PRETEACHING SCIENCE AND FOSS VOCABULARY TO SIXTH GRADE

STUDENTS WHO HAVE LANGUAGE HANDICAPS

Linda Aten
Wright Middle School

Introduction and Background

In past years Speech and Language services have been fairly isolated from curriculum but
with the updates in federal law IDEA there has been interest among the Speech and Language
community towards inclusion and supporting the academic environment. At the same time there
is a growing interest among educators at Wright Middle School in Content Area Literacy or the
interest in how we connect students with the information that is presented to them in text. As a

Speech and Language Clinician in a school with a content area literacy focus, I was interested in
combining the knowledge I had of language development with the information available on
content area literacy so that I could assist language handicapped student develop the vocabulary
and concepts they needed to experience success in Science.

One question I had was how to separate information which needed to be held in short
term memory and information which needed to be held in long term memory. Short term
memory is relatively quick and requires only rote memorization while long term memory takes
time and requires a highly organized system of strategies. “Students will be able to comprehend
new information in a content area if you take time to demonstrate how the new information
builds upon and extends what they already know about a topic. And, students will be able to
retrieve information from long term memory if you model and encourage meaningful
organization of new information when it’s first presented to the class.” (Readence, Bean,
Baldwin, 1998)

Students who have speech and language disabilities find the vocabulary of Science very
difficult. The student often is struggling to understand the basic vocabulary words used in
teaching as well as the new vocabulary, which is being introduced. Vocabulary is really not just
words; rather words representing concepts when applied to a subject. To understand the word
you have to understand the underlying concept and see the connection to new information.

Often language disabled students struggle to understand what is being taught to them and
have difficulty using previously learned information and applying it to newly introduced
information. They don’t seem to understand how to scaffold on what they’ve learned to embrace
the current teaching. Sometime teaching information that we consider descriptive to the average
learner becomes too confusing for the language disabled student to understand. The teacher
continues to explain while the student continues to become more and more confused. When you
evaluate the text you realize that a student who has a vocabulary and experience level of a 3rd
grader would have difficulty with the content being introduced at sixth grade. There is a gap in
vocabulary knowledge that needs attention.

I knew that my students were at a great disadvantage. My question was: How will
strategies used to preteach the vocabulary of the FOSS program to language handicapped
students impact t their understanding of the classroom?

Previous Research

Research tells us that to effectively teach content are literacy you need to account for
three things. They are Prior Subject knowledge, Literacy strategies, and social context
(Readence, Bean, Baldwin, 1998)

I certainly didn’t feel I had an adequate Science knowledge base although I have taken
part in the district-wide training for the FOSS program. This presented the opportunity to
collaborate with the science teacher because she had an understanding of teaching science and I
had an understanding of strategies to teach vocabulary. While I tend to lean towards language
arts and away from the sciences and math classes I felt this would be a wonderful experience. I
would have to rely heavily on my partner, Jingyi Chen, to be my “go to” person. She was my
link to the curriculum and had already spent a great deal of time modifying curriculum to meet
student needs.

The second component is the literacy strategy component. I knew I had to find materials
and strategies which would enhance my ability to assist students in mastering vocabulary,
comprehending text, increase interest in studying, and applying what they have read accurately
in class assignments. I have a wealth of strategies but it’s always a challenge to adapt my
strategies to the curriculum.

The last component is social context. I had to try to understand the impact of my
teaching on the students self perception. These are students who are aware of their struggles in
school. I need to find ways to teach them without making them feel like they are in a remedial
program. Middle school students don’t want to feel like they are different from all other
students. They may resent my attempts to teach them science outside of the science curriculum.

To address these components I realized that I needed to keep my scope narrow. I could
not possible preteach everything that would be taught in the class. I would focus on the assumed
vocabulary (vocabulary used in the text but not introduced as new vocabulary) and new
vocabulary (vocabulary related to the topic being taught).

