Thank you for visiting the First Grade Second Language video! Some research shows that developing students’ knowledge positively impacts their literacy development and reading comprehension.  In this project our research team at Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley developed units to put this idea to the test in classrooms with high numbers of first grade students who were also learning English.  In these units, first grade students take on the role of scientists and engineers to learn science by figuring out a solution to a real world problem and by figuring out how the natural world works. Importantly, the units integrate reading, writing, and talking about science as tools for figuring out, discussing, and communicating science ideas.

We are really interested in hearing your thoughts and questions about the project, particularly:

1.                      What else you would like to know about the project and the curriculum?
2.                      What questions does this video raise for you about teaching science in first grade classrooms?
3.                      What challenges do you think we should anticipate when trying to implement this kind of curriculum more broadly?

We look forward to your comments and suggestions!

I am so appreciative of your project that works to support what teachers are already focused on at that grade level (literacy) yet addressing a significant gap in early elementary (science) and a challenge in many regions (effective ESL that is able to focus on science ideas).  

I would like to know from the participating teachers did it feel like a layer of "adding on" to an already full plate or were they able to adjust time so that literacy goals were met while also being able to do science?   I know some regions have very prescriptive literacy programs.  How do you think this would work in an environment that is less flexible?  

Do you have any plans for a broader implementation?

In fact we were working in a situation that included a very tight following of a literacy program on the one hand, but in which teachers had a few degrees of freedom. More than a conflict between programs in one classroom we were faced with the teacher's belief regarding what children needed to do in order to learn how to read--that is, this teacher thought we were asking kids to do something that was out of their reach. Teachers who took the leap and implemented the whole program (doing, talking, reading, and writing) with greater fidelity were surprised at how much the kids grew and developed as readers overall. We don't have a measure that can answer why; but, we observed highly engaged and motivated students and would guess that motivation contributed to persistence in learning. One teacher noted that she observed her students using more strategies to understand some of the more challenging texts e.g., the reference book in the program. We only had to persuade a few principals to let us try the project--getting a school district on board may be a bigger challenge. We do have three large districts on board for an efficacy study, though; and, the funding is pending for that efficacy study.

It's great you have those districts on board for an efficacy study. I really hope you're able to complete that study.

Some of the districts we work with have very little wiggle room and science has been eclipsed or eliminated by the literacy/math focus. When I taught science to first graders, an introduction to the intrigues of the natural world sent kids hungrily to books to learn more and motivated learning to read. I echo Mary in understanding that there are lots of good things teachers would like to include in the first grade day but many are constrained by schedules and requirements. 

In our recent work with upper elementary students just learning English, we observed (no measurement although we'd really like to take that on) that science activities focused on firsthand exploration of materials coupled with opportunities to talk and write or draw with peers in small and large groups were successful strategies for learning science and developing language, both talking and writing. I suspect reading also benefits! 

Sally

Allison, This is such an exciting project! Can you talk a little bit more about how you worked with the reluctant teachers to get them to "take the leap" and implement the curriculum as designed? We've had similar challenges in middle and high school curriculum field tests, etc and I'd love to hear how you worked through that with them (or if you have alternate suggestions of what NOT to do!).

Yes, we are excited about the efficacy study. Another couple of things about the program itself and the teaching of it that may be useful for you. First, we  carefully selected CCSS-ELA standards that we could address in the curriculum--so in that respect teaching the units is a way to meet both NGSS and CCSS-ELA standards. We hope that this makes it "easier" to include in the school day because the integrated science and literacy curriculum is supporting the teachers in also meeting literacy standards. We did use a developmental spelling measure as a way to assess word reading ability at pre and post and then to see if there were any negative impacts on learning to read based on participation in the full treatment group. There were no negative effects--so we also take that as information that may persuade more teachers/districts to embrace the curriculum.

Second, we only expected this curriculum to be taught about three times a week--not everyday. And, each lesson is designed in "chunks" or activities that could be taught in smaller time frames as long as activities are not skipped. This would give teachers  flexibility by allowing them to designate smaller time-frames per day to teaching science and spread a unit out over more weeks.

It sounds like your work, Sally, addresses some of the same goals we are addressing: developing oral language and literacy skills. I bet you would find benefits in reading as well. Are you familiar with John Guthrie's work with the CORI curriculum? 

What an interesting program! Did you make any specific modifications to the content for English learners?

I absolutely love this idea! In our school, we noticed that on standardized tests our students scored much lower when they were reading non-fiction texts. There was a big push in our school to incorporate more non-fiction texts in our literacy program. I began to incorporate a lot more non-fiction texts into my guided reading groups. I also bought a lot of National Geographic for Kids books. The children love reading them so much I can barely keep them on the shelf. The books have made the children very inquisitive about the world around them. Incorporating science into a literacy program with hand-on experiments will bridge more of a connection to the book and the topic. I have also found, when I am teaching a science unit, the students have never heard of the vocabulary and have difficulty reading the vocabulary. I feel like I spend so much time teaching the vocabulary that a lot of valuable content and ideas get lost in the shuffle. I am curious about how the best way to incorporate this into the classroom is. Would you use this in place of a set science time? Is this better used in a whole group setting, or with guided reading groups? Could you supplement books at the children's reading level that way they have their own personal book that they can read and helps to differentiate instruction?

Hi Alison,

Thank you for sharing your work on integrating literacy and science in early elementary!  I'm intrigued by the phrase "reading like a scientist" -- can you say more about how you and the design team think about that, and how it may be similar to/distinct from other forms or purposes?  We're also thinking about interactive read-alouds in early elementary science and how to promote critical consumership (e.g., reading to enhance my reasoning, rather than reading for "the answer").

What are the next steps?  I teach in a district that our elementary schools have really dropped science unless there was a champion teacher to hold the torch.  They are now refocusing on science.  I would love to know if this is more widely available.

 Thanks, Margo.

Yes, the program is now available nationally. We are discovering that many K-1 teachers are very enthusiastic about the program. This fall we will enter the second year in which the full K-5 curriculum is available and the curriculum is being adopted by large and small school districts across the country. Of course adopting a curriculum does not guarantee that it is implemented--but again, we are finding that many K-1 teachers are excited. This may mean that there are more enthusiastic teachers on the ground in some of these school districts. 

Excellent emphasis on starting STEM education early in a very deliberate manner.

Alison, I love the video and I truly stand behind implementing science and literacy curriculum into one. I am currently an Undergraduate studying Integrative STEM and through the past few years, our main focus has been on implementing STEM related concepts into the already laid out classroom curriculum. 

I have been able to see first hand how well students grow and adapt to this new style of curriculum. And although there are challenges that may come at first, I have been able to see great success especially in the younger grades. Children love to learn and explore and for most children, science is fun and exciting. By tying in reading and literacy with something they already see as "fun", the learning becomes more authentic. I am curious, have you considered Books to Brief or heard of this before? It is very similar in taking a book and having the children read the book and expand off of it through STEM exploration. I have found that this is an easy step to start introducing this into the classroom.

You talk a lot about tying Science and Reading into one, but have you considered integrating other subjects as well? Science, Reading, and Math seem to be the common subjects to integrate together, but I have seen it be down with Social Studies, Music, etc. Curious to hear your thoughts on this.

Lastly, I love that you were given the opportunity to work with real life teachers. What would you say has been the greatest difficulty or challenge they faced through this process?

Thanks!