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Building Background Knowledge in Science Improves Reading Comprehension | Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Building Background Knowledge in Science Improves Reading Comprehension | Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Building Background Knowledge in Science Improves Reading Comprehension

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A new study finds promising results from a literacy program in elementary schools

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Mathematical argumentation happens when students engage, as a classroom community of learners, in deciding together what is mathematically true or false. Argumentation has been integrated into many state standards over recent decades, and it can bewith the right supports - a practice that fosters creativity, inclusiveness, and equity. Yet it remains a new process for many teachers.

Our project team has developed professional development (PD) that aims to ease teachers and students into the argumentation process. In this article, we explain our model for middle-school argumentation, our PD model, and how they work to support equitable teaching practices.

We define the four parts of argumentation as a vehicle for dividing classroom discourse into clearly defined phases. In our book Mathematical Argumentation in Middle School-The What, Why, and How (Knudsen, et al., 2017) we describe each phase:

Generating cases: creating something to argue about

Conjecturing: making bold claims

Justifying: building a chain of reasoning

Concluding: getting closure on truth or falsity

In practice, argumentation gets messier than that. For example, in a live classroom you might get rapid cycles of conjecturing and justifying, interspersed with new cases being generated. However, we've have found that these four phases are distinct enough to simplify the process for teachers and students new to argumentation.

Open-ended Conjecturing

Trying out conjecturing is a great way to get a feel for argumentation. In a recent webinar, as part of the National Council for Mathematics Teachers' 100 Days of Professional Learning, our team engaged about 400 teachers in open-ended conjecturing-the process of a group making multiple, novel (to them) conjectures about a mathematical situation. We presented them with a table of numbers from 1 to 40 with a complete list of the factors of a number below it, and the square numbers highlighted in orange (see Table 1). The teachers were asked to make their best guesses about what might be true about all the whole numbers, up to and beyond 40. The numbers highlighted in orange offered starting points for successful conjecturing.

Below are three conjectures offered by the teachers, which though distinct, turn out to be related.

The square factor is the median of the factors listed.

Squares have an odd number of factors.

Non-squares have even numbers of factors.

How are these conjectures related? Take the first one: if you remember or look up the definition of median, you'll quickly deduce that when the median of a data set is actually one of data points in that set, then the data set must contain an odd number of data points (otherwise the median is the average of two points). Here the data set is the list of factors. So, if the "square factor" of a number (the whole-number square root of that number) is on the list of factors, then that square number must have an odd number of factors. For example, 9 has the factors 1, 3, 9. Three is the middle number-the median. Three is the square root of 9. So, 9 is a square number and it has an odd number of factors. Of course, we can simply make this list of three factors for the number 9, to establish that 9, a perfect square number, has an odd number of factors. But in argumentation, we are searching for what always must be true-in this case, for any square number.

These three conjectures were made in the context of open-ended conjecturing, based on a mathematical situation or task that affords multiple conjectures. In practice, we recommend sticking to the conjecturing phase until quite a number of conjectures have been made, with a focus on what always might be true, and only then moving into justifying. Yet, in this particular example, the lines between conjecturing and justifying are blurred, because one conjecture can be used to justify another-that's how it can work out in the classroom, too.

There are many other conjectures that can be made based on this table about square numbers, prime numbers, and even twin primes (with only one number between them). Try it yourself and have fun!

Of course, open-ended conjecturing is not just for teachers, but something we strongly advocate for students. The table of factors above comes from our book mentioned earlier (Corwin 2017) and is aimed at 6th graders. However, more commonly students are given single conjectures to justify: for example, "The product of two fractions less than one is smaller than either factor." That's a fine conjecture to explore. Opportunities for students to make their own conjectures, beyond a simple "agree" or "disagree", are found less frequently, yet the open-ended process can yield rich results. For example, the table of factors has been successfully used online with 5th graders who were just beginning to understand the concept of factors.

Conjecturing for Equity

Why is open-ended conjecturing, and argumentation overall, considered to be supportive of classroom-level equity? One of the equitable teaching practices advocated by Aguirre, Mayfield-Ingram, and Martin (2013) is "going deeper with the mathematics." Open-ended conjecturing is precisely how mathematics teachers and students can do this. A table of whole numbers can yield multiple, quite sophisticated conjectures-there were over 200 made at our presentation. The task offers multiple entry points: students can learn what a factor is from engaging in the task, considering the factors as a data set, or using algebraic symbols to express their conjectures (all entry points used by teachers in our presentation). These multiple entry points also help ensure equity, as students from different backgrounds, with different approaches and levels of entry-knowledge, can participate fully and creatively in the activity.

Scholars also promote creativity as a way to make mathematics more inclusive for students who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC) (Gutierrez, 2018). As well, helping students to speak up (in this case, to give voice to their own conjectures) supports students' mathematical agency, which is key to classroom equity (Cobb & Hodge, 2007). Our PD provides strategies for teachers to support students to use their voices, improvise creatively, and go deeper into mathematics.

Games and Improvisations for Teaching Moves and Norms

Engaging students in all four parts of argumentation- from a set of cases, to conjectures about them, to justifications of the conjectures, to stating general conclusions-can be challenging. It requires a specialized set of teaching moves and norms. That's what our PD is designed for: to help teachers establish norms and develop teaching moves that support students' participation in argumentation.

Our current PD model includes a series of successive "approximations of practice" (Grossman, et al, 2009): engaging in mathematical argumentation as learners; choosing teaching moves to support argumentation among students; playing "teaching games" to try out and practice new moves; and engaging in "visualization planning." This sequence enables teachers to slowly acquire expertise in new practices.

Two activities unique to our PD model are teaching games and visualization planning.

Teaching games (Knudsen & Shechtman, 2016) are akin to activities that improvisational theater performers use to learn their craft. We provide well-specified rules to bound teaching moves that are improvisationally deployed. A teacher and their peers play out part of an argumentation lesson, with a facilitator observing. The game is then discussed to determine the usefulness and challenges of the particular moves that were in play.

Open- and Closed-Ended Questions

In this game, teachers are given a conjecture to justify.

In the first round they are allowed to ask only open-ended questions, such as "Why do you think so?"

In the second round, they may ask only closed-ended questions, such as "Which numbers on the list are square numbers?"

After both rounds, teachers compare the advantages and limitations of each type of question. In live conjecturing in the classroom, we suggest teachers use both types, not just one. This game helps them to know the potential purposes of each.

Visualization planning is a process that pairs a teacher and another teacher, the teacher's coach, or a PD leader. They choose a part of an argumentation lesson on which to focus. The teacher sits back and imagines out loud how that part of the lesson might go, anticipating questions they might ask and students' likely responses. Their partner asks probing questions, helping the teacher envision different routes the lesson might take. The partner also records the imagining in a lesson-planning form that the teacher can take away and elaborate on.

Our PD makes unique use of "improv" games as metaphors for social and socio-mathematical norms-the norms that set a productive atmosphere for argumentation and that students must share in order to work collaboratively as a community of mathematicians on an argument (Nussbaum, 2008). Improv games provide a way to internalize norms through experiential learning, in a way more likely to "stick" than simply by placing them on a poster on the wall. To demonstrate, let's look at a game called Gift Giving.

Gift Giving*

In this game, players work in pairs.