Assumed vocabulary is the vocabulary that you need to know to understand the meaning
of the text. An example of this type of vocabulary is given in the following passage. I have
bolded the Assumed vocabulary. New vocabulary is vocabulary that pertains to the subject
matter. I have italicized that vocabulary

The primary reason that taproots reach and probe is to increase the plant’s access to water and
minerals. In the process the plant gets anchored in the soil. Water goes deep into the root
structure entering into tiny hollow tubes called Xylem.

The student needs to know the Assumed vocabulary before he/she can address the new
vocabulary. Context will give some clue but when the text contains so many words that are not
understood then the student can not rely only on context to understand the information presented.

I was going to try to address both levels of vocabulary.

Process

First we had to look at the student’s language disabilities and identify whether or not
vocabulary development is a significant detriment to learning in the general curriculum. Then
we had to look at the curriculum materials to identify two types of vocabulary needs. I define
the first type as the need to understand the basic vocabulary of instruction and the other is the
new vocabulary being introduced with the concept. I then looked at ways to clarify the language
of instruction based on the level the students were operating and then introduce the new
vocabulary with this modified level of instruction.

The next concern was to have the students “buy into” the need to repeat science
information with out resenting the idea that they were doing more than their peers in the regular
education setting.
 I needed to identify strategies which where going to be successful with teaching this
population and expanding on their knowledge base to accept the new vocabulary. I also need to
find ways to evaluate the student progress in both the therapy setting and the general education
setting. Did the information generalize to the academic setting?

One of my largest hurdles was the fact that I don’t actually go into the class and I have 35
students at three grade levels to provide service for. I was going to have to be creative finding
ways to access the information that was being presented on a daily basis. I had access to the
teaching materials but was never really sure where the teacher was at within the program. This
meant I would be learning along with the students.

Then, how do I access all the language impaired students to work with them on these
concepts? My scheduling was very important so that I may access the greatest number of
students in the least amount of time on a regular basis. I decided to make myself available to the
guided study classes which were offered to all special education students at the sixth grade level.
There I would work closely with the Cross Categorical teacher and the Special Education Aid
who had access to the Science programs daily. We set up a common daily planning time so that
we could develop materials to aid the curriculum and go over the classroom teacher’s daily plans
and assignments.
The students were divided into two groups of eight students. One group had a guided
study on Monday and Wednesday; the other had it on Tuesday and Thursday. They rotated on
Fridays. The composition of the classes contained students with and without language
handicaps, the majority of the students were identified with low vocabulary skills and some type
of Speech and Language needs.
I identified the low vocabulary skills through the use of previous evaluations and present
IEPs. The students had to score in the low average to disabled range to be considered to have a
vocabulary deficit. Out of the 16 students I had access to, 14 fell into this category. Two of the
sixteen had strong vocabulary skills and good background information when it came to science.
The next step is to identify the critical vocabulary for each unit that the student needs to
know to understand the concepts being taught. Ms Chen and I looked at the reading that was
required by the students and selected out both types of vocabulary and made a list for each
section. After we developed these lists, my job was to figure out ways to teach the vocabulary
drawing from the student’s previous knowledge and building on it. This way I would be helping
the students place the new information into their working memory rather than teaching them in
rote way and placing the information into short term memory. I decided to explore some of the
strategies in the book Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning by Doug Buehl and Graphic
Organizers by Daniel Barnekow.

Data Collection
For this study I used several methods of data collection. During the period of study I kept
an ongoing Journal of my experiences and reflections. I also spent time consulting with my
coworker, Jingyi Chen, and the Special Education Aid, Brenda Tompkins. I spent some time
getting feedback from the classroom teacher, Sara Hawkins. Jingyi was my link to the
curriculum and Brenda was my link to the daily classroom activities. We met briefly on a daily
basis to go over our plans for teaching the guided study class.
While I didn’t work closely with the classroom teacher I did discuss my work with her
periodically and give her worksheets and guides to what I was doing. She in turn used some of
the materials in class and provided incentives to my students for completing this additional work
for science.
Finally I listened to the students and recorded their concerns and made adjustments based
on their needs. I worked at making the material more relevant to them. I was always listening to
student responses. I wanted to hear their complaints as well as their support for the process.

