CONTENTS
Editors' Note

SCOPE
Science and Mathematics - Through the Lens of Language

FEATURES
Living the Story Problem
Curriculum Connections: Revealing the Many Facets of Science

DEPARTMENTS
Connected Corner: The Mathematics of Music
Classroom Resources
Discourse
A Word from the Director
Masthead

Science and Mathematics: Through the Lens of Language

story by Jennifer Stepanek; artwork by Students of Innerscape Art Center

Reading and writing are indispensable learning tools in all subject areas. Teachers' skillful use of language arts connections helps students to make sense of mathematical and scientific ideas.

Communication was key to the rapid development of science in the 17th century. While one method of communication was publishing printed works, equally important were private letters. In fact, the flow of ideas that contributed to the growth of science was facilitated by Father Marin Mersenne, a French priest who maintained correspondences with scientists and mathematicians throughout Europe.

Unlike the alchemists and physicians who came before and strove to keep their work secret, scientists and mathematicians made efforts to share their theories and discoveries with one another. They benefited from the fact that there was a community of interested people who would build on their work and correct their errors (Barzun, 2000).

The ability to communicate ideas and theories is still essential to learning and doing mathematics and science. The boundaries between science, mathematics, and language arts are much more fluid than they appear in most school schedules. After all, reading is a part of every science and mathematics classroom in which the teacher uses a textbook.

Connecting language arts with mathematics and science explicitly and intentionally strengthens teaching and learning in all three areas of the curriculum.

integrating science and language arts

At the elementary level, integrating science and language arts has many advantages. The intense political focus on reading and mathematics can often mean that science gets pushed aside. The demands on schools and teachers to devote time and resources to reading and mathematics may leave little time for science. This emphasis is reinforced by state and district tests that rarely include science (Thier, 2002). Elementary teachers themselves may be reluctant to spend much time on science because they feel they lack the necessary content knowledge and experience to teach science effectively (Baker & Saul, 1994).

In fact, there are significant benefits to connecting science and language arts at all grade levels. Looking at the connection from a science teacher's perspective, reading and writing are important tools in the process of learning science. For language arts teachers, science can provide rich content in reading and writing activities for students of all ages. In her book The New Science Literacy (2002), Marlene Thier writes, Setting language in an engaging context such as science inspires students to reach for the tools of language in order to uncover and internalize the secrets about the world that science can reveal to them.

While there is not a great deal of research studying the effects of integrating science and language arts, there is evidence that it leads to higher achievement in both science and literacy (Holliday, Yore, & Alvermann, 1994; Morrow, Pressley, Smith, & Smith, 1997). In one study of a literature-based science program, students reported that the integrated approach made reading and writing more interesting and increased their understanding of science (Morrow, et al., 1997). Students were also more likely to report that they liked science than those students who experienced the two subject areas separately.

Integrating science and literacy also holds promise as an effective strategy for teaching English language learners. As students engage in science inquiry tasks, they are called upon to engage in authentic communication tasks as well for example, describing, justifying, and summarizing which promote their abilities to use language to communicate abstract ideas (Lee & Fradd, 1998; Stoddart, Pinal, Latzke, & Canaday, 2002).

While integrating science and language arts has great potential for providing rich learning experiences, science especially at the elementary level cannot be taught only via reading. Teachers find that the most effective approach is combining literacy activities with hands-on inquiry activities. For example, asking students to write about questions that they want to explore or using a story as a jumping-off point for a hands-on activity.

beyond the textbook

One strategy for infusing language arts into mathematics and science is using trade books, including picture books, fiction, and nonfiction books other than textbooks. Trade books, more than textbooks, appeal to students' imaginations and curiosity (Griffiths & Clyne, 1991). They can pose problems and provide models for how students can record and share their thinking. Trade books also help students understand concepts by illustrating them in familiar language (Butzow & Butzow, 2000).

Students attitudes and beliefs about what they learn and about themselves are important aspects of the learning process. Literature can help students connect personally to mathematical and scientific ideas by setting math and science in familiar and meaningful contexts (Griffiths & Clyne, 1991).

Other books directly address students' attitudes toward mathematics and science. In their book Feisty Females, teachers Karen Karp, E. Todd Brown, Linda Allen, and Candy Allen (1998) describe the project they developed to encourage girls to see themselves as problem solvers. The authors developed a strategy in which they use books that portray strong female characters and relate the stories to mathematics activities. The books are not all specifically about math, but they feature characters who take risks and meet challenges and who are supported as they do so. This strategy uses literature to increase students' interest and confidence in mathematics and to help them develop perseverance in pursuing challenging and complex problems.

Multicultural Literature as a Context for Mathematical Problem Solving: Children and Parents Learning Together is a program in the Baltimore City Public School System (Strutchens, 2002). Families are invited to evening sessions in which teachers read a book out loud and then families work together on a problem-solving activity that is connected to the story in the book. Parents experience problem solving for themselves as well as have fun doing math with their children. The multicultural literature provides a context that generates excitement about the math problems and introduces parents and children to a variety of cultures.

