LogoScience IDEAS Project: 2002-2009

Policy Implications for Grades K-5:
Linking Content Area Learning and Literacy

The combination of interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and empirical findings provide a research-based rationale for establishing the relevance of elementary science instruction implemented through Science IDEAS as a form of in-depth, content-area learning that develops student proficiency in reading comprehension and writing.

The papers in the related references (above) develop this idea in terms of curricular policy implications for grades K-5. The emphasis of these papers is that (a) cumulative, in-depth science instruction provides a much stronger learning environment for reading comprehension than the sequence of disconnected stories common to basal reading programs. Specifically, these papers argue for a significantly expanded role for content-area learning in grades K-5 in terms of the instructional time typically allocated in conjunction with a substantial reduction in the instructional time allocated to reading comprehension instruction using basal reading programs.