All Literacy resources

Reports Article

Freebies and Opportunities for Science and STEM Teachers, December 12, 2023

By Debra Shapiro

Technical and Vocational Education Elementary Middle School High School Postsecondary Careers Chemistry Computer Science Distance Learning Earth & Space Science General Science Inclusion Instructional Materials Lesson Plans Life Science Literacy Mathematics News Professional Learning STEM Teaching Strategies Technology

Journal Article

Does Drinking Milk Cause Strong Bones?

In 1935, individuals living in the United States began to encounter eye-catching posters communicating a variety of public program messages from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), established under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. ...

By Jacqueline Katz

High School Inquiry Instructional Materials Life Science Literacy

Journal Article

Stealing the Sun

For as long as people have had stories to tell, folklore and tall tales have been a part of social gatherings. Storytelling helps us convey our history and learn our languages (Bowman and Carpenter 2004; Mzimela 2016). In addition, many of these tale...

By Kimberly Ideus and Miles Engell

High School Biology Interdisciplinary Life Science Literacy Multicultural

Journal Article

The Use of Storytelling to Model NGSS Science and Engineering Practices

An important strand of three-dimensional learning in the Next Generation Science Standards is science and engineering practices (SEPs; NGSS Lead States 2013). The SEPs also are one of four critical attributes of sensemaking (NSTA, n.d.). These practi...

By Adrienne Larocque and Anna Babarinde

High School Interdisciplinary Literacy NGSS Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Translanguaging as an Essential Practice in Socially Just Science Classrooms

In this interaction, Manuel and Rico (all names are pseudonyms) expertly mix Spanish and English to communicate as they collect data in a ninth grade physics lab. Your reaction to this mixture of English and Spanish, what users sometimes call “Span...

By Sarah Braden and Taylor Dexter

Equity Inclusion Interdisciplinary Literacy Multicultural Multilingual Learners

Journal Article

Teaching Students to Read Equations

The laws of nature are expressed in equation form in all physics courses. How these laws are taught can vary widely. In this article, I expand on previous Focus on Physics articles, particularly the March 2022 article “The Importance of Reading Equ...

By Paul G. Hewitt

High School Literacy Phenomena Physics

Journal Article

Pathways to Science Literacy

Science concepts connect us to the wonders of the natural universe. Why is the sky blue? [Air molecules behave much like tiny little tuning forks.] Is there gravity in space? [Yes, it extends to infinity.] What do fish “breathe” underwater? [It�...

By John Suchocki

High School Equity Inquiry Literacy Pedagogy

Journal Article

Promoting Learning for All Through Explore-Before-Explain

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) highlight the importance of creating more equitable learning environments and engaging all students in science (NGSS Lead States 2013). In professional learning, we target the hands-on, minds-on experience...

By Patrick Brown, Jay McTighe, and Rodger Bybee

High School Equity Inclusion Literacy NGSS

Journal Article

Scientific Literacy: Lives could depend on it!

Carl Sagan famously said “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology” (Sagan, 1990, p. 264). As demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, all adults ne...

By Charlotte Moser

High School Advocacy Literacy Pedagogy

Journal Article

Poetry in Science

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins said, “There are those who fear reason as cold, bleak, cheerless, unpoetic. That’s not just untrue; it’s the very opposite of true. Science is the poetry of reality” (Dawkins 2016). Science is reminiscen...

By Katie Coppens

Middle School Interdisciplinary Literacy STEM

Journal Article

Mission INSPIRE

Students with visual impairments are often the only students at their school who read braille. They often do not participate in science fairs, in some cases because of low expectations on the part of educators and in other cases because of accessibil...

By Tiffany Wild, Tina Herzberg, and L. Penny Rosenblum

Middle School Inclusion Literacy Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Fostering Scientific Literacy With Problem Sets That Generate Cognitive Presence and Fulfill Basic Psychological Needs

Guided by self-determination theory to design an authentic learning environment, we attempted repeated engagement in critical evaluation of evidence to foster accuracy-oriented reasoning and critical thinking in an applied science course for non-STEM...

By Guang Jin, Alicia Wodika, Rebekka Darner, and Jianwei Lai

Literacy Research Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies

Journal Article

Using Fiction and Nonfiction Readings in Climate Change Education

Facts about climate change are often ineffective in impacting people’s climate change beliefs or environmentally related behaviors. Multiple theories of environmental behavior use norms to foster behavior change. Science fiction writers may also at...

By Alison Singer, Caitlin Kirby, and Eleanor Rappolee

Climate Change Literacy Research Teaching Strategies