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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
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Literacy for Science

Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation
Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards

A Workshop Summary

Holly Rhodes and Michael A. Feder, Rapporteurs

Steering Committee on Exploring the Overlap between “Literacy in Science” and the
Practice of Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

Board on Science Education

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.

www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS    500 Fifth Street, NW    Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by the Contract No. 10001820 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Carnegie Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

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Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2014). Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards, A Workshop Summary, H. Rhodes and M.A. Feder, Rapporteurs. Steering Committee on Exploring the Overlap between “Literacy in Science” and the Practice of Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information. Board on Science Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×

STEERING COMMITTEE ON EXPLORING THE OVERLAP BETWEEN “LITERACY IN SCIENCE” AND THE PRACTICE OF OBTAINING, EVALUATING, AND COMMUNICATING INFORMATION

P. DAVID PEARSON (Chair), Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley

JUAN-CARLOS AGUILAR, Georgia Department of Education

SARAH MICHAELS, Department of Education, Clark University

ELIZABETH BIRR MOJE, School of Education, University of Michigan

SUSAN PIMENTEL, Student Achievement Partners

HELEN QUINN, Emerita, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University

MICHAEL FEDER, Study Director

HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER, Deputy Director, Board on Science Education

REBECCA KRONE, Senior Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×

BOARD ON SCIENCE EDUCATION

HELEN QUINN (Chair), Emerita, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University

GEORGE BOGGS, Emeritus, Palomar College and American Association of Community Colleges

MELANIE COOPER, Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University

RODOLFO DIRZO, Department of Biology, Stanford University

JACQUELYNNE ECCLES, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan

JOSEPH FRANCISCO, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University

MARGARET HONEY, New York Hall of Science, Queens, New York

SUSAN W. KIEFFER, Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MATTHEW KREHBIEL, Kansas State Department of Education

MICHAEL LACH, Urban Education Institute, University of Chicago

LYNN LIBEN, Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University

BRIAN REISER, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University

MARSHALL “MIKE” SMITH, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

ROBERTA TANNER, Retired Physics Teacher, Thompson School District, Loveland, Colorado

SUZANNE WILSON, Department of Teacher Education and Center for the Scholarship of Teaching, Michigan State University

YU XIE, Department of Sociology, University of Michigan

MARTIN STORKSDIECK, Director (through June 2014)

HEIDI A. SCHWEINGRUBER, Deputy Director

MICHAEL A. FEDER, Senior Program Officer

MARGARET HILTON, Senior Program Officer

NATALIE NIELSEN, Senior Program Officer (through February 2014)

REBECCA KRONE, Program Associate (through May 2014)

KELLY ARRINGTON, Senior Program Assistant

JOANNA ROBERTS, Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×

Preface

This summary was prepared by independent rapporteurs. The workshop was designed to explore the intersection between the “Literacy in Science” portions of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and the practices in the Next Generation Science Standards. The views contained in the report are those of individual workshop participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all workshop participants, the planning committee, or the National Research Council (NRC). The planning committee was responsible only for the quality of the agenda and the selection of participants. Neither the workshop nor this summary is intended as a comprehensive review of what is known about the topic. The presentations and discussions were limited by the time available for the workshop.

This workshop summary has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report: George I. Matsumoto, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute; P. David Pearson, Language and Literacy and Cognition and Development, Graduate School of

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
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Education, University of California, Berkeley; and Sam Shaw, Division of Learning and Instruction, South Dakota Department of Education.

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Carlo Parravano, executive director (retired), Merck Institute for Science Education. Appointed by the NRC, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authors and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18803.
×
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The recent movement in K-12 education toward common standards in key subjects represents an unprecedented opportunity for improving learning outcomes for all students. These standards initiatives - the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics (CCSS) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) - are informed by research on learning and teaching and a decade of standards-based education reform. While the standards have been developed separately in English/Language Arts and Science, there are areas where the standards intersect directly. One such area of intersection occurs between the "Literacy in Science" portions of the Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts and the practices in the NGSS (originally outlined in the NRC's A Framework for K-12 Science Education), particularly the practice of "Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information".

Because the CCSS literacy in science standards predated the NGSS, developers of the NGSS worked directly with the CCSS team to identify the connections between the two sets of standards. However, questions about how the two sets of standards can complement each other and can be used in concert to improve students' reading and writing, as well as listening and speaking, in science to learn science continue to exist.

Literacy for Science is the summary of a workshop convened by the National Research Council Board on Science Education in December 2013 to address the need to coordinate the literacy for science aspect of CCSS and the practices in NGSS. The workshop featured presentations about the complementary roles of English/language arts teachers and science teachers as well as the unique challenges and approaches for different grade levels. Literacy for Science articulates the knowledge and skills teachers need to support students in developing competence in reading and communicating in science. This report considers design options for curricula and courses that provide aligned support for students to develop competencies in reading and communicating, and addresses the role of district and school administrators in guiding implementation of science and ELA to help ensure alignment. Literacy for Science will be a useful point of reference for anyone interested in the opportunities and challenges of overlapping science and literacy standards to improve the learning experience.

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