The first player reaches into an imaginary closet, pulls out an imaginary wrapped gift, and presents it to the second player.

The second player takes it, unwraps its elaborate imaginary packaging, announces what it is, and thanks the first player.

The first player has to accept whatever the second player says the gift is and explain why it was specially chosen for the recipient.

After playing this game, one teacher told her class that "a conjecture is like a gift" (Knudsen, et al, 2014, 2017). She said that when you get a new conjecture, it may be unfamiliar, but you don't reject it. You take it and see how you can work with it. In this way, playing and discussing the game helps students internalize the classroom norm, "Accept all conjectures in the conjecturing phase of argumentation."

* This game can be found in Knudsen (2017). This and many improv games were drawn from the collective corpus that improvisational actors use to learn their craft.

Establishing norms through improv games is also a practice for fostering classroom-level equity. Socio-mathematical norms might be already known and practiced by some members of the class, but not by others (Herbel-Eisenmann., Choppin, Wagner, & Pimm, 2011))-in many cases BIPOC youth, whose experiences in argumentation, while no less relevant to the classroom community, may come with different norms.

The model of argumentation and PD model summarized here were developed over 15 years of research, teacher interactions, and classroom observation. Our current project, Visualize Teaching, will use both these models but extend them to content coaching and to more mathematical practices, such as seeing and using structure. Visualize Teaching also includes video-based coaching, where teachers capture video of their class engaged in argumentation and discuss it with their coaches, providing a clear window onto their practices. The first Visualize Teaching PD is coming up in the summer of 2021, and we are excited to see how teachers and coaches work together with these tools. Learn more at terc.edu/viste/

Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DRL-14178950, DRL-1417895, and DRL-1119518. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Harriette S. Stevens, Teresa Lara-Meloy, Nicole Shechtman, Hee-Joon Kim, Ken Rafanan, and Phil Vahey all had important roles in developing the methods presented in this article. We are grateful to all the teachers and students involved in the projects, from whom we learned so much.

Author

Jennifer Knudsen is a mathematics educator whose work is at the crossroads of research and design. A veteran curriculum and professional development designer, Knudsen has led many projects, from mathematical argumentation to 3D modeling and printing for learning mathematics and computational thinking.

References

Aguirre, J., Mayfield-Ingram, K., & Martin, D. (2013). The impact of identity in K-8 mathematics: Rethinking equity-based practices. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Cobb, P., & Hodge, L. (2007). Culture, identity, and equity in mathematics classrooms. In N. S. Nasir & P. Cobb (Eds.), Improving access in mathematics: Diversity and equity in the classroom (pp. 159-172). Teachers College Press.

Grossman, P., Compton, C., Igra, D., Ronfeldt, M., Shahan, E., & Williamson, P. (2009). Teaching practice: A cross-professional perspective. Teachers College Record, 111(9), 2055-2100.

Herbel-Eisenmann, B., Choppin, J., Wagner, D., & Pimm, D. (Eds.). (2011). Equity in discourse for mathematics education: Theories, practices, and policies (Vol. 55). Springer Science & Business Media.

Knudsen, J., Lara-Meloy, T., Stevens, H. S., & Rutstein, D. W. (2014). Advice for mathematical argumentation. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 19(8), 494-500.

Knudsen, J., & Shechtman, N. (2016). Professional development that bridges the gap between workshop and classroom through disciplined improvisation. In S. Goldman & Z. Kabayadondo (Eds.), Taking design thinking to school: How the technology of design can transform teachers, learners, and classrooms (163). Routledge.

Knudsen, J., Stevens, H. S., Lara-Meloy, T., Kim, H. J., Schechtman, N., & Shechtman, N. (2017). Mathematical Argumentation in Middle School-The What, Why, and How: A Step-by-Step Guide With Activities, Games, and Lesson Planning Tools. Corwin Press.

Nussbaum, E. M. (2008). Collaborative discourse, argumentation, and learning: Preface and literature review. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(3), 345-359.

Gutierrez, R. Why do we need to humanize mathematics? Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education 2018. Edited by Imani Goffney and Rochelle Gutiérrez.

For free TERC math resources, click here.

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Mathematical argumentation happens when students engage, as a classroom community of learners, in deciding together what is mathematically true or false. Argumentation has been integrated into many state standards over recent decades, and it can bewith the right supports - a practice that fosters creativity, inclusiveness, and equity.

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Phenomenal Science K-5 Curriculum - Blog

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Phenomenal Science K-5 Curriculum - Blog

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In order to ensure that elementary science is on the minds of district improvement teams, it is very tempting to add goals and strategies for Phenomenal Science as a whole. This is especially problematic for Michigan schools, as it requires districts to enter Phenomenal Science as a district "strategy" in the MiStrategy Bank.

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Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs - Educational Leadership

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Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs - Educational Leadership

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Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs - ASCD

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How in the world are we supposed to apply the Common Core writing standards to teaching English language learners? We've been asking that question of ourselves and others over the past two years, and we suspect we're not the only educators doing so. After reviewing the many resources available that

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Teaching Students To Use Evidence & Reasoning To Support Claims

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Teaching Students To Use Evidence & Reasoning To Support Claims

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Educator Resources * Lesson Plans / Student Activities "The ability to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning and relevant evidence is a cornerstone of the writing standards, with opinion writing - a basic form of argument - extending down into the earliest grades."

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Thinking and Speaking Like Scientists through a Science Talk | EL Education

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Thinking and Speaking Like Scientists through a Science Talk | EL Education

