Chapter 10: Complex Multimodal Text Sets to Support Science Literacy

The need to develop a scientific mindset, exemplified by applying inferential reasoning toward making evidence-based claims, is now a central element of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Balancing the need to evaluate information systematically with the need to accept complexity and uncertainty is difficult for students (Sadler et al., 2007), but essential for attainment of science literacy (Norris & Phillips, 2003). Linking Science and Literacy for All Learners is designed to help learners navigate fundamental and derived aspects of literacy through use of complex texts. This chapter presents a multiple case study documenting similarities and differences for how the teachers implemented and integrated multimodal text sets into their instruction and the comparative impact this had on students’ ability to make and evaluate arguments using the claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) framework (Gotwals & Songer, 2010).