Common Core in Action: How Two Science Teachers are Implementing Common Core

Teaching Science makes me uneasy.  I am not at all 100% confident about that or Mathematics.  However, I am good at English, Reading, and Writing and that is what these two Science teachers implemented into their instruction.  Katie Abole, Science teacher at Bronx Leadership Academy in New York, said "science literacy is different and requires different skills."  So in order to implement the Reading Standards into her Biofuel vs. Fossil Fuels lesson, she scaffolded literacy skills from reading and writing standards in different ways.  She used drafts and outlines, graphic organizers, direct instruction, and revision.  Through this, her students gained college level skills.  Next, she balanced literacy instruction with Science activities.  Christopher King, teacher at West Bronx Academy in New York, used a similar unit to Katie Abole.  He targeted Reading and Writing Standards by scaffolding strategies such as including a Socratic Seminar that supported argumentation and evidence skills.  This made his students willingly engage in academic conversations.