Science and EAL Graham Smith, November 2016

Workshop Outline Summarise the specific needs of pupils learning science in an additional language Introduce the essential features of the language of scientific enquiry and communication Explore some interactive teaching and learning strategies for EAL friendly science lessons

Different ways of saying the same thing

B Talking while doing This …no, it doesn’t go…it doesn’t move…try that …yes, it does a bit…that won’t …won’t work, it’s not metal…these are the best…going really fast. D Reporting back We tried a pin…a pencil sharpener…some iron filings and a piece of plastic…the magnet didn’t attract the pin. A Pupil Recount Our experiment was to find out what the magnet attracted. We discovered that a magnet attracts some kinds of metal. It attracted the iron filings, but not the pin. E Text book recount A magnet is able to pick up or attract a piece of steel or iron because its magnetic field flows into the magnet, turning it into a temporary magnet. Magnetic attraction occurs only between ferrous metals. C Academic Description A magnetic field is a vector field that permeates space and which can exert a magnetic force on magnetic dipoles. When placed in a magnetic field, magnetic dipoles tend to align their axes to be parallel with the magnetic field, as can be seen when iron filings are in the presence of a magnet.

The Register Continuum What (Field) Everyday Highly technical Who (Tenor) Intimate Impersonal How (Mode) Informal, face to face Very formal Most spoken like Most written like

The register continuum most written like _____________________________ (adapted from Martin 1984)

Language functions in Science expressing cause and effect The greater the mass, the longer the stretch Heavy rainfall led to widespread flooding comparing I think weight will increase with height When acid was added to the test tube, bubbles arose recounting hypothesising describing generalising A planet is a body that orbits the sun It has a three part body and three pairs of legs Mammals give birth to live young and feed them on milk. defining

Example from Year 2 Learning Objective: Recognise and identify a range of common animals, describe their features. Thinking skills/Language function: Classifying and Describing Present tense: A fox is a mammal Mammals have fur Vocabulary: fox, fur, mammal

Science vocabulary Everyday words: put, make, has, book Subject technical words: photosynthesis, atom Subject specialised words (with an everyday meaning as well as a specific meaning: average, conductor, function, table Semantic fields: electricity → cell, switch and resistor Symbols and formulae Give out subject specific vocab handouts Talk about vocabulary lists Glossaries and Dictionaries [see refs at end] 9

Types of key word Concrete Nouns Names of things Bone, skull, tendon, ligament Abstract Nouns Concepts and processes May be invisible, need to be learnt in context Evaporation, condensation, pressure 10

Verbs, nouns and adjectives wear away (acid wears away metal) corrode (acid corrodes metal) corrosion (corrosion is caused by…) corrosive (the corrosive power of acid rain causes problems for the car industry) 11

Nominalisation activity spoken verb written verb noun work out solve solution calculation investigation conclude clarify wear away produce

From describing events to explaining processes ARE Y3 It was raining heavily. The rivers flooded. It rained heavily so the rivers flooded. The rivers flooded because of heavy rainfall. Heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding. Intense precipitation in surrounding hills caused widespread flooding over low-lying ground. ARE Y5 KS3 ? Grade 9

Dictogloss

Newton knew that the force that caused the apple's acceleration (gravity) must be dependent upon the mass of the apple. And since the force acting to cause the apple's downward acceleration also causes the earth's upward acceleration (Newton's third law), that force must also depend upon the mass of the earth. So for Newton, the force of gravity acting between the earth and any other object is directly proportional to the mass of the earth, directly proportional to the mass of the object, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance that separates the centres of the earth and the object.

Procedure for Dictogloss Before the activity Select your text. Keep it short the first time Provide an image to set the scene Brainstorm related vocabulary, if you wish During the Activity Read the text once – everybody just listens Read the text again – listeners take notes (grid could be provided) In groups, try to reproduce the text, aiming for the same content and the same tone

What if…

Contact details M: 07800503648 T: 02082799429 E: graham.smith@theealacademy.co.uk W: www.theealacademy.co.uk Twitter: @ealacademy