Lazear Charter Academy - Oakland Unified School District

Expository Reading of Science
DESCRIPTION
To become proficient readers in Science and other content areas, students must be explicitly taught to
comprehend expository text. This skill, while taught in the Lazear Charter Academy ELA program, will be
applied and practiced during Science instruction. Therefore, teachers will use the same strategies used
during ELA comprehension instruction. This will include:
• Activating prior knowledge and building background knowledge
• Teaching text structure: How expository text is organized
• Using graphic organizers to comprehend text
• Group discussion
PROCEDURE
Students will apply and practice their comprehension skills during the science block. The teacher will
guide the students through the process listed above using a direct instruction model. The students at
Lazear Charter Academy will need extra support in developing background knowledge and accessing
their prior knowledge. This will be done by integrating GLAD strategies, including observation charts and
cognitive content dictionary. Teachers will also explicitly teach text structure so that students can
improve their understanding of expository text and the format that it follows. Specific graphic organizers
geared towards explaining the structure of expository Science text will be taught. These graphic
organizers will help students separate information and ideas into component parts.
ASSESSMENTS
Teacher evaluation of classroom discussion
Group activity
Benchmark Assessments
Quizzes
RESOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION
FOSS Teachers Manual
Building background knowledge for academic achievement: Research on what works in Schools Marzano
National Science Education Standards Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education