Learning Opportunities

This interactive session will feature hands-on tasks, strategies, collaborative conversations and online resources that can support Junior High students with increasing literacy demands.

We will discuss how we can help students make sense of what they read, allow them to decode word problems, read scientific explanations and follow lab procedures more carefully, enhance their vocabulary, discuss options for simple graphic organizers to hold their thinking, and look at ways to structure our classes for meaningful social interaction in order to master concepts, generate possible solutions, provide peer feedback and think critically about key ideas. When we, as teachers, make a few purposeful instructional shifts and are cognizant of the literacy demands we are asking of students (whether it is reading the textbook, identifying the operation required in word problems, synthesizing an article about desalination, or trying to describe how fluids are transported in plants), student literacy skills can blossom. Imagine Science and Math classrooms where students have less hurdles reading and writing and can focus on mastering the content, where they are highly engaged, feel supported, enjoy coming to class and approach tasks more confidently.

Target Audience

Grades 7-9 Teachers