Learning to Read Scientific Texts from K-6 Commercial Reading Programs
Linda M. Phillips, Stephen P. Norris, and Martha L. Smith
University of Alberta
Do commercial reading programs
foster scientific literacy in K-6 school children? This presentation
addresses this question by reporting a systematic investigation into
the amount and nature of scientific text contained in widely used
commercial reading programs, as well as through an analysis of the
guidance for reading instruction that accompanies such text in the
student books and teachers' guides. To this end we will examine the
scientific text that is included in widely used commercial reading
programs in terms of quantity, quality, genres, text features, etc. We
will also explore and characterize the nature of the information that
is presented to students, and evaluate the validity, accuracy, and
quality of the scientific content that is presented as well as the
nature of the reading instruction both in the student books and in the
teachers' guides to gauge the extent to which these programs can be
used to promote scientific literacy.