Marco A. Bravo

Text Genre and Science Content: Ease of Reading, Comprehension, and Reader Preference

This study examined ease of reading, comprehension, and recall and preference for the same scientific content under two conditions: an informational text and a fictional narrative text. Seventy-four third and fourth graders were assessed individually around the reading of fictional narrative and informational texts that were about either snails or sand. Students’ accuracy and rate of reading were comparable across the two genres. However, students answered more comprehension questions correctly and recalled more key concepts in response to informational text than fictional narrative text. Moreover, students did not express a clear preference for one type of text over the other.

Attending to the Language and Literacy Needs of English Learners in Science.

This article presents the results of a study testing the efficacy of an instructional model that attends to the science, literacy, and language learning needs of English Learners (ELs) through a curriculum development project. The model is based on the premise that reading, writing, and discourse are better served when these important language processes are regarded as a means to rich subject matter learning. The quasi-experimental study included fourth and fifth grade ELs who experienced a science curriculum in one of two conditions: (a) science, literacy, and language integrated curriculum; or (b) a content-comparable curriculum where the focus was “hands-on” science. ELs in the treatment condition outperformed ELs in the comparison group in science understanding and science vocabulary, but no statistically significant differences were found with science reading.

Examining Multiple Dimensions of Word Knowledge for Content Vocabulary Understanding.

This study traces the development of a vocabulary measure designed to assess multiple types of word knowledge. The assessment, which was administered in conjunction with a science unit about weather and the water cycle for third-and-fourth graders, included items for six knowledge types—recognition, definition, classification/example, context, application, and interrelatedness. The model that included the full range of items provided a better fit with the construct vocabulary knowledge than did the model that included only the definitional knowledge most often assessed in traditional measures. This study provides preliminary support for the feasibility of a multidimensional vocabulary assessment.

Cultivating Teacher Knowledge of the Role of Language in Science: A Model of Elementary Grade Pre-Service Teacher Preparation

This chapter unpacks a model of pre-service teacher preparation that puts language and literacy instruction (vocabulary, academic talk, reading, and writing) to work in the service of acquiring the dispositions, skills and knowledge of inquiry-based science. Science and language teacher educators developed a model that maximizes the synergy between the science, literacy and language disciplines with the goal of providing pre-service teachers with the pedagogical repertoire needed to amplify language instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs) during science teaching. The model was developed with the understanding that ELLs have to sharpen their language skills while they deepen their understanding of science concepts and processes. Examples are provided of the science, language and literacy integrated activities that pre-service teachers were involved in as well as transcripts of their interactions in both the language and science methods courses that modeled the integrated approach to language and science teaching. Results from two studies offers support for the efficacy of this model to improve pre-service teacher’s beliefs about their integrated pedagogy and the science and language learning of ELLs.

Demystifying the Discourse of Science for Elementary Grade English Learners

In science, language is used in specialized ways to communicate about the natural world. For English learners (ELs), not knowing the discourse of science can have critical consequences, as lack of proficiency of this discourse can limit their participation in science activities and consequently their appropriation of science concepts. This paper identifies some science discourse practices and utilizes the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics and Sociocultural theory to make sense of how preservice teachers involved in a research study, made this elusive language variety more available and accessible to ELs.