CSEL SCIENCE

Extend Learning Through Writing.

CSEL Science provides students with frequent, structured opportunities to communicate scientific ideas through writing. There are bilingual versions of some writing passages and monolingual English versions of all the writing passages.

For shorter open-response questions, student worksheets include sentence starters/frames and word banks to help students with lower levels of English proficiency answer questions. Teachers report that these supports promote complete-sentence responses and reinforce the practice of restating the question before answering. Students also complete these longer writing tasks aligned with NGSS SEPs.

Writing Frame

Description of key features:

1

Side-by-side bilingual materials support access to the same writing task. In this example, students can use Spanish and English versions of the prompt and graphic organizer to explain the same scientific idea. There are also monolingual English versions of all writing tasks.

2

Students discuss the writing prompt with a partner before writing. This gives students an opportunity to generate ideas and rehearse language before communicating their thinking in writing.

3

Consistent graphic organizer structure helps students organize scientific explanations. Color coding and labeling helps students distinguish claim, evidence, and reasoning.

4

Sentence starters support students in developing a complete written response. The starters help students explain their thinking using a clear structure and key science vocabulary.

5

Embedded word choices help students use precise academic and science language. These supports guide students to select vocabulary that accurately explains the inheritance pattern.

The image below shows part of a writing frame from the content summary for Module 7: Patterns of Inheritance. Content summaries are designed to help students process key science ideas through short readings, checks for understanding, and brief, structured writing tasks. In this short writing task, students explain why XᴮXᵇ is called a carrier genotype. Numbered circles highlight key features and are described below the image.