While elementary teachers are most likely to use trade books in their science teaching, these books can appeal to students of all ages. Well-selected literature increases student involvement and facilitates learning and retention in middle school science classes, and it provides students a conduit for personal connections that clarify the relevance of science and technology for their lives and changes in society, writes Edna Greene Brabham of Auburn University (1997).

Simply identifying a list of books that fit a science or mathematics topic isn't enough. The books must be carefully selected, with close attention to the accuracy of the content. Nonfiction books written for children, for example, should not attribute human characteristics to animals and plants.

Some books and articles on science and mathematics literature offer criteria for selecting trade books (Rice, Dudley, & Williams, 2001; Cerulla, 1997; Plummer, 1997). Additionally, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the Children's Book Council publish an annual list of outstanding science trade books. The list appears each March in the NSTA journals Science and Children and Science Scope.

writing for understanding

Engaging in meaningful writing tasks also leads to improved student learning in mathematics and science (Rivard, 1994; Countryman, 1992). Students develop a deeper understanding when they write about the concepts they are learning. In mathematics and science, students must learn new vocabulary and decode technical language. Their understanding grows when they put the concepts they have learned into their own words and use writing as a tool for making sense of new information (Rivard, 1994).

Writing can also serve as a classroom assessment tool, providing a window into student thinking (Fellows, 1994). Teachers can see how well students understand what they are learning and can identify lingering misconceptions. Along with formal writing assignments, journal writing and reflection papers are other powerful outlets for demonstrating understanding.

It will be helpful for teachers to keep in mind some of the qualities of effective writing tasks. The common types of assignments, in which students simply repeat information that they have taken from other sources will not serve well as learning activities. To use writing as a tool for understanding, students need tasks that help them to connect new concepts to their prior knowledge (Holliday, Yore, & Alvermann, 1994). Authentic writing tasks in which students communicate ideas to a real audience not just a teacher are also more likely to help students develop understanding (Rivard, 1994).

Informal writing, such as in journals, enables students to make personal connections to mathematics and science. Students can express their anxiety or frustration, which they may not be comfortable speaking about in class. In their journals, students can also reflect on what they are learning and create meaning for themselves (Countryman, 1992).

Connecting math, science, and language arts in the classroom can also create strong connections between teachers. When teachers collaborate across disciplines, they often gain new insights and new ways of approaching familiar subject matter. For example, they might work together to explore ways to use science inquiry strategies in language arts activities.

Middle school teacher Leslie Franks (2001) eloquently expresses the mutual benefits for teachers who cross subject lines: The more we talked, the more we discovered what language arts and science have in common... Now the doors are open. Science has come into my classroom, writing into his. And that is just as it should be.

Jennifer Stepanek is coeditor of Northwest Teacher.

references

• Baker, L., & Saul, W. (1994). Considering science and language arts connections: A study of teacher cognition. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31(9), 1023-1037.
• Barzun, J. (2000). From dawn to decadence: 500 years of Western cultural life, 1500 to the present. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
• Brabham, E.G. (1997). Literature and science create an engaging combination. Middle School Journal, 29(2), 34-39. Butzow, C.M., & Butzow, J.W. (2000).
• Science through children's literature: An integrated approach (2nd ed.). Englewood, CO: Teacher Ideas Press.
• Cerulla, M.M. (1997). Reading the environment: Children's literature in the science classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Countryman, J. (1992). Writing to learn mathematics. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Fellows, N.J. (1994). A window into thinking: Using student writing to understand conceptual change in science learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31(9), 985-1001.
• Franks, L. (2001). Charcoal clouds and weather writing: Inviting science to a middle school language arts classroom. Language Arts, 78(4), 319-324.
• Griffiths, R., & Clyne, M. (1991). Books you can count on: Linking mathematics and literature. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Holliday, W.G., Yore, L.D., & Alvermann, D.E. (1994). The reading-science-learning- writing connection: Breakthroughs, barriers, and promises. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31(9), 877-893.
• Karp, K., Brown, E.T., Allen, L., & Allen, C. (1998). Feisty females: Inspiring girls to think mathematically. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Lee, O., & Fradd, S.H. (1998). Science for all, including students from non-English language backgrounds. Educational Researcher, 27(4), 12-21.
• Morrow, L.M., Pressley, M., Smith, J.K., & Smith, M. (1997). The effect of a literature-based program integrated into literacy and science instruction with children from diverse backgrounds. Reading Researcher Quarterly, 32(1), 54-76.
• Plummer, K.A. (1997). Selecting children's literature. ENC Focus, 4(5), 7-8. [Retrieved January 27, 2003 from: www.enc.org/ focus/lit/document.shtm?input= FOC-000741-7]
• Rice, D.C., Dudley, A.P., & Williams, C.S. (2001). How do you choose science trade books? Science and Children, 38(6), 18-22.
• Rivard, L.P. (1994). A review of writing to learn in science: Implications for practice and research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(8), 969-983.
• Stoddart, T., Pinal, A., Latzke, M., & Canaday, D. (2002). Integrating inquiry science and language development for English language learners. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(8), 665-687.
• Strutchens, M.E. (2002). Multicultural literature as a context for problem solving: Children and parents learning together. Teaching Children Mathematics, 8(8), 448-455.
• Thier, M. (with Daviss, B.) (2002). The new science literacy: Using language skills to help students learn science. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.