What's Your Evidence?: Engaging K-5 Children in Constructing Explanations in Science
©2013 |Pearson | Available
Carla L. Zembal-Saul, Pennsylvania State University
Katherine L. McNeill, Boston College, Boston College
Kimber Hershberger, State College Area School District, Radio Park School
©2013 |Pearson | Available
K-12 educators: This link is for individuals purchasing with credit cards or PayPal only. Contact your Savvas Learning Company Account General Manager for purchase options.
Successfully integrate scientific explanation into the classroom with a wealth of strategies including scenarios, examples of student writing, classroom video clips from across all science content areas, rubrics, and guidelines for designing assessment items.
This exciting new resource presents K-5 teachers with an effective framework that breaks down the complex practice of scientific explanation into four components—claim, evidence, reasoning, and rebuttal. Their model provides teachers with a concrete roadmap for enhancing students' conceptual understanding and fostering their ability to think and communicate more scientifically by carefully analyzing evidence and backing up their claims.
The book includes step-by-step directions for presenting the framework to students; creating learning tasks that connect scientific explanation writing to lessons; providing curricular scaffolds (that fade over time) to support students in their writing; critiquing explanations and providing students with feedback; developing scientific explanation assessment tasks; and using the information from assessment tasks to inform instruction. Teachers will learn how to adapt their science content instruction in order to better meet the needs of all students.
Also includes a DVD showing the framework in action.
“I highly endorse this book and the practices it promotes for science explanations and discourse. As a learning tool for teachers, it will truly enhance the way they guide children to think, participate and talk like scientists.”
—from the Foreword by Donnan Stoicovy, Principal/Lead Learner, Park Forest Elementary School, State College, PA
Sample chapter is available for download in PDF format.
This material is protected under all copyright laws, as they currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Throughout the book, practical discussions, explanations, and descriptions help teachers:
A number of illustrative aids help teachers implement effective science teaching in their K-5 classrooms, for example:
Chapter 1: Importance of Engaging K-5 Students in Scientific Explanation
Introduction to engaging K-5 students in scientific explanation
Why teach children to construct scientific explanations?
Scientific explanations in the classroom
Connecting science and literacy through scientific explanation
Benefits of engaging students in scientific explanations
Understanding science concepts
Participating in scientific practices
Using evidence to communicate convincingly
Learning about the nature of science
Benefits of scientific explanation for teachers
What to expect in elementary grades
Check Point
Study Group Questions
Chapter 2: Framework for Explanation-Driven Science
Framework for explanation-driven science
Claim
Evidence
Reasoning
Rebuttal
Video Example – Introducing the instructional framework
Examples of scientific explanations
Life science example
Earth science example
Physical science example
Increasing the complexity of the framework over time
Variation #1: Claim and evidence
Variation #2: Using multiple pieces evidence
Variation #3: Providing reasoning
Variation #4: Including a rebuttal
Check Point
Study Group Questions
Chapter 3: Planning for Explanation-Driven Science
Coherent Science content storyline
Essential features for constructing scientific explanations
Scientific data
Scientific principles
Learning performances and examples
First grade: Sound
Second grade: State of matter
Third and Fourth grade: Day/night and shadows
Fifth grade: Water cycle
Complexity of the learning task
Openness of the question
Characteristics of the data (type and amount)
Check Point
Study Group Questions
Chapter 4: Integrating Scientific Explanation into Classroom Instruction
Instruction sequence for constructing scientific explanations
Assessing prior knowledge
Framing the question
Making predictions
Collecting, recording and interpreting data
Constructing scientific explanations
Instructional strategies for supporting the explanation building process
Introducing the framework for explanation
Using real world examples to introduce the framework
KLEW(S) chart
Critique a teacher example
Debate a peer example
Talk moves for scaffolding the construction of scientific explanations
Check Point
Study Group Questions
Chapter 5: Designing Assessment Tasks and Rubrics
Overview of the development process
Step 1: Identify and unpack the content standard
Fourth grade writing case – Unpacking
Third grade podcast case – Unpacking
Step 2: Selecting scientific explanation level of complexity
Fourth grade writing case – Level of complexity
Third grade podcast case – Level of complexity
Step 3: Create learning performances
Fourth grade writing case – Learning performance
Third grade podcast case – Learning performance
Step 4: Write the assessment task
Fourth grade writing case – Assessment task
Third grade podcast case – Assessment task
Step 5: Develop specific rubric
Fourth grade writing case – Rubric
Third grade podcast case – Rubric
Using assessment data to inform instruction
Fourth grade writing case – Examples
Incomplete evidence and incomplete reasoning
Incomplete evidence and complete reasoning
Third grade podcast case – Example
Assessing informal science talk
Check Point
Study Group Questions
Chapter 6: Creating a Classroom Community of Young Scientists
Norms of participation in science learning
Active listening and patterns of talk
The role of the scientific explanation framework
A culture of constructive criticism
Check Point
Study Group Questions
Facilitator's Guide for What's Your Evidence?: Engaging K-5 Children in Constructing Explanations in Science
Zembal-Saul, McNeill & Hershberger
©2013
Pearson offers affordable and accessible purchase options to meet the needs of your students. Connect with us to learn more.
