TEACHING THE LANGUAGE OF EARTH SCIENCE: BEST PRACTICES FOR THE K-12 CLASSROOM WITH A FOCUS ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND CONTENT ABSORPTION

As pedagogues of the earth and space sciences, we must search for the best way to explain the essential topics of our discipline. Furthermore, the educational landscape is ever changing. With an influx of immigrants who do not speak English, we must find a way to reach these students, like any other we would encounter in our classroom.The goal of this study is to determine the best practices, the best classroom methods to unlocking the language of science for students.

We must employ the dynamics of the language arts classroom to successfully teach earth science to those students who have been labeled “English Language Learners.” We must show students how the core vocabulary of earth science is not so different from their own language. We must look at the structure of the language of science jargon and find ways to help students break down larger, complicated, words and concepts in order to better understand the processes they study. Secondly, we must use “culturally relevant” examples to give our students further references points from real life, with regards to the content of our lessons. Thirdly, “text-rich” environments will aid in the absorption of the language of earth science, as well as giving students a means to improve their English skills in general. Lastly, we must cultivate a love of earth science, or at the very least provide examples that spark interest in the subject matter our students are studying.

Ultimately, the purpose of this study is to produce better, more culturally aware pedagogues. We all come into the classroom with different ideas about the language of earth science. You have chosen this field because you love earth science in some shape or form, but not every student, maybe not even every third student, you teach will feel as passionate about the subject as you do. It is our job as scientists and as educators to lower the frustration level of our students (some say this is the biggest deterrent to a love of science) in order to allow them access to the content. We owe it to our students, ourselves, and most importantly future generations to produce scientifically literate graduates.