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Video

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- [Narrator] Eric Levine is pushing his 10th grade students to think deeply about the content of their learning expedition by using a science talk. - Also, horizontal gene transfer, the gene from one bacteria, that have the antibody resistance gene, goes into the other bacteria... - To piggy back on what everyone else is saying, a quote that I got from source four... - [Narrator] A science talk provides an opportunity for students to practice thinking and speaking like a scientist. Using evidence from complex texts, original research, and authentic data. - It's come to the point where we can't stop the infection, so it's a global threat. - [Narrator] In this video, we are focusing on three strategies: establishing norms and goals, selecting a compelling topic, and sequencing questions. - One of the important things that we do before we start the science talk is to remind students of the norms. Take a second to recall a chart that we made talking, thinking, and writing like a scientist. So I'm gonna ask... Each time we read an article or watched a video, we took time to dissect how the person was presenting information and that became our anchor chart for ourselves when we were building our own skills. Daja, what do you think? Why is it reliable to show data over and over and over again and it's not as reliable to show it once? - If you show it once, it could've been just, like, a fluke that happened that one time, but if you had it multiple times, it shows that it's a consistent thing that's happening. - We're gonna set a quick goal about talking like a scientist. So, see where it says the one, two, three... - My goal is to provide evidence and build up to the regular. - My goal is to use scientific vocabulary when I spoke. - I wanna focus on providing evidence. - [Narrator] Selecting a compelling topic for a science talk is instrumental in engaging students. For this, Eric drew from the 10th grader's recent learning expedition. - Our expedition is called Resistance. It's focused on the global problem of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. So, students did original research during this expedition. - We took samples from around the school. For example, in the locker rooms, in the gym, in the bathrooms, and in the lunch room. We looked at how much bacterial growth there was and how much of that was resistant to antibiotics. - There was quite a bit of resistance, which was really surprising to me and definitely surprising to the students. - [Male Student] We found that about 33% of the bacteria was resistant to antibiotics. - [Narrator] With a compelling topic at hand and a clear picture of norms and goals, Eric's students were ready to engage in a science talk. - So up here on the board, there's a claim, there's some guiding questions we'll come back to... - [Narrator] Strategically designing and sequencing questions is key to the effectiveness of science talks. I wanted students to start by talking big picture about the issue to get kids caught up about what they're supposed to know. Then, I wanted to really focus on the data and then, I really wanted kids to be in a place where they could talk about so what, what's important about this issue? First guiding question that we're gonna talk about is, is antibiotic resistance a global threat? Why? How do we know? - To prove that it's globally a threat is from source three, The Threat of Antibiotic Resistance, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013. 23,000 people die each year as a result... - Once I felt like the students had presented enough evidence and information about the first question, we were ready to move on to the second, where we could look really specifically at our data. - Now, I noticed that, where we cleaned the most and where we care for the most, like the gym and in the bathroom, the nurse's office, have more antibiotic resistance due to the fact that all the cleaning material used has ingredients that we put in antibiotics. - Here, it says that a Vari B was a plate with amoxicillin and there was 34.57% growth. So, that means 34% of the bacteria that we collected in our own school is resistant to amoxicillin. - So after we talked about our data in the school and how it related to us, it was time to solve the problem and talk about what solutions there were. What can scientists, politicians, and the public do about antibiotic resistance? - For a solution, like, if you look at the states below us they, like, used antibiotics a lot more. They have more resistance than us. So they can kind of, like, like ask Massachusetts, like, what they do to help , like, lower antibiotic resistance and then we can ask states who have lower antibiotic resistance than we do and we could follow the lead of the states who have lowered resistance. - One thing the government can do is have tighter regulations since there's data that shows antibiotic use, that there's more in certain states, then they should have regulations. They should check in with the doctors that are using it there. Also, in our farms... Our teachers are holding us to a high standard. My fellow classmates and I have gotten so good at being academically oriented because we've been doing this since sixth grade. - For me, thinking like a scientist means taking in what others are saying and reflecting on it and saying what we think about that. - I am thinking more like a scientist during the science talk because I use relevant information, which scientists use. I use data and I use what I researched. If the doctor prescribes penicillin to another patient that doesn't need the penicillin, they... - They listened well and performed to or beyond the expectations that I had for them. And, I think it was a very authentic way for them to culminate the expedition. It made the issue real for them. On the back of your science talk response guide, in the exit slip area, take a minute to reflect on your ability to contribute to the conversation and to support our claim, furthering our understanding of the problem.

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Thinking and Speaking Like Scientists through a Science Talk

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Narrator] Eric Levine is pushing his 10th grade students to think deeply about the content of their learning expedition by using a science talk. - Also, horizontal gene transfer, the gene from one bacteria, that have the antibody resistance gene, goes into the other bacteria...

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Thinking and Speaking Like Scientists through a Science Talk | EL Education

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Thinking and Speaking Like Scientists through a Science Talk | EL Education

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Video

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- [Narrator] Eric Levine is pushing his 10th grade students to think deeply about the content of their learning expedition by using a science talk. - Also, horizontal gene transfer, the gene from one bacteria, that have the antibody resistance gene, goes into the other bacteria... - To piggy back on what everyone else is saying, a quote that I got from source four... - [Narrator] A science talk provides an opportunity for students to practice thinking and speaking like a scientist. Using evidence from complex texts, original research, and authentic data. - It's come to the point where we can't stop the infection, so it's a global threat. - [Narrator] In this video, we are focusing on three strategies: establishing norms and goals, selecting a compelling topic, and sequencing questions. - One of the important things that we do before we start the science talk is to remind students of the norms. Take a second to recall a chart that we made talking, thinking, and writing like a scientist. So I'm gonna ask... Each time we read an article or watched a video, we took time to dissect how the person was presenting information and that became our anchor chart for ourselves when we were building our own skills. Daja, what do you think? Why is it reliable to show data over and over and over again and it's not as reliable to show it once? - If you show it once, it could've been just, like, a fluke that happened that one time, but if you had it multiple times, it shows that it's a consistent thing that's happening. - We're gonna set a quick goal about talking like a scientist. So, see where it says the one, two, three... - My goal is to provide evidence and build up to the regular. - My goal is to use scientific vocabulary when I spoke. - I wanna focus on providing evidence. - [Narrator] Selecting a compelling topic for a science talk is instrumental in engaging students. For this, Eric drew from the 10th grader's recent learning expedition. - Our expedition is called Resistance. It's focused on the global problem of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. So, students did original research during this expedition. - We took samples from around the school. For example, in the locker rooms, in the gym, in the bathrooms, and in the lunch room. We looked at how much bacterial growth there was and how much of that was resistant to antibiotics. - There was quite a bit of resistance, which was really surprising to me and definitely surprising to the students. - [Male Student] We found that about 33% of the bacteria was resistant to antibiotics. - [Narrator] With a compelling topic at hand and a clear picture of norms and goals, Eric's students were ready to engage in a science talk. - So up here on the board, there's a claim, there's some guiding questions we'll come back to... - [Narrator] Strategically designing and sequencing questions is key to the effectiveness of science talks. I wanted students to start by talking big picture about the issue to get kids caught up about what they're supposed to know. Then, I wanted to really focus on the data and then, I really wanted kids to be in a place where they could talk about so what, what's important about this issue? First guiding question that we're gonna talk about is, is antibiotic resistance a global threat? Why? How do we know? - To prove that it's globally a threat is from source three, The Threat of Antibiotic Resistance, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013. 23,000 people die each year as a result... - Once I felt like the students had presented enough evidence and information about the first question, we were ready to move on to the second, where we could look really specifically at our data. - Now, I noticed that, where we cleaned the most and where we care for the most, like the gym and in the bathroom, the nurse's office, have more antibiotic resistance due to the fact that all the cleaning material used has ingredients that we put in antibiotics. - Here, it says that a Vari B was a plate with amoxicillin and there was 34.57% growth. So, that means 34% of the bacteria that we collected in our own school is resistant to amoxicillin. - So after we talked about our data in the school and how it related to us, it was time to solve the problem and talk about what solutions there were. What can scientists, politicians, and the public do about antibiotic resistance? - For a solution, like, if you look at the states below us they, like, used antibiotics a lot more. They have more resistance than us. So they can kind of, like, like ask Massachusetts, like, what they do to help , like, lower antibiotic resistance and then we can ask states who have lower antibiotic resistance than we do and we could follow the lead of the states who have lowered resistance. - One thing the government can do is have tighter regulations since there's data that shows antibiotic use, that there's more in certain states, then they should have regulations. They should check in with the doctors that are using it there. Also, in our farms... Our teachers are holding us to a high standard. My fellow classmates and I have gotten so good at being academically oriented because we've been doing this since sixth grade. - For me, thinking like a scientist means taking in what others are saying and reflecting on it and saying what we think about that. - I am thinking more like a scientist during the science talk because I use relevant information, which scientists use. I use data and I use what I researched. If the doctor prescribes penicillin to another patient that doesn't need the penicillin, they... - They listened well and performed to or beyond the expectations that I had for them. And, I think it was a very authentic way for them to culminate the expedition. It made the issue real for them. On the back of your science talk response guide, in the exit slip area, take a minute to reflect on your ability to contribute to the conversation and to support our claim, furthering our understanding of the problem.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Thinking and Speaking Like Scientists through a Science Talk

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Narrator] Eric Levine is pushing his 10th grade students to think deeply about the content of their learning expedition by using a science talk. - Also, horizontal gene transfer, the gene from one bacteria, that have the antibody resistance gene, goes into the other bacteria...