Results
Initially I used the lists of words developed by Jingyi and taught the vocabulary in
isolation from the text and content. I realized that the students weren’t embracing the
information. Rather they were just writing the definitions down to get the work done so they
could move on to other activities. They also argued with me about having to do the extra work
and I started feeling that this was not going to be a success. I started putting some thought into
past research and what I could do to engage the students in the activity. I realized that they were
not feeling any personal connection to the vocabulary being taught and didn’t connect it to what
they were learning. I understood that hey were just learning the vocabulary and this was not
going into long term memory but rather short term memory. I was concerned that the
information that I was teaching would not stay with the students. What I need was some type of
strategy to tap into the student’s experiences and previous knowledge. I had the idea that if I
made the information more relevant to them they would enjoy the experience more and retain the
information for a longer period of time.
I then developed a way to discuss the vocabulary with the students. I was still giving
them the definition as it applied to the science content; however I was drawing from what I knew
the students could comprehend. If a passage said “You may have seen water-expelling vesicles
in the paramecia.” I may talk about what water expelling means through the experience they had
with squirt guns. They are all familiar with a squirt gun so they can connect what it does with
the water-expelling vesicle. Vesicle is the new word while water expelling is the assumed word.
Every day I looked over the words that Jingyi identified as science vocabulary needed
and I read through the text articles to identify assumed words and added these to my list. I then
tried to come up with ways to incorporate the information that the students may understand into
the introduction of the vocabulary. There were times that I drew pictures on the chalkboard to
give the children a visual of what I was talking about. We used semantic webbing to give the
children an idea on how things fit together. Jingyi developed flash cards for the student to take
home and study. I had the students draw timelines on their papers and we handed out pictures so
they could identify parts of the topic being presented in pictures. There was the ever-present list
of vocabulary words to work from.
One of the drawbacks to the way we introduced the vocabulary was that we saw the
students only twice per week to work on this and sometimes the daily classroom expectations
were difficult to keep on top of. This was even more concerning when the students had release
days, field trips, assemblies, and vacation days. We found that there were just some things we
couldn’t get to with some groups of students. We also had to support academics from other
content areas. This meant that time was sometimes reallocated to other student needs. This made
my vocabulary introduction somewhat inconsistent. The students would be in a routine of
learning vocabulary during part of the period and then the routine was changed. This caused
some concern because they seemed to accept this better when it was part of their resource time
routine. Also, I was working with them only for three weeks of the month due to the other
requirements of my position, which again broke the routine. After the routine was broken for a
few sessions I would get ready for student reluctance to go back to the vocabulary work. The
students would complain that they had other work that needed to be done. They would argue that
they were doing more work than the other students were and some would shut down and refuse
to be involved. I would just plunge ahead to re-establish the routine and have them continue the
work. We reminded them that they would be getting credit for the work in their Science class as
well as our class. The majority would come around and once involved in the activity they started
connecting and adding input.
I spent time discussing the student’s progress with Brenda the SEA. She relayed to me
that on the days the students came to class with an understanding of the concepts being taught
they would be more active in the class discussion. They were better prepared to follow class
activities and completed work with less support from her. She kept me aware of what the
children were doing in class and how they were buying into the science program. She also
brought back the results of tests that were given in science. Most of the students took the regular
test that the other students took without modifications. Brenda was available to read the
questions but did not assist the students with their answers. The majority of the students who
were active learners in the Resource class did well on the tests (They passed with a C or better).
The handful of students who fought the extra Science regularly got lower grades. These also
were students who exhibited behavior problems.
As the year progressed I found that the students were putting more effort into class
discussion and less arguing about the extra work. I started to relax and enjoy the experience. I
looked forward to these vocabulary discussions and found myself getting more information about
the children’s lives because I was using their experience to explain new vocabulary. I realized
when you use this approach you are asking the students for their own experiences and most are
happy to share them with you. Also when you are allowing them input they start to feel that they
are more in control of their learning. One of the classes bought into the program more than the
other class, but with creative seating I think the students who were reluctant were separated and
seemed to accept the process better.
In the past few weeks I interviewed the classroom teacher to get her perception of how
our project was going. Sara Hawkins has been teaching FOSS science for years, but this was her
first year teaching at the sixth grade level. She was just learning the sixth grade FOSS program.
She had met with Jingyi this past summer to go over the curriculum and discuss modifications.
Sara genuinely appreciated the support that we were giving to her program. She stated that she
knew when we were going over the science vocabulary because the students were better prepared
for class and more involved in class discussion. She also noticed the improvement in test grades
when we were able to preteach the vocabulary. She was happy to provide the students with extra
incentive by using some of the work sheets with here entire class as well as accepting the extra
work for credit towards her class. She often stopped into the resource classes during her
planning time to clear up any questions the students and we had about her expectations. There
we’re times when the students needed to get materials from the science class and she was
available to make sure they had access to what they needed. Her availability helped out a great
deal when we had questions about upcoming assignments and due dates. By getting these
questions answered we were able to fit in the vocabulary teaching and have time to complete
other class expectations also.
Through this process, I realized that I could find strategies that help students learn new
vocabulary and hold it in long term memory. I address all the concerns for teaching content area
literacy. I worked to build on student’s prior knowledge; I used literacy strategies that were
developed by me, Jingyi Chen, Doug Buehl and Daniel Barnekow. I realized the strong
commitment several teachers have had for student success and the power of collaboration among
professionals and paraprofessionals. We addressed the student’s needs and concerns by having
the teacher support the program and add additional incentives to their grades. They also realized
that their input was valued and was drawing from their personal experiences. The majority of
students bought into the program. Those students benefited by getting passing grades and
becoming a more active part of their science class. In the end they felt successful in a class
where they had previously struggled.

