Combining multiple subjects is one of the best ways to get kids to learn more by doing less! When it comes to science, reading and writing can easily be incorporated so students can learn ELA skills while also learning fascinating facts about our world.
In just 15 minutes a day during a three week ScienceELA unit, your students will develop a rich understanding of science while also increasing their ability to comprehend new texts. They will practice reading multiple, grade-level, informational science passages to build understanding of many topics, and then practice their writing by crafting an explanatory piece and using evidence to support their claims.
Another great way to get students excited for learning? Having different themes to follow! This can be an awesome way to grab your students’ attention so they can enjoy learning all about a topic, before jumping onto the next. The themes included in this resource are sure to keep you students’ attention! Each theme has subcategories that students will learn a variety of information about. The passages are all original and complex grade level texts with eye-catching designs. Want to know what awesome things your students will learn about? Keep reading to find out!
- Ocean Exploration to learn about the earth’s oceans.
- Deep Sea Animal Adaptation to learn about ocean zones and animals that live deep underwater.
- Ocean Migration that focuses on the behaviors and migrations of loggerhead sea turtles, gray whales, and zooplankton.
- Household waste to learn about landfills, incinerators, recycling, and composting.
- Clean water to go over the importance of clean water, handwashing, and the effects of unsafe water.
- Renewable technology to learn about heat-converting clothing, electricity-generating soccer fields, and bike generators.
- Invasive Species to learn about changes to ecosystems and the effects of non-native kudzu, zebra mussels, cane toads, and Burmese pythons.
- Unique Galápagos Species to learn about marine iguanas, giant tortoises, sea lions, and what makes Galápagos animals so unique.
- Thriving Fungi to learn about the characteristics of fungi as well as zombie fungi, a plastic-eating fungus, and coprophilous fungi.
- Parts of our Solar System to find out what a solar system is, characteristics of the planets, and what other objects are in our solar system.
- Technology in Space to learn about Apollo 11, the Mars rover, Voyagers 1 and 2, and the International Space Center.
- Earth’s Movement to learn about Earth’s rotation, the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky, seasons, and changing constellations visible from Earth.
- Oceans and the Water Cycle to learn all about the water cycle’s processes.
- Rain & Rock to learn about hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere, land and mudslides, weathering and frost wedges.
- Acid Rain to learn about the pH scale and the effect of acid rain on plants, fish and humans.
- Competition to learn about interspecies competition and specialization while focusing on cooper’s hawks, great horned owls, cheetahs, lions, and tropical anoles.
- Parasitism to go over what parasites and hosts are.
- Mutualism to learn about helpful organism interactions.
- Plants in the City, learning about their needs, the benefits of trees, and vertical and community gardens.
- Animals in the City to compare coyotes and foxes in the city vs in rural areas as well as raccoons and to learn about inherited traits and learned behaviors.
- The Urban Water Cycle to learn the difference between traditional water cycle and urban water cycle, how water moves from aquifer to faucet, wastewater collection and treatment and storm water.
Ready to begin? Try the SciencELA Growing Bundle for access to all 10 units! That’s 30 weeks of lessons.
My students LOVE this resource. The first time we used this resource, we used the Invasive Species week and the students were so engaged. They couldn’t wait to read the articles and talk about each of them in-depth. I’m really looking forward to using the rest of them!
Jessica D
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