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Reading and Thinking Like Scientists - Day 2 | EL Education

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Reading and Thinking Like Scientists - Day 2 | EL Education

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Reading and Thinking Like Scientists - Day 1 | EL Education

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Reading and Thinking Like Scientists - Day 1 | EL Education

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Video

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Science Teaching Materials - NSTA Press Extras: Argument-Driven Inquiry

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Science Teaching Materials - NSTA Press Extras: Argument-Driven Inquiry

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Online Extras: Argument-Driven Inquiry in Biology

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If you have purchased the teacher’s edition of Argument-Driven Inquiry in Biology, you can view the accompanying images, spreadsheet, and lab handouts online. These resources are for your personal use only and are not to be redistributed.

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Student Growth Across Grade Levels with New Common Core Math Videos

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Student Growth Across Grade Levels with New Common Core Math Videos

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Reasoning and constructing arguments

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As a 1 st grade math teacher, I never thought I was teaching the same skills as high school math teachers. But as I've gotten to know the Common Core State Standards, the math practice standards have shown me that effective math teaching looks remarkably similar across grade levels. Through the practice standards, K-12 students will develop skills around problem solving, reasoning and proof, connections, representation, and communication. Regardless of the grade level, focusing on these standards helps students feel comfortable explaining their thought processes, learning from others, and building conceptual understanding.

Teaching Channel recently partnered with the American Federation of Teachers to create a series of videos that show how two of the Common Core Math Practice Standards progress throughout the grades. The teachers we filmed for this series are part of Thinking Mathematics, an AFT professional development program that was developed by teachers working with researchers to learn what is known about how children learn mathematics and bring that knowledge into the classroom.

With these fabulous teachers, we created six videos that show students from kindergarten through 11 thgrade reasoning abstractly and quantitatively ( CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2) and constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others ( CCSS.Math.Practice.MP3).

While the goal is for the math practice standards to be used K-12, we know that nothing looks exactly the same across grade levels. Reasoning in kindergarten, for example, looks very different from reasoning in 11 th grade. When watched as a series, these videos show how math practices can be developed over time.

Elementary

The first video in the series brings us to Karen Lassiter's kindergarten class, where students begin to reason about the numbers 11-19 and construct arguments using manipulatives to support their thinking. The next video shows first graders in Jeanne Wright's class solving a situational story about leprechaun traps. The students draw pictures and work in teams to reason about addition within 100. We see students sharing their strategies and beginning to provide evidence (saying things like, "I did this because I know...") to support their arguments.

Upper Elementary

The next two videos in the series take us to upper elementary classrooms. In Amy Spies' 4th grade classand Becky Pittard's 5thgrade class, students reason about multiplying and dividing fractions. While the K/1 students were just beginning to provide concrete evidence to support their reasoning, these students are able to clearly explain their thinking and begin to critique the reasoning of others. It's inspiring to see Ms. Pittard deliberately help her students develop their critiquing skills by having them consider both correct and incorrect answers to a problem.

Middle School

Next we get a glimpse into Audra McPhillips' 8thgrade class, where students take reasoning to a new level. They are presented with sets of functions and are tasked with coming up with conjectures that hold true for all the functions in the sets. By working together to analyze and identify patterns, students are moving beyond solving individual problems and starting to reason about larger mathematical concepts.

High School

The grand finale of this series is Peggy Brookins' and Raymond James' 11thgrade lessonon trigonometry. This class is way different from how I learned trigonometry! These students use the principles of trigonometry to design and test quadcopters. At the beginning of the lesson, we see students applying their knowledge of sine and cosine to reason about the propellers on their quadcopters. Students comfortably explain their thinking, follow along with each other's reasoning and critique the reasoning of others.

Watching these six teachers incorporate the practice standards in their classrooms shows how effective math teaching looks similar across grades. From kindergarten through high school, students are involved in rich math discussions. They are invited to share their strategies, learn from others, and apply their knowledge to real-world contexts. The teacher's role in these classrooms is deceptively complex: They guide their students towards understanding by asking probing questions, encouraging students to share their thinking, and synthesizing student responses.

Beyond seeing the practice standards in action, for me the biggest takeaway from this series is how much fun students and teachers are having in these lively math classrooms. The classrooms are full of students who are eager to participate and teachers who are excited about hearing students share their thinking.

So grab some popcorn, sit back and watch this series from start to finish. How will you use the math practice standards in your classroom?

6 Math Videos in this Series
Karen Lassiter's kindergarten class Jeanne Wright's 1st grade class Amy Spies' 4th grade class Becky Pittard's 5th grade class Audra McPhillips' 8th grade class Peggy Brookins' and Raymond James' 11th grade lesson

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Math Video Playlist: Reasoning and Constructing Arguments (CCSS)

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As a 1 st grade math teacher, I never thought I was teaching the same skills as high school math teachers. But as I've gotten to know the Common Core State Standards, the math practice standards have shown me that effective math teaching looks remarkably similar across grade levels.

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Close Reading + Argumentation: Wolves in Yellowstone - LDC CoreTools

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Close Reading + Argumentation: Wolves in Yellowstone - LDC CoreTools

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Create and share assignments aligned to College and Career Readiness standards with LDC CoreTools

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Determining Appropriate Sources to Support an argument/claim - LDC CoreTools

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Determining Appropriate Sources to Support an argument/claim - LDC CoreTools

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Create and share assignments aligned to College and Career Readiness standards with LDC CoreTools

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GCPS Gateway - Analyzing Documents for Claims-Evidence-Reasoning Writing - LDC CoreTools

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GCPS Gateway - Analyzing Documents for Claims-Evidence-Reasoning Writing - LDC CoreTools

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Create and share assignments aligned to College and Career Readiness standards with LDC CoreTools

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CER: Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (responses to a data table) - LDC CoreTools

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CER: Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (responses to a data table) - LDC CoreTools

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Create and share assignments aligned to College and Career Readiness standards with LDC CoreTools

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Sticky Note Argument Plan - LDC CoreTools

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Sticky Note Argument Plan - LDC CoreTools

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Create and share assignments aligned to College and Career Readiness standards with LDC CoreTools

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CER: Using Infographics as Evidence - LDC CoreTools

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CER: Using Infographics as Evidence - LDC CoreTools

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Create and share assignments aligned to College and Career Readiness standards with LDC CoreTools

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CER: Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (responses to a data table) - LDC CoreTools

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CER: Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (responses to a data table) - LDC CoreTools

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Create and share assignments aligned to College and Career Readiness standards with LDC CoreTools

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Create and share assignments aligned to College and Career Readiness standards with LDC CoreTools

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Teaching Students To Use Evidence & Reasoning To Support Claims

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Teaching Students To Use Evidence & Reasoning To Support Claims

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Adolescent Literacy Research and Practice - Google Books

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Adolescent Literacy Research and Practice - Google Books

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Teaching Science Through Literacy by Cynthia Shanahan

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This much-needed book addresses the role of literacy instruction in enhancing content area learning and fostering student motivation and success well beyond the primary grades. The unique literacy needs of middle school and secondary students are thoroughly examined and effective practices and interventions identified. Reviewing the breadth of current knowledge, leading authorities cover such important topics as:

o How literacy skills develop in grades 5-12
o Ways to incorporate literacy learning into English, social studies, math, and science
o Struggling adolescent readers and writers: what works in assessment and intervention
o Special challenges facing English language learners and culturally diverse students
o Implications for teacher training, policy, and future research

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Adolescent Literacy Research and Practice

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This much-needed book addresses the role of literacy instruction in enhancing content area learning and fostering student motivation and success well beyond the primary grades. The unique literacy needs of middle school and secondary students are thoroughly examined and effective practices and interventions identified.

