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Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading Strategy Guides

Strategy Guides highlight some of the most powerful instructional strategies from the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading integrated curriculum. Each Strategy Guide provides a description of one of these strategies, an overview of how to teach the strategy with many science texts, and a specific plan for teaching the strategy with a Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading book.

Strategies that help students learn about scientific inquiry:
Strategy Guide Title	Grade Level	Book Title (Select the Link to Access the Strategy Guide)
Teaching About the Nature of Science	2-3	Jess Makes Hair Gel Shoreline Scientist Talking with a Habitat Scientist
Taking Notes Based on Observations	2-3	My Nature Notebook
Taking Notes Based on Observations	3-4	Sky Notebook
Making Sense of Data in Science Texts	2-3	Snail Investigations What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets
Making Sense of Data in Science Texts	3-4	What's the Diagnosis? What's Going on with the Weather?
Teaching Scientific Explanations	2-3	Handbook of Interesting Ingredients Gary's Sand Journal
Teaching About the Nature and Practices of Science	3-4	Evidence from the Past Secrets of the Stomach Why Do Scientists Disagree? Tornado! A Meteorologist and Her Prediction
Using Visual Evidence to Make Inferences	3-4	Mystery Mouths
Analyzing Part-to-Whole Relationships	3-4	Systems
Posing Investigation Questions	4-5	Handbook of Chemical Investigations
Teaching About How Scientists Make Inferences	4-5	Science You Can't See
Strategies that help students use and understand science vocabulary:
Strategy Guide Title	Grade Level	Book Title (Select the Link to Access the Strategy Guide)
Connecting Science and Everyday Words	2-3	What are Roots?
Connecting Science and Everyday Words	3-4	Go with the Flow: Making Models of Streams
Teaching Vocabulary with Science Texts	2-3	Beach Postcards
Teaching Vocabulary with Science Texts	3-4	Cameras, Eyes, and Glasses
Teaching About Multiple Meaning Words*	2-3	My Sea Otter Report
Teaching About Multiple Meaning Words*	3-4	Falling Through the Atmosphere
Using the Cognates Strategy*	2-3	Walk in the Woods
Using the Cognates Strategy*	3-4	Drinking Cleopatra's Tears
Teaching About Idioms	3-4	Can You See in the Dark?
Promoting Word Consciousness	4-5	Communicating Chemistry
Strategies that help students talk and write about science concepts:
Strategy Guide Title	Grade Level	Book Title (Select the Link to Access the Strategy Guide)
Using Anticipation Guides*	2-3	Gravity Is Everywhere Solving Dissolving
Using Discourse Routines with Science Texts	2-3	Into the Soil
Using Discourse Routines with Science Texts	3-4	I See What You Mean
Using Discourse Circles	2-3	What if Rain Boots were Made of Paper? Without Soil
Using Discourse Circles	3-4	The Code
Using Roundtable Discussions	4-5	Break It Down: How Scientists Separate Mixtures
Teaching Scientific Comparison Writing	3-4	Blue Whales and Buttercups
Teaching Process Description Writing	3-4	Voyage of a Cracker
Teaching Scientific Explanation Writing	3-4	Light Strikes!
Teaching Scientific Explanation Writing	4-5	Chemical Reactions Everywhere
Teaching Summary Writing	3-4	The Speed of Light
Teaching Summary Writing	4-5	Made of Matter
Teaching Procedural Writing	4-5	Bursting Bubbles: The Story of an Improved Investigation
Strategies that help students learn from science texts:
Strategy Guide Title	Grade Level	Book Title (Select the Link to Access the Strategy Guide)
Using Text Features	2-3	What Lives on a Sandy Beach? Earthworms Underground
Using Text Features	3-4	Wet Weather Handbook
Teaching Text Structure (For additional text structure copy masters select the link above.)	2-3	Handbook of Forest Floor Animals Jelly Bean Scientist The Black Tide
	3-4	Water in the Desert
	4-5	What Happens to the Atoms?
Interpreting Visual Representations	2-3	What's Stronger? The Forces That Cause Erosion Forces
	3-4	Sunlight and Showers
	4-5	Phase Change at Extremes
Teaching Concept Mapping	2-3	What Belongs on a Beach? Mystery Forces
Teaching Concept Mapping	3-4	It's All Energy
Searching for Information in Science Texts	2-3	Handbook of Sandy Beach Organisms
Searching for Information in Science Texts	3-4	Handbook of Body Systems Handbook of Light Interactions
Gathering Information from Science Texts	3-4	Weather Encyclopedia

*Strategies marked with an asterisk are particularly useful for English Language Learners (ELLs). Learn more about how to support English learners here.

Strategy Guides were developed to accompany the science books featured in Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading curriculum. Because of the quality of the books and the extensive information they contain, many teachers purchase the books separately. Strategy Guides include worksheets that can be used to employ that particular strategy with appropriate books, such as the one shown below:

To purchase any of the books, printed strategy guides, or other components from the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading program contact Delta Education.

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