Purposeful Approach to the Science & Engineering Practices

Arguing from Evidence and Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
OpenSciEd materials create opportunities for students’ home experiences and ways of knowing to be a productive part of the classroom sense-making by showing the ways argumentation and communication vary across individuals, classrooms, out of school contexts, and disciplines. Students learn more when engaged in meaningful forms of argumentation and communication; thus the instructional materials provide structured opportunities for students to participate in arguing and communicating about elements of their work for the authentic purpose of explaining a phenomenon or designing a solution, at increasing levels of sophistication over time. Activities attend to the linguistic demands inherent in arguing and communicating across productive (writing and speaking) and receptive (reading and listening) language functions.