Both the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy and the CA ELD Standards acknowledge the importance
of conducting research to build deep knowledge of a topic and writing to convey this growing
knowledge. For example, all students in grade five “conduct
short research projects that use several sources to build
knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a
topic” (W.5.7) and EL students at the Bridging level “write
longer and more detailed literary and informational texts...
collaboratively... and independently using appropriate text
organization and growing understanding of register” (ELD.
P1.5.10a). In integrated ELA and science, conducting and
writing about research involves engaging meaningfully in
science practices and learning to use English in particular, specialized ways—interpreting information
through wide and careful reading on a science topic; discussing different aspects of the topic both
informally and more formally; and writing about what has been learned to inform, explain, or
persuade.
Accordingly, teachers prepare artfully integrated sequence of lessons that support students to
produce oral and written texts that both represent their growing understandings and stretch them to
use the specialized language of science. Teachers select texts appropriate for research tasks that are
interesting and engaging, and they also provide opportunities for students to select texts, Web-based
resources, and other media sources for research projects on their own as these foster a sense of
self-efficacy in students and also build their capacity to be self-reliant. In addition to using print texts,
students use multimedia resources (e.g., the Internet, digital media, photographs) and interact with
one another as they engage in science practices (e.g., developing and using models, planning and
carrying out investigations, engaging in argument from evidence).
Teachers should analyze the texts students will use ahead of time to identify the intellectual
challenges and linguistic demands of the texts. Teachers consider the ideas from the texts students
will discuss, the concepts students need to understand deeply, and the kind of language they wish
to observe their students using in oral and written tasks. Teachers plan carefully sequenced tasks
in which students develop these understandings and abilities, and they provide many appropriately
scaffolded opportunities for students to use academic English meaningfully by interacting with
their peers (e.g., in discussions or collaborative writing
tasks) before they are asked to produce the language
independently. Teachers use and discuss mentor texts—
the kinds of texts that students should eventually be able
to write on their own—so that students have models to
emulate. In addition, teachers provide concrete methods for
students to read their texts analytically and offer appropriate
levels of scaffolding to ensure success.
Importantly, for all students and especially ELs, teachers
explicitly draw attention to the language—including
vocabulary, grammatical structures, text organization and
structure—in the informational texts used in the curricular
unit. Science informational texts contain an abundance
of domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., photosynthesis,
ecosystem, igneous), as well as general academic vocabulary
(e.g., development, analysis), and teachers attend to
their students’ development of these types of vocabulary. In addition, science texts make use of
nominalization, which is the process of creating a noun or noun phrase from another part of speech
or condensing large amounts of information (e.g., an event or concept) into a noun or noun phrase
Teachers use and discuss
mentor texts—the kinds of
texts that students should
eventually be able to write on
their own—so that students
have models to emulate. In
addition, teachers provide
concrete methods for students
to read their texts analytically
and offer appropriate levels of
scaffolding to ensure success.Teachers should analyze the
texts students will use ahead of
time to identify the intellectual
challenges and linguistic
demands of the texts.486 | Chapter 5 Grade 5