Promoting Scientific Literacy through the Writing of ­Abstracts

As science teachers, we hope that the students that enter our classrooms leave it with not only a deeper understanding of the scientific content, but a stronger grasp on key skills. One of the skills we seek to improve in our students is scientific literacy. Studies have shown that one strategy to improve long-term scientific literacy involves the integration of scientific literature into the curriculum. By engaging with different forms of scientific literature, students can gain a deeper understanding of the world around them and the concepts they learn in the classroom. In this article, I share an activity I conducted with my students to build scientific literacy through the writing of abstracts. I first introduced students to different forms of scientific literature and explained what an "abstract" is. The recurring activity then requires them to read their own articles, and write an abstract based on what they read. Over time, they feel better connected to the scientific research being conducted daily, while building scientific literacy.