Whole Class Connected Resource Year 7-8: Winning Ways – Presenting Scientific Data

Description

Develop your students’ reading comprehension with this comprehensive resource, focused on Winning Ways: Presenting Scientific Data from the Connected Level 4 2016 text. Great as an addition to your structured literacy program, especially in the lead-up to your class or school Science Fair. Enhance Your Students’ reading comprehension with Science of Reading Principles.

This teaching tool engages students in deep comprehension strategies, vocabulary building, grammar, syntax, sentence structure, verbal reasoning, and content knowledge – key elements of the Science of Reading approach.

How It Works:

This resource is designed for whole-class teaching. You receive a slideshow with 55 slides, additional support worksheets, and graphic organisers.

• Simply display the Connected PDF on your projector or TV screen and distribute copies of the text between 2-3 students. With the slides in Presenter View, you’ll have everything you need for a successful lesson—just click and go!
• The resource divides the text into two manageable chunks to be read over three sessions, allowing plenty of time to dive deep into the vocabulary and content of the article.
• Along with the text, we’ve included a set of discussion prompts to get your students talking and thinking critically about what they’re reading.

On days three and four, explore the text further with:

• A GIST summarising activity
• A sequence graphic organiser
• Critical thinking questions to encourage deeper connections and inferences.

Winning Ways: Presenting Scientific Data from the Connected Level 4 2016

• Grace is on a mission: enter the science fair, wow the judges, and win the prize money! To do this, she must structure her investigation really well and choose the most engaging, thought-provoking and informative ways of presenting her data. But how do scientists decide the best ways to “show and tell” the data they gather during an investigation?

Key Features:

• Focus on monitoring comprehension, summarising, drawing conclusions, and using evidence.
• Comprehension activities that require students to do more than recall specific information.
• Literacy activities that link to key writing skills (sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, descriptive language)
• A GIST summarising activity, helping students condense the text into a 20-word summary, improving both their understanding and memory.
• A sequence graphic organiser to analyse the structure of this text.
• Explicit vocabulary instruction with definitions, examples, and semantic activities such as synonyms and antonyms.
• Activities that tie directly to the New Zealand English Curriculum for Year 7-8 students, with a focus on comprehension, summarising, and using evidence to make inferences.
• Aligns to the New Zealand Science Curriculum.

Aligned with the New Zealand English Curriculum: This resource supports teaching students how to:

• Monitor and confirm comprehension by annotating, rereading, asking, answering questions, and visualising.
• Summarise and draw conclusions, identifying key details supporting the text’s main message.
• Make inferences using stated and implied ideas, drawing from prior knowledge.
• Analyse text structure and the language used for effect with a text
• Think critically about a text by analysing perspectives and making connections.

Tips for Use:

• Use the PowerPoint in presentation mode for easy, seamless delivery.
• Display the text on the screen and give students a copy to read together in pairs or small groups.
• Follow the suggested activities over three sessions, with additional follow-up activities on days four and five to extend learning.