Inviting English into other Subjects

     

                I can generally guess the reaction when I tell someone for the first time that I’m getting my license to teach English and Science at the middle school level.   It starts with a tell-tale head cock to one side and a quizzical repetition, “English and science?”  It seems like a strange combination, but being a student teacher in both subjects for the past school year, I can tell you that there is more overlap than you’d think; especially now with requirements in each subject to incorporate literature and writing standards.

                My latest issue of Science Scope magazine really opened my eyes to the unique position English teachers are in right now being that reading and writing is a focus for every class  - collaboration is going to be key in assuring that students meet the growing need to grow capable writers and readers across curriculum.  As the editor of the magazine, Inez Liftig, states, “collaborating with language arts and other content teachers is a necessity, as you step beyond the traditional boundaries of teaching writing science.” 

The big question is, of course, how do we do this?  As English teachers, what can and should we do?

                One of the biggest opportunities to share ideas about the writing process with teachers of other subjects would ideally be through collaboration.  Times and budgets being what they are collaboration time is hard to come by, but it would be to the students benefit if this happened more often.  “On their own students are unlikely to transfer literacy strategies and instruction across disciplines…It is therefore important for teachers to recognize the shared responsibility of writing instruction” (Pytash, Annetta and Ferdig, 22).  If this is the case for our native English speakers, imagine how much harder it is for English Language Learner students?  I really think as educators, we need to really focus on cross curricular collaboration for the benefit of the student and their ability to not only learn the skills necessary, but to learn how to apply knowledge from one content area to another.

                One suggestion from the article is that teachers collaborate on the writing process using apps.  The science lab notebook is a great tangible tool that you find utilized in many science classrooms, but if you have access to laptops, tablets or iPads there are a variety of journaling style apps that are akin to online science notebooks. Penzu – which is free – is one that even allows students to set reminders to keep adding to their notebook.  As English teachers, you could have them reflect on writing they did in science during English.  Have the students explore how writing differs from subject to subject and talk about why that is.  Science also opens the door for multi-modal projects using apps like Adobe Slate or Haiku Deck where students can work in a variety of mediums including writing.  Students could even take their work on these platforms into the English classroom for editing purposes or for collaboration with peers or even have an English teacher come in for a class period to do a short one day workshop. Come in and show the science teacher how to run a short workshop  and help to bring those essential literacy skills into the science classroom. Once the students start seeing literacy skills used across subjects, they will start applying them across subjects.  You and a science teacher could even set-up a shared space like Google Docs or a wiki or blog so students are using the same interface and tools in both subjects.  Get the students to start looking at writing through a multi-subject lens and they’ll start being more reflective about their writing process and the value of writing in subjects other than just English (and I suspect their performance in your English classroom will show marked improvement too - win win).

                The bottom line, of course, is always about the students and augmenting their ability to learn the skills they need to succeed, but the benefits of having students writing across subject areas is a huge boon for everyone (not to mention part of our current standards).  When you start to really look at the skill based needs in both English and science there is quite a bit of overlap. Think about it - vocabulary is huge for both subjects (more unique vocabulary in science than a foreign language), laying out process and procedure is shared by both subjects, discussing and supporting outcomes using evidence is something students do in both classes – the parallels between English and science are there we just need to find ways to use them to the advantage of our students.

                Knowing that I’ll be teaching science next year, I’m looking forward to being able to bring my English and literacy skills to light in the science classroom, but I fully plan to reach out to the English department in my school as well in the hopes that we can do some collaboration and encourage students to be more well-rounded engaged writers across subjects.   For all you heading to your own English classroom – think about collaborating with your science, math or even history team – it is likely to make things more interesting and engaging for our students and for you!

Reference:

Pytash, K., Annetta, L., & Richard, F. (2016, April/May). Using Apps to Integrate Writing into Science Eduation. Science Scope, 39(8), 21-26.