Creating a classroom that focuses on student scientific literacy through the scope of Next Generation Science Standards' crosscutting concepts

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide teachers with lessons and tools to strengthen middle school students' scientific literacy. Students' reading comprehension skills are at an all-time low which has created hurdles when it comes to understanding science. The lessons in this paper contain tools that utilize Next Generation Science Standards, crosscutting concepts to strengthen reading comprehension and data analysis through the lens of science. Crosscutting concepts are tools used to make connections between varying science concepts to form a better understanding of the world and science. These concepts involve patterns, cause and effect, systems and models, structure and function, stability and change, energy and matter, and scale, proportion and quantity. Each lesson focuses on making one or two of these connections. When students use these lessons to make connections, their understanding of science and phenomena strengthen. When students understand science and the world, they are better equipped to make good decisions and become more positive members of society.