SCIENCE CONNECTION OVERVIEW

1
Ashley Marcin

Science Connection Overview

Use this strategy when introducing a challenging text. Often used to generate interest before
starting a new topic.
Description of strategy: What is it?
This strategy is useful for students who have a little more practice with pre-reading, typically
middle and high school students. It is primarily a partnered activity, but can work individually or
with groups.
Debriefing the strategy: Why use it?
Science Connection Overview is a front-loading strategy that guides students into making
connections to their lives and experiences as they study topics in science. The strategy
encompasses a student-directed preview of a science chapter or article before reading to link the
content with what they already know or have experienced. Before students become immersed in
the details of the reading, they gain an overview of the big picture of a chapter and how it relates
to the world around them (Buehl 184).
Students are meant to be able to make meaningful connections with the text before they actually
read it. This will allow for easier comprehension of unfamiliar material by tying it in with prior
knowledge. This strategy is useful to introduce critical thinking and questioning skills, especially
with complex texts.
In addition, this strategy promoted careful reading and rereading. Students must identify main
ideas, relationships, text structure, perspective, purpose, as well as integrate new material with
prior knowledge. Science Connection Overviews promote good conversation on why the student
feels this text will apply to them. It also promotes the development of vocabulary indexes that
incorporate student interpretation.
Directions for the strategy: How does the strategy work in practice?
1. Discuss how science helps us understand different aspects of life and relate them to
every-day uses. On the board, model a quick Overview using a very short passage.
Instruct the students to
skim the passage quickly.
What
topics
are
covered?
Think aloud about
things in the text you
recognize or with Whats familiar?
which you are familiar. Do
What
are
you
wondering?
not
point
out
information you think the
students
will
be What will the author tell you?
unfamiliar with.
2. Distribute a blank Read and explain
Science
Connection
Overview. The students are to scan over the passage, then fill out the Overview. For the
final box, students are to read the chapter or article in its entirety before they can answer
the prompt.

SCIENCE CONNECTION OVERVIEW

3. Have the students work with partners to survey the text, starting with whats familiar.
Students are not to include things they do not know in this section. Encourage glancing
over any pictures or graphics, if applicable.
4. If there is a summary, have the students read it and ask them to identify key topics, which
will then go in the second part of the Overview. If there is no summary, ask students to
use headings, titles, and topic sentences to generate material for this field.
5. What are you wondering? Make sure the students are writing specific questions, not just
general ones, and that they believe they can find legitimate answers within the text.
6. Since the article or text will be informational, it is important for the students to
hypothesize what the author is trying to tell the reader. Make sure the students take note
of headings, pull-out boxes with key information, etc.
7. Now that students have focused on how the text is going to help them and they have
made connections, they need to read the text. This involved jotting down key points and
building a vocabulary index that includes technical definitions, as well as student
interpretations.
8. All this work, questioning, answering, and documenting vocabulary, has a huge purpose:
to encourage students to integrate memory clues and be comfortable with the material.
These memory clues are particularly useful when making connections and remembering
vocabulary terms.
Differentiation: How might the strategy be modified to meet the needs of individual and
exceptional learners?
Sample questions and answers can be provided to insure that students understand what the
Science Connection Overview is asking for. For students that are still struggling, walk them
through the thought process. Partner students who understand the concepts behind the Overview
with those that seem to be struggling. This can be advantageous for both students, as they both
have ideas to contribute, and the student who is struggling has more advantages to make
connections.
Disclaimers & Cautions
Students may ignore instructions and go ahead and read the article before answering questions.
Stress the importance of not fully reading the article first, and walk around to make sure partners
are discussing and not reading until they have filled out the first four segments of the Overview.
Students may get frustrated if their idea as to what the article would teach them differs from what
the article really tells them. To handle this, point out that they could not have known, and that
their answers are still valid. Use this as an opportunity to include an essay, perhaps, describing
why the article was misleading.
References and Related Resources
Buehl, D. (2013). Science connection overview. In Classroom strategies for interactive
learning (4th ed., pp. 184-187). International Reading Association.
Sample Science Connection Overview Google Form: http://goo.gl/forms/NrNyTkuwZj