Crossing Borders I: Connecting Science and Literacy

The Elementary Science Integration Projects (ESIP) hosted the conference, "Crossing Borders: Connecting Science and Literacy," August 24-26, 2001 at the Mt. Washington Conference Center in Baltimore, MD. Seventy-two nationally recognized educators, scholars, school-based persons, researchers, and other stakeholders attended this invitational conference-- from both the science and literacy communities. Twenty papers were presented and responded to in four concurrent sessions: The Cultures of Science and Literacy; The Whys and Hows of Science Text; Writing Practices and Science Discourse; and Promising Practices, Policies and New Questions. Each concurrent session was followed by a whole group discussion so that all participants had an opportunity to share their observations, look for common threads and raise questions for further investigation.

To “make public” proceeds of the conference, the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) are co-publishing, Crossing Borders in Literacy and Science Instruction: Perspectives on Theory and Practice, edited by E. Wendy Saul in early 2004.

Concurrent Sessions I: The Cultures of Science and Literacy

Audrey B. Champagne and Vicky L. Kouba "Literacy and the Cultures of Science and Mathematics: Reflections from the Field"
Respondents: Mariam Jean Dreher and Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo
Moderator: Kathy Roth

James Paul Gee "Language in the Science Classroom: Academic Social Languages as the Heart of School-Based Literacy"
Respondents: JoAnn Crandall and Allan Feldman
Moderator: Barbara Guzzetti

John T. Guthrie and Allan Wigfield "Engaging in Reading Through Science: Motivating Strategies Across the Disciplines"
Respondents: James Shymansky and Sylvia Vardell
Moderator: Sean Duffy

Michael L. Kamil and Elizabeth B. Bernhardt "Prerequisite Reading Skills for Science: Successes, Failures, and Promises"
Respondents: Linda Baker and Victor Korenman
Moderator: Cynthia Hynd

Concurrent Sessions II: The Whys and Hows of Science Text

Danielle J. Ford "'Outstanding' Science Trade Books: An Assessment of Preferred Content, Representations of Science, and Demands on Teacher Knowledge"
Respondents: Judy O'Malley and Phoebe Yeh
Moderator: Donna Neutze

William G. Holliday "Getting Serious About Reading Instruction in Science"
Respondents: Cynthia Hynd and Sally Shuler
Moderator: Mary Mantei

Christine C. Pappas and Maria Varelas "Dialogic Inquiry around Information Texts: The Role of Intertextuality in Constructing Scientific Understandings in Urban Primary Classrooms"
Respondents: Mary Ann Brearton and Terry Salinger
Moderator: Debora Lang

Victoria Purcell-Gates and Nell K. Duke "Explicit Explanation/Teaching of Informational Text Genres: A Model for Research"
Respondents: Donna Dieckman and Karen Worth
Moderator: Stephanie Terry

Shirley J. Magnusson and Annemarie Sullivan Palinscar "Learning from Text Designed to Model Scientific Thinking in Inquiry-based Instruction"
Respondents: Barbara Guzzetti and Robert Yager
Moderator: Charles Pearce

Concurrent Sessions III: Writing Practices and Science Discourse

Carolyn W. Keys, Brian Hand, and Eun-Mi Yang "The Science Writing Heuristic: Using Writing as a Tool for Learning in the Laboratory"
Respondents: Elyse Eidman-Aadahl and Anita Roychoudhury
Moderator: Britte Cheng

Lesley Mandel Morrow " A Literature-Based Program Integrated into Literacy and Science Instruction: Implementing Change"
Respondents: Elizabeth Carter and Harold Pratt
Moderator: Mary Cerullo

Wolff-Micahael Roth "From Actions to Discourse: The Bridging Function of Gestures"
Respondents: Kathleen Roth and Laurie Thompson
Moderator: Allan Feldman

Larry D. Yore "Authentic Practices in Science Discourse Communities: Implications for Language Arts and Science Education"
Respondents: Senta Raizen and Caspar van Helden
Moderator: Sharon Parsons

Concurrent Sessions IV: Promising Practices, Policies, and New Questions

Hubert M. Dyasi "Reading the World Before Reading the Word: Implications for Professional Development of Teachers of Science"
Respondents: Diane Goetz Person and Jennifer Yure
Moderator: Rosemary Bamford

Michael P. Klentschy The Science-Literacy Connection: A Case Study of the Valle Imperial Project in Science, 1995-1999"
Respondents: Laura Smolkin and Susan Snyder
Moderator: Andrea Bowden

Jeanne Reardon "'Readers are Scientists': A Reflective Exploration of the Reasoning of Young Scientists, Readers, Writers, and Discussants"
Respondents: Edward Chittenden and Carol Donovan
Moderator: Gary Heath

Victoria Gentry Ridgeway "Science <----> Reading: Reciprocal Effects of Hands-On Science and Minds-On Reading"
Respondents: Mary Cerullo and Robert DeHaan
Moderator: Susan Blunck

All materials featured on this site are the property of the Elementary Science Integration Projects (ESIP) and/or their respective authors, and may not be reproduced or distributed in any form, printed or electronic, without express written permission.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9912078. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.