Thoughts for Future Work

I am now ready to refine my strategies and improve my techniques. I may expand what
I’ve been doing to include the next grade so that I am working with both sixth and seventh grade
science concepts and vocabulary. I would like to get into the classes and observe the teachers
and maybe co-teach more. I would like to follow these students to see if they retain the
information into the next few years. Maybe I could look at the Terra Nova tests next year to see
if they are continuing to make progress. The more I become involved in classroom curriculum
the more I feel I have relevance to student learning. I need to work with my peers in Speech and
Language to help redefine our role in curriculum support and development. Right now we are
somewhat isolated from what is pertinent to student success. Many of us are therapists who
work in isolation to develop student skills. I think we should become a more active part of
student success in the curriculum.
Other things I would like to address include keeping the routine so that there isn’t a
difficulty when reestablishing the work. Maybe some of these strategies could be used with the
bilingual students also. Maybe I could work with after school tutors to assist the students with
this type of instruction. I would love to do some work within the regular education classrooms.
 References
Buehl, Doug (2005) Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (Second Edition).
International Reading Association, Newark, Delaware.

FOSS for Middle School Project (2003) Laurence Hall Science, University or California,
Berkeley CA

Ehern, Barbara J. (2000) Maintaining a Therapeutic focus and Sharing Responsibility for student
Success: Keys to In-Classroom Speech –Language Services. Language Speech and Hearing in
Schools, 31(3), 219-229.

Readence John E., Bean Thomas W., Baldwin, R. Scott (1998) Content Area Literacy. Kendall
Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, Iowa

Barnekow, Daniel (2006) Graphic Organizers. PCI Educational Publishing, San Antonio Texas.

Appreciation

Thank you to Jingyi Chen who did all the Science work and worked closely with me. All
appendices are her work and are credited to her. Her name should be on this paper also be cause
my paper reflects her hard work.

Thank you to Brenda Tompkins for having the classroom information available to me as I
needed it.

Thank you to Sara Hawkins for allowing us to use these materials to support students in her
class and supporting us.
 Appendix I: Aten, 2006

LIFE ON EARTH

1. Give 3 examples of an organism:

A)_______________________

B)_______________________

C)_______________________

2. List the 4 basic needs of all living organisms:

A)________________________

B)________________________

C)________________________

D)________________________

3. Fill in the missing functions which are performed by all living organisms:

They respond to the environment.

________________________

________________________

4. Fill in the blank with either living, nonliving or dead.

A) An organism is _______________ when it is no longer alive.

