SCIJOURNER: WHAT’S YOUR ANGLE? LISA ANTONIOU

WHAT IS SCIJOURNER? An avenue for teaching our students to be scientifically literate citizens. The National Science Education Standards asserts that a scientifically literate person can, “ask, find, or determine answers to questions derived from curiosity about everyday experiences. It means that a person has the ability to describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena. Scientific literacy entails being able to read with understanding articles about science in the popular press and to engage in social conversation about the validity of the conclusions.” (NRC 1996, p.22)

WHERE’S THE SCIENCE? Read Aloud: Teacher frequently models “finding the science” in various news articles at the start of the school year, and gradually transitioning to student-led read alouds as the year progresses. Finding the Science: Text Your Neck Off

CRITERIA FOR TOPIC SUCCESS Students should be able to answer yes to the following 3 questions: 1. Is this a topic that is science-related? 2. Is the topic up-to-date or recent? 3. How will this topic be made relevant to the audience (why should they care)?

POWERPITCH Just as “real” journalists pitch their daily/weekly news ideas to their fellow journalists for approval and feedback, students will pitch their topic to the class.

POWERPITCH Must include 3 slides only Must state how the topic is: Related to science Current/Personal Connection Who will want to read your article?

MY TOPIC CHOICE Skipping Tornadoes

STUDENT EXAMPLES

BRAINSTORM Take a moment to brainstorm 5 possible topics to pitch for writing an article for Scijourner Add to the idea wall Commit to a topic

BASIC PITCH Select 1 of the 5 topics that you would like to pitch to the group.

INVERTED TRIANGLE

KEY COMPONENTS Credible Sources Attributions

LESSON PLANNING Go to to locate teacher created lesson plans to support the Scijourner process.

QUESTIONS, IDEAS? or or