track or in need of

further instruction on finding word meaning and composition of soil using the progress

monitoring data sheets. The teacher could have follow-up discussions the next day in class by

pulling a small group and revisiting the text targeting the specific vocabulary to better guide

students to word meaning.

Teacher Reflection

The role of literacy instruction, specifically content-specific vocabulary, has a defined

role in all content areas. In science, the text could be more complex than they are used to and the
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content may be unfamiliar to the students. It is important to connect what students currently

know and understand to what they are about to learn. If students are able to form relationships

with their outside knowledge to the content area knowledge, there will be a more concrete

understanding of the ideas and vocabulary presented in the text. As the teacher, it is important to

provide students with strategies to allow them to be successful in their specific class but also in

years to follow. Teaching science is not simply preparing them to be scientists, it is preparing

them to be problem solvers, critical thinkers, and beyond. In doing this, incorporating literacy

skills is fundamental to their success.

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References

Bintz, W. (2011). Teaching Vocabulary Across the Curriculum. Middle School Journal, 42(4).

Retrieved July 21, 2019.

Goodwin, A., Lipsky, M., & Ahn, S. (2012). Word Detectives Using Units of Meaning to

Support Literacy. Reading Teacher. Retrieved July 21, 2019.

Herman, P., & Wardrip, P. (2012). Reading to Learn: Helping Students Comprehend Readings in

Science Class. The Science Teacher. Retrieved July 21, 2019.

Moje, E. B. (2015). Doing and Teaching Disciplinary Literacy with Adolescent Learners: A

Social and Cultural Enterprise. Harvard Educational Review, 85(2). Retrieved July 21,

2019.

Ohio Department of Education. (2017). Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies,

Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12. Retrieved July 28, 2019, from

http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio/English-Language

Art/English-Language-Arts-Standards/ELA-Learning-Standards-2017.pdf.aspx?lang=en

US

Ohio Department of Education. (2018). Ohio's Learning Standards for Science. Retrieved July

28, 2019, from http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Learning-in

Ohio/Science/OhiosLearning-Standards-and

MC/SciFinalStandards121018.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

The Lawrence Hall of Science. (2012). SEPUP: Earth science. Ronkonkoma, NY: Lab-Aids.
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Wilhelm, J. (2013). The Question of Teaching Vocabulary: Which Words? In What Ways?

Voices from the Middle, 20(4). Retrieved July 21, 2019.