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Integrating Science and Literacy | AUSL Blog

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Integrating Science and Literacy | AUSL Blog

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What’s Your Evidence?: Supporting Students to Construct Scientific Explanations | AUSL Blog

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What’s Your Evidence?: Supporting Students to Construct Scientific Explanations | AUSL Blog

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200 Prompts for Argumentative Writing - The New York Times

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200 Prompts for Argumentative Writing - The New York Times

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We published an updated version of this list, "401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing," as well as a companion piece, "650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing." We also now have a PDF of these 200 prompts.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter and get five new Student Opinion questions delivered to you every week.

What issues do you care most about? What topics do you find yourself discussing most passionately, whether online, at the dinner table, in the classroom or with your friends?

Our annual Student Editorial Contest invites you to write an evidence-based persuasive piece on an issue that matters to you. To help jump-start your brainstorming, we have gathered a list of 200 writing prompts from our daily Student Opinion feature that invite you to take a stand.

Though you won't be limited to these topics for the contest, you'll see that our list touches on every aspect of modern life, from politics to sports, culture, education and technology. We hope the range inspires you, and we hope the fact that each question links to at least one related Times article gives you a starting point for finding evidence.

So skim the list below to think about the topic you'd most like to take on.

For more information, here are links to our spring 2014 editorial-writing contest, a list of winners from that contest and a related lesson plan on argumentative writing.
Education

1. Is Cheating Getting Worse?

2. Should Students Be Able to Grade Their Teachers?

3. Does Your School Hand Out Too Many A's?

4. Should Middle School Students Be Drug Tested?

5. Should Reading and Math Be Taught in Gym Class Too?

6. How Seriously Should We Take Standardized Tests?

7. How Well Do You Think Standardized Tests Measure Your Abilities?

8. Do You Spend Too Much Time Preparing for Standardized Tests?

9. Should Schools Offer Cash Bonuses for Good Test Scores?

10. Should We Rethink How Long Students Spend in High School?

11. Do Schools Provide Students With Enough Opportunities to Be Creative?

12. What Are You Really Learning at School?

13. How Important Is Arts Education?

14. Does Gym Help Students Perform Better in All Their Classes?

15. Who Should Be Able to See Students' Records?

16. Are Children of Illegal Immigrants Entitled to a Public Education?

17. What Is the Right Amount of Group Work in School?

18. Is Your School Day Too Short?

19. Do You Think a Longer School Calendar Is a Good Idea?

20. Should the Dropout Age Be Raised?

21. Should Students Be Allowed to Skip Senior Year of High School?

22. How Does Your School Deal With Students Who Misbehave?

23. Should Schools Be Allowed to Use Corporal Punishment?

24. How Big a Problem Is Bullying or Cyberbullying in Your School or Community?

25. How Should Schools Address Bullying?

26. Should Schools Put Tracking Devices in Students' ID Cards?

27. What Do You Think of Grouping Students by Ability in Schools?

28. Do We Need a New Way to Teach Math?

29. Does Class Size Matter?

30. Should All Students Get Equal Space in a Yearbook?

31. Is Prom Worth It?

32. How Important Are Parent-Teacher Conferences?

33. Should All Children Be Able to Go to Preschool?

34. Should Colleges Use Admissions Criteria Other Than SAT Scores and Grades?

35. What Criteria Should Be Used in Awarding Scholarships for College?

36. Do You Support Affirmative Action?

37. Do College Rankings Matter?

38. How Necessary Is a College Education?

39. Should Engineers Pay Less for College Than English Majors?
Technology and Social Media
40. Are the Web Filters at Your School Too Restrictive?

41. Does Technology Make Us More Alone?

42. Are You Distracted by Technology?

43. Do Apps Help You or Just Waste Your Time?

44. Do You Spend Too Much Time on Smart Phones Playing 'Stupid Games'?

45. Has Facebook Lost Its Edge?

46. Does Facebook Ever Make You Feel Bad?

47. Should What You Say on Facebook Be Grounds for Getting Fired?

48. Should People Be Allowed to Obscure Their Identities Online?

49. What Should the Punishment Be for Acts of Cyberbullying?

50. Is Online Learning as Good as Face-to-Face Learning?

51. Do Your Teachers Use Technology Well?

52. Should Tablet Computers Become the Primary Way Students Learn in Class?

53. Can Cellphones Be Educational Tools?

54. Should Computer Games Be Used for Classroom Instruction?

55. How Young Is Too Young for an iPhone?

56. Should Companies Collect Information About You?

57. Would You Trade Your Paper Books for Digital Versions?

58. Are Digital Photographs Too Plentiful to Be Meaningful?

59. Do You Worry We Are Filming Too Much?

60. Would You Want a Pair of Google's Computer Glasses?

61. How Would You Feel About a Computer Grading Your Essays?

62. What Role Will Robots Play in Our Future?

63. How Many Text Messages Are Too Many?

64. How Much Do You Trust Online Reviews?
Arts and Media: TV, Music, Video Games and Literature
65. Why Do We Like to Watch Rich People on TV and in the Movies?

66. Do TV Shows Like '16 and Pregnant' Promote or Discourage Teenage Pregnancy?

67. Does TV Capture the Diversity of America Yet?

68. Is TV Too White?

69. Is TV Stronger Than Ever, or Becoming Obsolete?

70. Does Reality TV Promote Dangerous Stereotypes?

71. What Current Musicians Do You Think Will Stand the Test of Time?

72. What Artists or Bands of Today Are Destined for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

73. What Musician, Actor or Author Should Be a Superstar, but Hasn't Quite Made It Yet?

74. Will Musical Training Make You More Successful?

75. Should Video Games Be Considered a Sport?

76. Should Stores Sell Violent Video Games to Minors?

77. Can a Video Game Be a Work of Art?

78. Do Violent Video Games Make People More Violent in Real Life?

79. When Should You Feel Guilty for Killing Zombies?

80. What Game Would You Like to Redesign?

81. What Were the Best Movies You Saw in the Past Year?

82. To What Writer Would You Award a Prize?

83. Do You Prefer Your Children's Book Characters Obedient or Contrary?

84. Where Is the Line Between Truth and Fiction?

85. Can Graffiti Ever Be Considered Art?

86. Do We Need Art in Our Lives?

87. What Makes a Good Commercial?

88. Why Did a Cheerios Ad Attract So Many Angry Comments Online?

89. Does Pop Culture Deserve Serious Study?
Gender Issues
90. Do Parents Have Different Hopes and Standards for Their Sons Than for Their Daughters?

