In order to help students to make connections in science and literacy through writing, the authors present them with an open-ended question (OEQ), which is a divergent assessment in the form of a writing prompt (a situation), and directions for writing at the beginning of each major unit. Students complete this assessment by the end of the unit.…

It seems that everyone is using science journals or notebooks lately. As middle school science teachers, the authors use science journals as a tool to enhance students' knowledge and understanding of content and reinforce students' writing skills. Here they share how they use science journals to motivate students to write about science in middle…

Any science teacher who wants his or her students to be engaged in real science is going to engage them in real science writing. Writing in science should begin with clear, imaginative writing purposes and stimuli that are then scaffolded in such a way that students are able to find an organizational structure for their writing. Writing fluency is…

The development of communication skills is a key component in any science program. However, students do not see the connections between writing and science. In particular, students lack the enthusiasm when the time comes to write lab reports. Students say that they do not see why they should have to write dry, boring lab reports following an…

Using ideas adopted from Project ARTIST (Astronomy-Related Teacher Inservice Training), a teacher develops a sixth-grade astronomy program which incorporates ancient folklore and sky stories from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. (ZWH)