To identify and describe disciplinary reading in science in linguistically diverse upper elementary classrooms

Abstract

To be able to participate fully in science classrooms, students, in particular second language learners, need support to develop disciplinary literacy. The overall aim of the study is to propose an analysis model designed to show how disciplinary reading in science upper elementary school can be identified and described. With the help of the model, we investigate whether students in two linguistically diverse classes are given the opportunity to participate in disciplinary reading while working with science teaching material(s), and if so, how. Theoretically, the model is based on a) how experts approach science texts, and b) typical linguistic challenges in scientific texts. The data consists of observations in two classrooms – a year 4 biology classroom and a year 5 physics classroom. The results reveal that the students are given opportunities to participate in disciplinary reading while working with teaching material(s) in both classrooms, performing actions such as transforming content from one modality of the text to another and paying attention to technical words and taxonomic relations. Thus, our analysis model can contribute to showing how disciplinary reading can be identified and described in science elementary school classrooms, but also in higher grades. The results of the study can help teachers become aware of and more clearly understand which aspects of disciplinary literacy that are dealt with in their own classrooms. However, the model needs to be adapted to different types of texts used in science education.