91. Is School Designed More for Girls Than Boys?

92. Is There Too Much Pressure on Girls to Have 'Perfect' Bodies?

93. How Much Pressure Do Boys Face to Have the Perfect Body?

94. Do Photoshopped Images Make You Feel Bad About Your Own Looks?

95. Is It O.K. for Men and Boys to Comment on Women and Girls on the Street?

96. What Should We Do to Fight Sexual Violence Against Young Women?

97. How Do You Feel About Rihanna and Chris Brown Getting Back Together?

98. Do Fraternities Promote Misogyny?

99. Why Aren't There More Girls in Leadership Roles?

100. Why Aren't More Girls Choosing to Pursue Careers in Math and Science?

101. Should Women Be Allowed to Fight on the Front Lines Alongside Men?

102. Do You Believe in Equal Rights for Women and Men?

103. Are Women Better at Compromising and Collaborating?

104. Do Boys Have Less Intense Friendships Than Girls?
Sports and Athletics
105. If Football Is So Dangerous to Players, Should We Be Watching It?

106. Should Parents Let Their Children Play Football?

107. Should College Football Players Get Paid?

108. When Do Pranks Cross the Line to Become Bullying?

109. Has Baseball Lost Its Cool?

110. Are Some Youth Sports Too Intense?

111. Is It Offensive for Sports Teams to Use Native American Names and Mascots?

112. Where Should Colleges and Sports Teams Draw the Line in Selling Naming Rights?

113. Should Colleges Fund Wellness Programs Instead of Sports?

114. Is Cheerleading a Sport?

115. How Big a Deal Is It That an N.B.A. Player Came Out as Gay?

116. Should There Be Stricter Rules About How Coaches Treat Their Players?

117. Should Athletes Who Dope Have to Forfeit Their Titles and Medals?

118. Should Sports Betting Be Legal Everywhere?

119. Should Home-Schoolers Be Allowed to Play Public School Sports?

120. Would You Want a Bike Share Program for Your Community?
Politics and the Legal System
121. What Local Problems Do You Think Your Mayor Should Try to Solve?

122. If You Were Governor of Your State, How Would You Spend a Budget Surplus?

123. When Is the Use of Military Force Justified?

124. What Is More Important: Our Privacy or National Security?

125. California Notice

126. Should the U.S. Be Spying on Its Friends?

127. Do You Trust Your Government?

128. What Do You Think of the Police Tactic of Stop-and-Frisk?

129. Do Rich People Get Off Easier When They Break the Law?

130. Should Rich People Have to Pay More Taxes?

131. Do Laws That Ban Offensive Words Make the World a Better Place?

132. Is It Principled, or Irresponsible, for Politicians to Threaten a Shutdown?

133. Do Leaders Have Moral Obligations?

134. Do Great Leaders Have to Be Outgoing?

135. How Should We Prevent Future Mass Shootings?

136. Should Guns Be Permitted on College Campuses?

137. Would You Feel Safer With Armed Guards Patrolling Your School?

138. What Is Your Relationship With Guns?

139. Do You Support or Oppose the Death Penalty?

140. When Should Juvenile Offenders Receive Life Sentences?
Parenting and Childhood
141. Do We Give Children Too Many Trophies?

142. When Do You Become an Adult?

143. When Should You Be Able to Buy Cigarettes, Drink Alcohol, Vote, Drive and Fight in Wars?

144. Should the Morning-After Pill Be Sold Over the Counter to People Under 17?

145. Should Birth Control Pills Be Available to Teenage Girls Without a Prescription?

146. Is Modern Culture Ruining Childhood?

147. Are Adults Hurting Young Children by Pushing Them to Achieve?

148. How, and by Whom, Should Children Be Taught Appropriate Behavior?

149. What Can Older People Learn From Your Generation?

150. Do 'Shame and Blame' Work to Change Teenage Behavior?

151. How Should Children Be Taught About Puberty and Sex?

152. Is Dating a Thing of the Past?

153. How Should Parents Handle a Bad Report Card?

154. Should Children Be Allowed to Wear Whatever They Want?

155. How Should Educators and Legislators Deal With Minors Who 'Sext'?

156. Do You Think Child Stars Have It Rough?
Health and Nutrition
157. Is Smoking Still a Problem Among Teenagers?

158. Are Antismoking Ads Effective?

159. Is Drinking and Driving Still a Problem for Teenagers?

160. Do You Think a Healthier School Lunch Program Is a Lost Cause?

161. How Concerned Are You About Where Your Food Comes From?

162. Is It Ethical to Eat Meat?

163. Do You Prefer Your Tacos 'Authentic' or 'Appropriated'?

164. Should the Government Limit the Size of Sugary Drinks?

165. Should Marijuana Be Legal?

166. Should Students Be Required to Take Drug Tests?
Personal Character and Morality Questions
167. Do Bystanders Have a Responsibility to Intervene When There is Trouble?

168. Should You Care About the Health and Safety of Those Making Your Clothing?

169. Can Money Buy You Happiness?

170. Does Buying and Accumulating More and More Stuff Make Us Happier?

171. Are We Losing the Art of Listening?

172. Do People Complain Too Much?

173. Can Kindness Become Cool?

174. Which Is More Important: Talent or Hard Work?

175. How Important Is Keeping Your Cool?

176. When Should You Compromise?

177. Is Your Generation More Self-Centered Than Earlier Generations?

178. Can You Be Good Without God?

179. Have Curse Words Become So Common They Have Lost Their Shock Value?

180. What Words or Phrases Should Be Retired in 2014?

181. What Words or Phrases Do You Think Are Overused?

182. Should Couples Live Together Before Marriage?

183. How Important Do You Think It Is to Marry Someone With the Same Religion?

184. How Long Is It O.K. to Linger in a Cafe or Restaurant?

185. Does Keeping a Messy Desk Make People More Creative?

186. How Important Is Keeping a Clean House?
Science
187. Should Scientists Try to Help People Beat Old Age So We Can Live Longer Lives?

188. Given Unlimited Resources, What Scientific or Medical Problem Would You Investigate?

189. When Is It O.K. to Replace Human Limbs With Technology?

190. Do You Think Life Exists - or Has Ever Existed - Somewhere Besides Earth?

191. Should Fertilized Eggs Be Given Legal 'Personhood'?

192. How Concerned Are You About Climate Change?
Other Questions
193. Is It Wrong for a Newspaper to Publish a Front-Page Photo of a Man About to Die?

194. What Causes Should Philanthropic Groups Finance?

195. Should Charities Focus More on America?

196. Should the Private Lives of Famous People Be Off Limits?

197. Did a Newspaper Act Irresponsibly by Publishing the Addresses of Gun Owners?

198. Would You Rather Work From Home or in an Office?

199. What Time Should Black Friday Sales Start?

200. Do You Shop at Locally Owned Businesses?

201. How Much Does Your Neighborhood Define Who You Are?

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We published an updated version of this list, "401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing," as well as a companion piece, "650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing." We also now have a PDF of these 200 prompts. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter and get five new Student Opinion questions delivered to you every week.

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301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing - The New York Times

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301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing - The New York Times

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Another option for CER/Lab

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Science says  that these 9 tactics will help win arguments

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Science says  that these 9 tactics will help win arguments

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5 min read

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

Arguments aren't logical. To win them, you have to understand people.

