TI-AIE: Reading in the science classroom: heredity and evolution

What this unit is about

A very important resource that helps you to teach science to your students is the science textbook. To make the most of their science textbooks your students need to have effective reading skills. Although all of your Class IX and X students can read, many do not always read their textbooks with a good understanding. Teachers make assumptions about the reading skills that their students have. Quite often teachers believe that their students understand more than they actually do. Then teachers may be disappointed with their students’ exam results.

Reading is an important life skill. The ability to be a good reader is a very important skill that every student needs to have to do well at school. Reading in science is an important part of learning to understand science. Because there is a lot of science to teach, reading and the development of reading skills are often neglected in science classrooms.

This unit will help you to make the most of your science textbooks by introducing you to some teaching strategies that will develop the reading skills of your students. These teaching strategies are explained using examples from the Class X topic of heredity and evolution. These ideas can be used anywhere in the science curriculum.

What you can learn in this unit