The development of a middle school curriculum with inquiry science for a bilingual setting.

Abstract

Science can be complicated for students who are English language learners (ELLs). Due to the content specific vocabulary and the skills required to investigate science-related topics, ELLs may struggle in the classroom unless they are provided with the proper supports. These supports can include the incorporation of meaningful activities centered around inquiry-based science and the use of students' native language (L1) in the classroom. Bilingual lessons incorporating inquiry science was chosen as the focus for this project to reflect the resources supported by the research showing their effectiveness. This project outlines the design of three science units intended for ELLs in a bilingual setting. It was designed for a rural school in Western New York that does not currently offer bilingual education for its’ ELLs, whose L1 is Spanish. In this project, teacher-created lessons based on three eighth-grade science units were created with inquiry-based activities. Fifty lessons were designed to be implemented in a 50:50 dual-language classroom. These lessons can serve as a basis for teachers and school districts who may desire to incorporate inquiry-based science lessons in a bilingual setting.