We've scoured the research and compiled the following science-backed tactics that will help you win any argument.

1. Be civil.

Contrary to what your debate coach said, arguments aren't rational.

So respect the other person's perspective, no matter how ridiculous it sounds.

"When people have their self-worth validated in some way, they tend to be more receptive to information that challenges their beliefs," political psychologist Peter Ditto from the University of California at Irvine tells New York Magazine.

With that emotional connection established, you can then start getting logical.

2. Don't try to 'win' the argument.

Attacking someone's ideas puts them into fight-or-flight mode. Once they're on edge, there will be no getting through to them.

So if you want to be convincing, practice "extreme agreement": Take your conversational partner's views and advance them to their logical - and perhaps absurd - conclusion.

3. Don't ask why. Ask how.

In a 2013 study, University of Colorado psychologist Philip M. Fernbach separated people with extreme political views into two groups - people who had to explain why their opinions were right, and those who were tasked with explaining how their ideals could be turned into actual policy.

The result?

Folks who gave their reasons for being right were just as confident in their convictions after the experiment as they were beforehand. But the people who had to explain the mechanics of implementation had softer views.

4. Follow up.

Pixar cofounder Ed Catmull knew Steve Jobs for 26 years.

They had some arguments.

He avoided having shouting arguments with Jobs, instead employing a persistent method:

I would say something to him and he would immediately shoot it down because he could think faster than I could ... I would then wait a week ... I'd call him up and I give my counter argument to what he had said and he'd immediately shoot it down. So I had to wait another week, and sometimes this went on for months.

It would resolve in one of three ways: Jobs would admit Catmull was right; Catmull would realize Jobs was right; or Jobs would not respond to Catmull, in effect giving his approval.

5. Ask open-ended questions.

If you're in a spat with your spouse, couples psychologist John Gottman says to ask questions that allow him or her to open up.

Examples include:

How would you change it if you had all the money in the world?

What do you want your life to be like in three years?

How do you like your job?

It works in arguments at work, too - open-ended questions help transform competitive interactions into cooperative ones.

6. Be confident.

People don't listen to the smartest person in the room.

A 2013 study found that they listen to the people who act as if they know what is right.

University of Utah management professor Bryan Bonner says people unconsciously look for "messy proxies for expertise" like extroversion, gender, race, or confidence level instead of paying attention to what people are actually saying.

"We'd hope that facts would be the currency of influence," Bonner told The Wall Street Journal. "But often, we guess at who's the expert - and we're wrong."

7. Use graphs.

A new study from Cornell University researchers Aner Tal and Brian Wansink shows that people trust scientists. Thus, doing things that make you appear scientific - like using a graph - makes you more trustworthy.

"The prestige of science appears to grant persuasive power even to such trivial science-related elements as graphs," Tal and Wansink write.

8. Demonstrate that other people agree.

In "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion," Robert Cialdini says "social proof" is one of the best tactics for getting people to see things your way. It exploits the well-documented tendency for people to conform to others' opinions, even if they're strange.

According to social proof, we assume what other people are doing is the correct behavior in a situation. It is the reason long lines in front of a restaurant make the food inside seem so tantalizing. It is also why having the endorsement of a celebrity - like William Shatner - is such an effective marketing tool.

9. Go beyond anecdotes.

A story about how your uncle or your college roommate eats loads of butter and still stays fit is an anecdote.

But if you want to be taken seriously, you need to use data, the kind that's arrived at through peer-reviewed studies with large sample sizes.

Better yet, go for consensus.

"Scientists often use 'consensus' as the ultimate argument-winner, and for good reason," Jacquelyn Gill writes on Contemplative Mammoth. "Scientific consensus is the collected opinions of all scientists, and not just the one you're arguing with. There can be one or two scientists who disagree (just like there are a handful of people who don't believe the Holocaust happened), but if the vast majority of scientists have reached consensus, it means that there is so much evidence in support of an idea that it's basically a guaranteed thing, based on state-of-the-art knowledge."

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Science Says These 9 Tactics Will Help You Win Any Argument

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5 min read This story originally appeared on Business Insider Arguments aren't logical. To win them, you have to understand people. We've scoured the research and compiled the following science-backed tactics that will help you win any argument. Contrary to what your debate coach said, arguments aren't rational.

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Hess' Cognitive Rigor Matrix - Science and Math

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Hess' Cognitive Rigor Matrix - Science and Math

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‎Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix - Reading and Writing

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‎Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix - Reading and Writing

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Has very helpful videos of great instruction

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Tools for

Ambitious
Science
Teaching

Companion Book available now on Harvard Ed Press

Pressing for evidence- based explanations

Planning for engagement with important science ideas

Supporting on-going changes in thinking

Eliciting students' ideas

What is Ambitious Science Teaching?

Great teaching can be learned. This web site provides a vision of ambitious science instruction for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms. Ambitious teaching deliberately aims to support students of all backgrounds to deeply understand science ideas, participate in the activities of the discipline, and solve authentic problems.

We feature 4 core sets of teaching practices that support these goals. These core sets make up the Ambitious Science Teaching Framework. The framework has been based on classroom research from the past 30 years-research that has asked, "What kinds of talk, tasks, and tools do students need in order to fully engage in meaningful forms of science learning?"

If you are a member of a group of science educators committed to the improvement of teaching, the vision, practices, and tools here will furnish a common language for you about teaching. You will be able to identify "what we will get better at" and how to get started.

Become Part of a Community That Shares a Common Vision of Excellence in Teaching.

Because ambitious science teaching focuses on doing four things really well in the classroom (the core practices), members of our community can speak a common language about how to continually improve instruction and support student learning. We can frame problems together and work towards solutions with help from each other. The expertise of our community comes from our members (teachers, instructional coaches, teacher educators) as well as from extensive empirical classroom research. On this site you can explore how other professionals are using core practices and the tools that go with them.

Explore New Tools That Support Student Learning

This site provides a constantly evolving set of tools to help improve student participation and learning. Some of these tools will help you plan for student engagement with "big" science ideas. Some will help students reason publicly with each other about science ideas. Others will help students engage in scientific modeling, explanation and argument with evidence. Still others will scaffold science-specific writing and talk. We have unique sets of tools for teachers, instructional coaches, and teacher educators.

But here's what is really important about our tools-they belong to the community, meaning that they need to be continually tested under different classroom conditions in order to be improved and diversified.

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Pressing for evidence- based explanations Planning for engagement with important science ideas Supporting on-going changes in thinking Eliciting students' ideas Great teaching can be learned.

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Scientific Argumentation: Helping Students Identify, Evaluate, & Support Claims (2-part course)- Eventbrite

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Scientific Argumentation: Helping Students Identify, Evaluate, & Support Claims (2-part course)- Eventbrite

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& support claims (2-part course) tickets

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Scientific Argumentation: Helping Students Identify, Evaluate, & Support Claims (2-part course)

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Use Smithsonian and other published resources to help students judge the quality or reliability of evidence, evaluate scientific claims, and construct scientific arguments. In a live, interactive format, try out an instructional strategy and an online annotation tool. This webinar will address inquiry skills and CCSS ELA standards for informational texts in scientific and technical subject areas.

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Educator Resources * Lesson Plans / Student Activities "The ability to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning and relevant evidence is a cornerstone of the writing standards, with opinion writing - a basic form of argument - extending down into the earliest grades."

