To engage elementary learners in the complex task of STEM sensemaking, teachers must entice and inspire learners to ask questions, explore, and communicate their findings. This article shares a 5E/3D lesson designed and taught in our elementary science methods courses to model how preservice teachers can integrate literacy and mathematics into a science investigation for STEM sensemaking. We modified a traditional lesson on bird beak adaptations to have a differentiated, interdisciplinary writing component justified by data. We discuss why data-supported literacy is a non-negotiable in science education reforms and how teachers can differentiate tasks to make scientific writing more approachable and elicit student motivation. In addition, we provide insights into how our preservice teachers used data-informed writing to communicate their understanding of how structure affects the function of bird beaks and other such adaptations. We also report on ways our preservice teachers actively engaged in the lesson, shared how they envisioned using interdisciplinary lessons in their future classrooms, and refined their thinking on animal adaptations. To conclude, we reflect on our learning and suggest ways to integrate differentiated, data-informed writing tasks to provide authentic opportunities for all learners to engage in STEM sensemaking.
Nafziger et al. (2026) studied this question.