B) A ________________ organism responds to the environment, grows

and reproduces.

C) A rock can never be dead because a rock was never alive. This rock is
________________.
LIFE ON EARTH

organisms

living
dead
nonliving

needs or requirements

function

process

exchange

essential

energy

waste

environment

responses

reproduce

characteristic

qualify

Investigation 1: What Is Life?

habitat

aquatic

dormant

Investigation 2: Introduction to the Microscope

magnification
 Appendix II: Aten, 2006

THE LOWLY PARAMECIUM

1. Why is the cell membrane important?

The cell membrane is important because __________________________

_____________________________________________________________.

2. What are 2 functions of the cilia?

A)____________________________

B)____________________________

3. What job (function) does the water-expelling vesicle do (perform)?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. Give 2 examples of how paramecia are living organisms.

A)____________________________________

B)____________________________________
 THE LOWLY PARAMECIUM

paramecia
REVIEW:

protists
ORGANISMS

specialize RESPOND

REPRODUCE
organelles

cilia

(cell) membrane

nutrients

digestive enzymes

division

original

expelling
 Appendix III: Aten, 2006

CELL: THE BASIC UNIT OF LIFE

1. Prokarytotic cells always live ___________ as ____________ organisms.

2. Eukarytotic cells have structures _____________ the membrane.

3. What is the difference between prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. What features of ancient aquatic organisms made it possible for them to leave
the sea and colonize the dry land about 400 million years ago? (circle one)

A) arms and legs

B) cells walls and shells
C) cell walls and wings
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

5. How are humans considered aquatic?

Humans are considered aquatic because ______________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
 Cell: The Basic Unit of Life

simple
REVIEW:

primitive MEMBRANE

ORGANISM
cell
WASTE

complex REPRODUCE

ENVIRONMENT
replicate
ESSENTIAL
amino acids

bacteria

kingdom

Monera

cytoplasm Protista

prokarytotic cells invade

aquatic colonies

diverse ancient

eukaryotic cells

organelles
 Appendix IV: Aten, 2006

SEEDS AND ROOTS

1. Complete labeling the germination diagram below.

GERMINATION

2. What are 3 roles played by roots in the lives of plants?

A)______________________________________

B)______________________________________

C)______________________________________

3. Why is dormancy an important survival feature for seeds and

Plants they will someday grow into?

A) _________________________________________

B)__________________________________________
 SEEDS AND ROOTS

dormant
REVIEW:
seed coat ORGANISM

embryo LIVING

ENERGY
cotyledon

adaptation

germination

root

structure

anchor

xylem

fibrous root

taproot

deep
shallow

proproots
 Appendix V: Aten, 2006

STEMS AND LEAVES

1. What is the main purpose of leaves? ________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. List 5 different adaptations plants have to keep from losing water.

A)____________________
B)____________________
C)____________________
D)____________________
E)____________________

3. What happens when animals eat plants? ______________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. What is wilting? What do they do in the grocery store to keep produce from
wilting? _______________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

5. Why is coastal fog so important to the plants and animals that live there?

Coastal fog is so important to the plants and animals that live there because

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
 STEMS AND LEAVES

flexible
REVIEW

rigid MEMBRANE

CELL
support
STRUCTURE

adapted CHARACTERISTIC

SPECIALIZED
stems
GROW
leaves
FUNCTION

tendrils

chloroplasts

chlorophyll

photosynthesis

phloem

stomates

transpiration

hydrate

dehydrate

wilting
 Appendix VI: Aten, 2006

FLOWERS TO SEEDS

1. How does pollen get from one plant to another?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. What is a pollinator and how might one be attracted to a plant?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

3. Why is pollination necessary?

Pollination is necessary because _____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. What is a fruit?_______________________________________

List 6 examples of a fruit:

