Developing a Curriculum to Build Science and Disciplinary Language and Literacy for Low-Income Kindergartners

• In Event: 14.020 - Integrating Science and Literacy Instruction: The Effects of Knowledge-Building Supports on Student Learning

Abstract

Recently designed, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) set ambitious goals for students’ learning that integrate science practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas (Achieve, Inc., 2013). Likewise, career and college readiness standards (e.g., the Common Core State Standards (CSSS) for English Language Arts) set high standards for disciplinary language and literacy. In stark contrast to these standards, there is evidence that both science and disciplinary language and literacy are neglected in the early years of school. A recent large-scale observational study found that kindergarten teachers spent on average only 2.3 minutes per day teaching science and 1.6 minutes per day reading aloud from informational text (Author, 2012; 2014). Declining time spent on science in early elementary school is correlated with lower science scores on the fourth grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) (Blank, 2012). By fourth grade, students in the United States demonstrate stronger comprehension of literary texts compared to informational texts on the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) (Thompson et al., 2012). By fourth grade, children from low-income backgrounds score well below their economically advantaged peers on both vocabulary and comprehension (NCES, 2012).
This study focused on designing a curriculum for kindergarten that integrated science practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas with oral language and literacy instruction to promote student learning. The goal of this design study was to develop and test two four-week units of the SOLID Start (Science, Oral language and LIteracy Development from the Start of school) curriculum. Each unit (Unit 1: Plants, Animals, & Their Environment and Unit 2: Weather & Climate) consisted of 20 lessons (30-45 minutes per day) based around the topics and performance expectations in NGSS. Each lesson included sections: Ask, Read and Discuss. Twice per week lessons also include a Write section (teachers modeled science writing or supported children in writing in a science journal).
Children in both the treatment (n=94) and business-as-usual comparison group (n=76) were interviewed before and after each unit. Groups were equivalent at pretest on standardized measures (PPVT and EVT). Preliminary data analyses indicates that children in the treatment group made significant gains compared to the comparison group on all sections of the interview including: (1) curriculum receptive vocabulary, (2) use of curriculum vocabulary in a science context, (3) science claims, (4) science explanations, and (5) listening comprehension (novel informational passage using vocabulary and science concepts from the curriculum). Findings indicate that integrated science, oral language, and literacy experiences can promote kindergarten children’s development across all of these domains. SOLID Start materials supported teachers in addressing critical areas of the curriculum that are typically neglected in the early elementary years. In addition, with this relatively brief but intensive intervention, these kindergarten children in a low-income school were able to meet ambitious science standards while also developing their vocabulary, disciplinary oral language, and listening comprehension of curriculum-related informational texts.

Authors

• Tanya S. Wright, Michigan State University

• Amelia Wenk Gotwals, Michigan State University