6
2013
Purpose and Placement of Text in Inquiry-Based Science Classrooms
An article by 
As I sat through the session on Science Literacy at the PARCC meeting I appreciated the close reading strategy that was showcased by the presenters. I also applauded the CER model they promoted for analyzing the claims and evidence presented in the test. However, the example lesson structure showcased in the presentation alarmed me as a science educator.
The informational text utilized in the lesson, “The Greenhouse Effect: Investigating Global Warming”, served as means to explain the process of the greenhouse effect and how it impacts global warming. I would categorize this particular type of informational text as explanatory. While I would never argue with the critical importance of such text in science classrooms, I would argue that the consideration of the placement of such text in an inquiry-based science classroom is vital.
In the model lesson presented at the meeting, the explanatory text was introduced as a pre-laboratory reading that aligned to a series of questions students were suppose to answer. One question immediately arose in my mind as the lesson was being introduced to us, “If the text presented to students in the beginning of the lesson explains the entire scientific concept what need is there for students to explore and discover?”
I then began to consider two crucial elements science teachers should consider when utilizing informational text in science lessons:
(1) The purpose of the text
(2) The placement of the text in a science lesson.
When considering the purpose of informational text for science classrooms there seem to be two categories text can be placed in:
(1) Text that engages students to ask questions
(2) Text that provides explanations for questions students are asking
Text that engages students to ask questions could include: newspaper articles, blog posts, and magazine articles. The key to utilizing informational text to engage students to ask questions is to ensure that the text does not give away the concepts you desire for them to explore in the lesson. This could mean that students are given excerpts from the text or they are simply given the introduction to the text. The goal of the text would be to engage students to ask questions by which they can then consider planning and carrying out investigations to answer those questions. An alternative would be that the informational text prompts an investigable question for which the teacher has an exploration activity ready for students to embark on, encouraging students to collect data, analyze data,
