Research & Impact
READI Curriculum Modules: Science and History
Life Sciences: The Spread of MRSA
For middle school, grade 6 • 2013 • READI Curriculum Module #24
This module supports students’ science close reading, modeling, explanation, and argumentation practices while building students’ knowledge of evolution, microbes, and antibiotic resistance. The MRSA investigation materials include an interactive notebook with integrated routines, scaffolds, and tasks, and a set of texts presenting engaging news stories, data, and science principles. The accompanying lice pre/post assessment can be used to measure students’ close reading and modeling progress. The middle school MRSA investigation may be used with the Reading Models Module and the Water investigation to provide more extensive opportunities to learn. See Curriculum Modules #26 and #30.
For high school, grade 9 • 2013 • READI Curriculum Module #23
This module supports students’ science practices of close reading, modeling, explanation, and argumentation while building their knowledge of evolution, microbes, and antibiotic resistance. The MRSA investigation materials include an interactive notebook with integrated routines, scaffolds, and tasks, and a set of texts presenting engaging news stories, data, and science principles. The accompanying malaria pre/post assessment can be used to measure students’ close reading and modeling progress. The MRSA investigation was further refined for use in an RCT study. See Curriculum Module #27.
For high school, grade 9 • 2014 • READI Curriculum Module #27
This module supports science students’ close reading, modeling, explanation, and argumentation practices while building their knowledge of evolution, microbes, and antibiotic resistance. The MRSA investigation materials include an interactive notebook with integrated routines, scaffolds, and tasks; a set of texts presenting engaging news stories, data, and science principles; an annotated teacher guide; and additional supports for science discourse and argumentation. The high school MRSA investigation may be used subsequent to the Reading Science Models module and the Homoeostasis investigation to provide more extensive opportunities to learn. See Curriculum Modules #28 and #29.
Earth Science: How Are Humans Impacting Water?
For middle school, grade 8 • 2012 • READI Curriculum Module #25
This module supports students’ close reading, modeling, explanation, and argumentation practices while building their knowledge of water resources and pollution. The water investigation materials include an interactive notebook with integrated routines, scaffolds, and tasks, and a set of texts presenting engaging photos, articles, diagrams, data, and science principles. The accompanying carbon-cycle pre/post assessment can be used to measure students’ close reading and modeling progress. The water investigation may be used with the Reading Models Module and the middle school MRSA investigation to provide more extensive opportunities to learn. See Curriculum Modules #24, #26 and #30. The water investigation was revised to include additional scaffolds for science discourse and argumentation. See Curriculum Module #26 for the revised version.
For middle school, grade 8 • 2013 • READI Curriculum Module #26
This module supports students’ close reading, modeling, explanation, and argumentation practices in science while building their knowledge of water resources and pollution. The water investigation materials include an interactive notebook with integrated routines, scaffolds, and tasks, and a set of texts presenting engaging articles, photos, diagrams, data, and science principles. The accompanying carbon cycle pre/post assessment can be used to measure students’ close reading and modeling progress. The water investigation may be used with the Reading Models Module and the middle school MRSA investigation to provide more extensive opportunities to learn. See Curriculum Modules #24, #25 and #30.
Life Sciences: Homeostasis
For high school, grade 9 • 2014 • READI Curriculum Module #28
This module supports science students’ close reading, modeling, explanation, and argumentation practices while building their knowledge of human homeostasis—salt and water balance and sugar balance. The Homeostasis materials include an interactive notebook with integrated routines, scaffolds, and tasks; a set of texts presenting engaging news stories, data, and science principles; an annotated teacher guide; and additional supports for science discourse and argumentation. The high school Homeostasis investigation may be used with the Reading Science Models module and the MRSA investigation to provide more extensive opportunities to learn. See Curriculum Modules #27 and #29.
Reading Science Models
For middle school, grade 6 • 2013 • READI Curriculum Module #30
This module supports students’ close reading of science visuals and models while building knowledge about the conventions of scientific models and the criteria for evaluating them. The materials include an interactive notebook with integrated texts, tasks, scaffolds, and routines as well as an annotated teacher guide. The middle school Reading Science Models curriculum module may be used with the Water investigation and the middle school MRSA investigations to provide more extensive opportunities to learn. See Curriculum Modules #24 and #26.
For high school, grade 9 • 2014 • READI Curriculum Module #29
This module supports students’ close reading of science visuals and models while building knowledge about the conventions of scientific models and the criteria for evaluating them. The materials include an interactive notebook with integrated texts, tasks, scaffolds, and routines as well as an annotated teacher guide. The Reading Science Models curriculum module may be used with the Homeostasis investigation and the MRSA investigations to provide more extensive opportunities to learn. See Curriculum Modules #27 and #28.
History: Feudalism
For middle school, grade 7 • 2012 • READI Curriculum Module #14
This module supports students to read tertiary history sources to answer the question, “What was life like for a medieval serf and how do you know?” Students read and discuss the sources, make claims based on multiple sources, and explain their reasoning. Materials include the history sources, an interactive notebook with integrated scaffolds and routines, and notes for the teacher to guide implementation.
History: An Inquiry into the 1953 Coup in Iran
For high school, grade 10 • 2014; updated 2016 • READI Curriculum Module #15
This module supports close reading and the interpretation of historical sources while building knowledge of the 1953 coup in Iran. Students drive the inquiry as they investigate what happened using primary sources and then create their own account, providing textual evidence and reasoning. Materials include the set of primary sources, an interactive notebook with integrated scaffolds and routines, and notes for the teacher to guide implementation.
History: The Black Hills – Contested Lands
For high school and middle school • 2011 • READI Curriculum Module #11
This module supports students to inquire into photographs and other primary and secondary sources over ten lessons in order to construct an answer to the question, “What caused the conflicts between the United States and the Lakota people during the latter half of the 19th Century?” The purpose of the unit is to teach students to read for understanding in the discipline of history as evidenced by their ability to advance historical arguments and support them with evidence from historical texts. The curriculum guide includes student handouts of texts and notetakers as well as a teacher’s guide with lesson plans and sample models that can be used with both high school and middle school students.
History: Little Rock 9
For middle school, grades 7-8 • 2012 • READI Curriculum Module #13
This module supports students to learn about the Little Rock 9 and their historical context by inquiring into photographs and other primary and secondary sources and reflecting on their own experiences with segregation and discrimination. The central questions for the module are, “What obstacles existed for those trying to desegregate Little Rock Central High School and how effective were their tactics to overcome those obstacles?” An interactive notebook that integrates texts, tasks, scaffolds, and routines supports students to make inferences and provide textual evidence for those inferences.
For high school, grade 11 • 2012 • READI Curriculum Module #12
This module supports students to learn about the Little Rock 9 and their historical context by inquiring into a rich array of primary and secondary sources and creating an argument that answers the questions, “What legal, political, and social obstacles existed in trying to desegregate Little Rock Central High School? How effective were the tactics that were used to overcome those obstacles?” The interactive notebook integrates texts, tasks, scaffolds, and routines.