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From Bear

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From Skinner lab visit

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About the Little Shop - Little Shop of Physics | CSU

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The Little Shop of Physics seeks to Find creative ways to share the wonder of science with people of all ages, backgrounds and interests. Present a unique hands-on science experience to a diverse range of K-12 students. Involve undergraduates in significant and meaningful service. Share ideas and insights with current and future teachers.

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Using the Science Writing Heuristic to Promote Understanding of Science Conceptual Knowledge in Middle School_by_Brian Hand

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Using the Science Writing Heuristic to Promote Understanding of Science Conceptual Knowledge in Middle School_by_Brian Hand

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From Linking Science & Literacy in the K-8 Classroom (in case the "google book" doesn't work)

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‎Induction, Deduction, and the Scientific Method

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‎Induction, Deduction, and the Scientific Method

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Linking Science & Literacy in the K-8 Classroom - Google Books

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Linking Science & Literacy in the K-8 Classroom - Google Books

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Linking Science & Literacy in the K-8 Classroom

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Based on a 2004 conference sponsored by NSTA, shows how to integrate science into language arts lessons.

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A Case for the Science Writing Heuristic

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Dear visitor, 2020 is a year of change and this won't go unnoticed here as well. We would like to inform you that BestOnlineCasino.com will soon become available under the freshly acquired domain of Sense Publishers. BestOnlineCasino.com is your go-to source of reviews and articles on all things gambling-related.

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Base CER Rubric from Krajcik and McNeill

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Claims, Evidence, Reasoning Framework based on Krajcik and McNeill

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Science, ELA and Math Practices

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ASSESSING MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING THROUGH WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS

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ASSESSING MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING THROUGH WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS

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Krajcik & McNeill, University of Michigan

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‎www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/e01396/introandchapter1.pdf

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http://www.escofcentralohio.org/

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Parts of An Argument: Claims, Counterclaims, Reasons, and Evidence - Video & Lesson Transcript | Education Portal

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Parts of An Argument: Claims, Counterclaims, Reasons, and Evidence - Video & Lesson Transcript | Education Portal

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From Utah Education Network

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Educator Resources * Lesson Plans / Student Activities "The ability to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning and relevant evidence is a cornerstone of the writing standards, with opinion writing - a basic form of argument - extending down into the earliest grades."

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Rubrics, Assessments, Resources

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This website provides scientific argument assessments and corresponding resources across reading, writing, and talking that can be used by teachers, curriculum developers, and educational researchers.
Assessing the quality of arguments is a difficult task. There are often numerous aspects of students' writing that could be addressed, but it is difficult to know which are the most important. We help with this challenge by looking at specific characteristics (or constructs) of the structure of an argument (e.g. forms of justification, relevant-supporting evidence, sufficiency of evidence, multiple views, and reasoning) and process of constructing arguments (e.g. process, product). By argument, we mean a justified claim. Whereas a claim is a statement that answers a question, justifications are used to support the claim. The table below summarizes the ten assessments we have developed to date.

The BEAR Assessment System (BAS) informed our design of the argumentation assessments (Wilson, 2005). We began the development process by identifying individual (unidimensional) constructs, which are the unobservable (latent) characteristics being measured (unidimensionally) (Wilson, 2005). The second stage of development focused on expanding, or mapping, the construct into qualitatively distinct levels along a continuum from high to low (Wilson, 2005). These theoretical models of cognition known as construct maps are based on an understanding of expert disciplinary knowledge as well as research on student learning in the domain (Wilson, 2005). When developing the levels within the construct maps, we concurrently developed ways to measure the theoretical constructs as well as how the items would be scored. Whereas the reading items are multiple-choice and included purposefully selected answer choices, the writing items are constructed response and require a rubric to score. The development of the answer choices and rubrics further clarified the levels within the construct maps. The validity of the items was again refined with the aid of cognitive interviews in which students explained their thought process as they constructed responses to selected items (Wilson, 2005). Specifically, we revised aspects that were confusing for students. Lastly, the results of pilots were used to refine the items and construct maps (Wilson, 2005). Masters' (1982) partial credit model was used to analyze the results because it allows for different thresholds for different items, which happens when both constructed response and multiple-choice items are employed.

Masters, G. N. (1982). A Rasch model for partial credit scoring. Psychometrika, 47, 149-174.

Wilson, M. (2005). Constructing Measures: An Item Response Modeling Approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate.

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This website provides scientific argument assessments and corresponding resources across reading, writing, and talking that can be used by teachers, curriculum developers, and educational...

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Teaching Resources - Katherine L. McNeill

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Teaching Resources - Katherine L. McNeill

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This website includes high-quality, open-scource middle school curriculum materials and professional learning materials.

This website was developed and revised over 2014-2018. It includes resources to support the successful integration of the 8 science practices in NGSS into k-8 classrooms.

This website includes resources, including a library of videos, to support teachers in integrating argumentation into their classroom instruction. The resources are structured around four elements that students need support with: 1. Using high quality evidence, 2. Providing strong reasoning, 3. Considering multiple competing claims, and 4. Building off and critiquing each other's ideas.

This webpage includes assessments and rubrics for assessing students' abilities for argumentation across writing, reading and talking.

Podcast on NGS Navigators - CER in the NGSS Classroom

The Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) model of argumentation is used in many science classrooms. Dr. Kate McNeill shares with us today tips, strategies, and tools that enhance this science and engineering practice of Engaging in Argument with Evidence.
Podcast on NSTA's Lab Outloud about CER
In this podcast, Dr. Kate McNeill and Dr. Joe Krajcik introduce the claim, evidence and reasoning (CER) framework and discuss it as a teaching tool in relation to the science practices in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

These two books and the associated facilitator guide's were written to be used with pre-service and in-service teachers to support them in integrating the CER framework into their instruction. They each include a DVD with videos of k-8 instruction.

Zembal-Saul, C., McNeill, K. L., & Hershberger, K. (2013). What's your evidence? Engaging k-5 students in constructing explanations in science. New York, NY: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

Zembal-Saul, C., McNeill, K. L., & Hershberger, K. (2013). Book study facilitator's guide: What's your evidence? Engaging k-5 students in constructing explanations in science. New York, NY: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

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This website includes high-quality, open-scource middle school curriculum materials and professional learning materials. This website was developed and revised over 2014-2018. It includes resources to support the successful integration of the 8 science practices in NGSS into k-8 classrooms. This website includes resources, including a library of videos, to support teachers in integrating argumentation into their classroom instruction.

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Questions, Claims and Evidence: Teaching Argument in NGSS through Science Writing Heuristic

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Questions, Claims and Evidence: Teaching Argument in NGSS through Science Writing Heuristic

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Brian Hand, University of Iowa

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CCSS & NGSS venn

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NGSS Science and Engineering Practice Matrices

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Language Demands and Opportunities in Relation to NGSS for ELLs

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Educational Leadership:Writing: A Core Skill:Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs

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Educational Leadership:Writing: A Core Skill:Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs

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www.ascd.org

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Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs - ASCD

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How in the world are we supposed to apply the Common Core writing standards to teaching English language learners? We've been asking that question of ourselves and others over the past two years, and we suspect we're not the only educators doing so. After reviewing the many resources available that