Close Reading in Middle School Science Classes

Students dig deep to understand complex informational texts and sum them up precisely.

This year, our goal is to help students perceive meaning of scientific texts kids read on the subject matter and be able to summarize complicated texts to demonstrate their understanding when they look for background information to back their lab results and Science Fair projects.



Students analyze texts and pay close attention to details they would otherwise skip if not having proper support from their science teacher and information literacy specialist.
 

Through collaboration, Mr. Ratner and Ms. Bee apply the close reading strategy to implicitly broaden kids' background, improve their understanding and raise their curiosity.

Among learning approaches used in class are brainstorming, identifying and using new vocabulary, small groups discussions, writing summaries and creating proper citations. Students acquire and practice necessary skills to effectively achieve positive results in their future research works and Science Fair projects that are coming SOON!

Things I Wonder About: Example

Question: What is the most effective method to preserve cucumbers? Is keeping them in a fridge in plastic bags produce mold and affect their quality?   - Understanding level, Sc. F. (good for a science fair project),

Why I am interested: I store cucumbers in a fridge in plastic bags. Once I heard that eating cucumbers stored in plastic bags is harmful. However, when I store them without plastic bags, cucumbers wither next day. How detrimental it is to store them in plastic bags when refrigerating?

Answer: Refrigerate cucumbers and store them in a plastic or paper bag.

Still have to be proved by collecting data through experiments.

Information:

Tiny microorganisms like yeast, mold and bacteria live on food. When plants and animals are not alive they lose their ability to resist rapid multiplication of microorganisms. Bacteria cause food to spoil and lose flavor. Food spoilage can be slowed down by cold storage or refrigeration. Another way to protect processed food is packaging. It protects food from air and moisture. (Food Preservation. BritannicaSchools).

Opinions on how to store cucumbers vary. Some sources recommend to store them at a room temperature, some say to store them in a paper bag refrigerated, while many people store cucumbers in plastic bags in their fridge.

Organic Food magazine recommends to store eggplants and cucumbers refrigerated in a paper bag: “They'll do best if you store them in a paper bag inside the crisper drawer of your refrigerator”. (Bucks C. Refrigerate--or not?. Organic Gardening (08973792) [serial online]. July 1998;45(6):21. Available from: Health Source - Consumer Edition, Ipswich, MA. Accessed September 28, 2015.)

The University of Minnesota website suggests that “some vegetables, such as cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, require cool (55°F) and moist storage. These conditions are difficult to maintain in a typical home, so expect to keep vegetables requiring cool and moist storage conditions for only a short period of time. Keep them in a cool spot in kitchen 55°F in perforated plastic bags; storage in refrigerator for a few days okay, maximum for 1 week” (Harvesting and Storing Home Garden Vegetables. University of Minnesota Extension 2013, http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/vegetables/harvesting-and-storing-home-garden-vegetables/).

I want to check it myself and collect data to make my own conclusion. Wait till Science Fair!

Things I Wonder About

www.auburn-rose.com

Skills of asking good questions and finding answers to the problems that were not solved before are essential to succeed in life and make the life of others better.

To support student inquisitiveness and to practice research skills application, Mr. Ratner and Ms. Bee have announced an award for ... asking good questions.

To participate in the "Things I Wonder About" award, Middle School students are invited to create a Google doc and title it "Things I Wonder About" to collect questions and things they wonder about. The document should be shared with Ms. Bee (mbrodsky@wbais.net). Read for more details.