A)______________
B)______________
C)______________
D)______________
E)______________
F)_____________

5. Why do bees sip nectar or gather pollen?

Bees sip nectar or gather pollen because ____________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________
 FLOWERS TO SEEDS

produce

species

reproduction

petals

stamens

anther

pollen grains

pistil

stigma

fertilized

pollination

deposited

diversity

variation
REVIEW:
attract
ADAPTED
fuse
ENERGY
fruit
COTYLEDON

composite STRUCTURE

florets

evolved
 Appendix VII: Aten, 2006

SEEDS ON THE MOVE

1. What are seed-dispersal strategies?

The seed-dispersal strategies are_____________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________

2. List 4 different seed-dispersal strategies:

A) ____________________________
B) ____________________________
C) ____________________________
D) ____________________________

3. What are seed-dispersal mechanisms?

The seed-dispersal mechanisms are __________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________

4. List 5 different seed-dispersal mechanisms:

A) ______________________________
B) ______________________________
C) ______________________________
D) ______________________________
 SEEDS ON THE MOVE

colonize

territory

dispersal

mechanisms

spherical

compact

prairie

germinate

tropical

durable

digesting

ejection

propelling
 Appendix VIII: Aten, 2006

THE INSECT EMPIRE

1. What are three regions the insect body always divided into?
What are their functions?

A) ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

B) ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

C) ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

2. Explain the molting process by using your own words.

___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

3. There are two types of metamorphosis, complete and incomplete.

A) List 3 life stages for incomplete metamorphosis:
Stage 1______________________________________
Stage 2 _____________________________________
Stage 3 _____________________________________

B) List 4 life stages for complete metamorphosis:

Stage 1 _____________________________________
Stage 2 _____________________________________
Stage 3 _____________________________________
Stage 4 _____________________________________
 THE INSECT EMPIRE

diverse evolve

recycling ridges

pollination tracheae

phenomenal spiracles

exoskeleton diffusion

chitin molting

head metamorphosis

thorax nymphs

abdomen miniature

mobility larva

fundamental pupa

sponging deteriorate

siphoning

vibration

compound eyes

migration

hibernation
 Appendix IX: Aten, 2006

Those Amazing Insects

1. When does a hissing cockroach hiss? How does the hissing

benefit (good for) the cockroach?

The cockroach hisses

A) when_________________________________
Benefit:_______________________________

B) when_________________________________
Benefit:_______________________________

2. Explain how the wheat weevil and the drummer wasp benefit
from the activities of humans.

Wheat weevil____________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Drummer wasp___________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

3. If you bother a wasp, you might find yourself pursued(chased)

by the whole colony. What do you think makes them all so aggressive?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
 Those Amazing Insects

entomologists

spiracles

segment

dominant

larva

pupate

kernel

burrow

vitality

phloem

clone

voracious

predator

foraging

pheromone
 Appendix X: Aten, 2006

KINGDOMS OF LIFE

Match each definition to the word by placing the letter on the line.

1. having only one cell ______ a. taxonomist

2. scientist who classifies organisms _____ b. kingdoms

3. paramecia and euglena are c. monera

part of this kingdom _____

4. five large categories of organisms ______ d. protista

5. having more than one cell ______ e. eukaryotes

6. cells with no nucleus called ______ f. prokaryotes

7. cells with a true nucleus and organelles ____ g. fungi

8. have cell wall and decompose h. bacteria, yeast

organic material _______

9.bacteria is part of this kingdom _______ i. multicellular

10. used in pickling and fermentation ______ j. unicellular

 Fill in the blanks using the word bank:

paramecia monera bacteria 8000

135 microbes yeast 1800’s

organelles 5 500 beer

1. There are ______________large categories of organisms.

2. __________is the most primitive(original) of the kingdoms.

3. All ________ are single-celled organisms without a nucleus.

4. Bacteria have no __________ or nucleus.

5. There are at least ____________ different kinds of bacteria.

6. Some bacteria are as old as __________ million years!

7. Bacteria were unknown until the ___________.

8. A synonym for microorganisms is _____________.

9. Amoeba and ___________ are examples of protista.

10. Examples of fungi are molds, mildew, and __________.

Answer the following questions in complete sentences:

1. What functions (jobs) do bacteria perform?

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What functions do fungi perform?

______________________________________________________________________________

3. What functions do algae perform?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________