K12 Educators: Contact your Savvas Learning Company Account General Manager for purchase options. Instant Access ISBNs are for individuals purchasing with credit cards or PayPal.
Savvas Learning Company is a trademark of Savvas Learning Company LLC.
Zembal-Saul, McNeill & Hershberger
©2013  | Pearson
Format | Adobe Reader | |
ISBN-13: | 9780133120578 | |
Online purchase price | $34.99 | Students, buy or rent this eText |
Availability |
Live
|
Zembal-Saul, McNeill & Hershberger
©2013  | Pearson  | 192 pp
Format | Paperback with DVD | |
ISBN-13: | 9780132117265 | |
Suggested retail price | $44.99 | |
Availability |
Available
|
Carla Zembal-Saul is a Professor of science education in the College of Education at Penn State where she holds the Kahn Professorship in STEM Education and currently serves as head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. A former middle school science teacher, she has been involved in school-university partnership work for more than fifteen years, and most of her teaching, scholarship, and service take place in that context. Her research focuses on K-6 teacher learning as they engage in professional development aimed at supporting students in talking and writing evidence-based arguments in science. Examining classroom discourse is a fundamental aspect of Professor Zembal-Saul’s work and she employs video analysis as both a research tool and a pedagogical approach for working with teachers. She has published her research findings in numerous book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals, and she is active in professional organizations, including the National Association for Research in Science Teaching and the National Science Teachers Association. Carla Zembal-Saul earned her doctorate at the University of Michigan.
Katherine L. McNeill is an Assistant Professor of science education at Boston College. A former middle school science teacher, she received her doctorate in science education from the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on how to support students with diverse backgrounds in engaging in scientific explanation and argumentation in both talk and writing. Her research has been generously funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and from this work, she has published a book on supporting middle school students, numerous book chapters, and articles in a variety of journals including the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, The Journal of the Learning Sciences, and the International Journal of Science Education. In 2011, Professor McNeill received the Early Career Research Award from NARST. She has also conducted numerous workshops at the annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and for school districts including the Detroit Public Schools and the Boston Public Schools.
Kimber Hershberger is currently a third grade teacher in the State College Area School District (SCASD) in Pennsylvania. She also serves as co-instructor for the science methods course and a mentor teacher for the Penn State – SCASD Professional Development School Partnership. Her involvement in a local professional learning community that focuses on incorporating content storyline and the CER framework in science teaching has been a highlight of her work. She holds degrees from Juniata College (B.S., elementary education) and Penn State University (M.Ed., science education). Kimber Hershberger has co-authored several articles for NSTA journals, including Science and Children and Science Scope. In addition, she has presented numerous times at the annual conference of the National Science Teachers Association, including sessions at the Research Dissemination Conference, about her work on how to scaffold students’ use of claims and evidence through science talks and journals. She loves visiting interesting places like the Galapagos Islands, India, Italy, and Japan and sharing her travel adventures with her students.
We're sorry! We don't recognize your username or password. Please try again.
The work is protected by local and international copyright laws and is provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their courses and assessing student learning.
You have successfully signed out and will be required to sign back in should you need to download more resources.