BSCS Science Tracks: Connecting Science And Literacy: Designing Structures Student Guide

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY-This module places emphasis on the processes of technological design as students investigate the size, shape, and strength of various structures. Students determine what shapes make a structure strong and steady and identify the design elements of structures they find in their local environment. In this way, students learn that changing the shape of a material can affect its strength and that joining materials together in certain ways does so as well.

BSCS Science Tracks includes a comprehensive Student Guide and resource book at every level, 1-5. The Student Guide is not a "read-about-science" book; rather, it serves as a guide to help students learn to do the following things.

• Conduct scientific inquiries within a collaborative team and on their own
• Become more responsible for their own learning
• Manage the hands-on activities themselves
• Structure collaborative learning tasks
• Develop science and technology concepts and skills
• Reflect on their learning and assess their own conceptual and skill development
• Conduct independent inquiries related to questions or topics of personal interest
• Develop skills for reading in the content areas
• Follow and interpret directions

In addition, the Student Guides reinforce components of basic literacy, including shared reading and writing, guided reading and writing, continuous assessment, skills instruction, reading procedural text, listening and speaking skills, journal writing, record keeping, hints and reminders, reading and writing in a social context, and reading and writing in a content area.