Beyond the Textbook Reading Assignment: Strategies to Optimize Scientific Literacy in Your Classroom
Abstract
Generic literacy strategies can serve important roles in science classrooms to help students communicate like scientists. Importantly, science teachers must extend their understanding of ‘text’ and engage students in multiple modalities for receiving scientific information. Teachers (N = 20) who participated in an agricultural science professional development program affirmed the value of Carousel, Magnet Summaries, Mind Maps, and other literacy tools in their classrooms. We review several strategies for preassessment and formative assessment, discuss devices to help students summarize their reading assignment and organize their scientific research, and examine approaches that help science teachers introduce challenging or controversial topics. We should not neglect proven literacy strategies when advancing our students’ scientific literacy.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Reading and Literacy Development
Science Education and Pedagogy
Educational Assessment and Pedagogy
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Science Teacher
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 93
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 31–39
- Publication date
- 4 July 2026
- Language
- EN