Description

Download and read a sample chapter from this book to learn more.
The authors of this book have been in your shoes. These experienced science teachers know what it’s like to work with students who struggle to understand their science texts. Once Upon a Physical Science Book came about because they couldn’t find a resource that shows how to integrate reading, writing, and physical science—so they wrote one themselves.

Practical and easy to use, Once Upon a Physical Science Book provides everything you need to boost students’ skills in science and reading at the same time. It starts with advice on teaching reading-comprehension strategies to middle school students. Then the 12 content chapters give you

• Hands-on physical science lessons with engaging titles such as “The Smash-Masters,” “Energy’s Wild Ride,” and “How to Not Die in Antarctica.”
• Readings that cover key physical science concepts, including physical and chemical properties, inertia, energy, magnets, and waves. The readings support the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards.
• Writing activities to connect what students did with what they read, plus “Thinking Mathematically” activities.
• Assessment exercises to give you feedback on what your students are learning.

A follow-up to NSTA Press’s Once Upon a Life Science Book and Once Upon an Earth Science Book, this resource emphasizes the special ability of science teachers to improve students’ literacy skills. As the authors note, “The good news is that there are many parallels between how people learn science and how they learn to become better readers. … As you and your students work through these lessons together, you will be able to watch their confidence as readers—and your confidence as a reading educator—grow.”

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments About the Authors Chapter 1: Getting Started Chapter 2: The Reading Strategies Chapter 3: The Smash Masters Topics: making claims from evidence, designing controlled experiments, using models, car safety testing Reading Strategies: comprehension coding, reading in groups Chapter 4: What Is It? Topics: physical properties, chemical properties, identifying unknowns Reading Strategy: chunking Chapter 5: Handy Heaters Topics: chemical reactions, chemical equations, chemical handwarmers Reading Strategy: reading technical text—chemical equations Chapter 6: What Goes Up Topics: theories of gravity, nature of science Reading Strategy: chunking Chapter 7: Inertia—It’s a Drag Topics: inertia, Newton’s first law of motion Reading Strategy: previewing diagrams and illustrations Chapter 8: Kick Force Topics: Newton’s second law, animal kicks Reading Strategy: reading technical text—mathematics Chapter 9: Energy’s Wild Ride Topics: energy transformation, conservation of energy, potential and kinetic energy, energy efficiency Reading Strategy: talk your way through it Chapter 10: Taking Your Temperature Topics: heat, temperature, energy and particle movement Reading Strategy: signal words for cause and effect Chapter 11: How Not to Die in Antarctica Topics: heat transfer, insulation, conduction, convection Reading Strategy: signal words for compare and contrast Chapter 12: Ding-Dong Electromagnets Topics: electromagnets, magnetic fields, doorbells Reading Strategy: previewing diagrams and illustrations Chapter 13: All About Bat Waves Topics: introduction to waves, wave vocabulary, bat echolocation Reading Strategy: finding the meaning of new words Chapter 14: Lighting the Way Topics: waves in communication, digital and analog systems, fiber optics Reading Strategy: talk your way through it Index