Writing-to-Learn in the Inquiry-Science Classroom: Effective Strategies from Middle School Science and Writing Teachers

Student writing skills are an important concern for every teacher. This is especially true when using inquiry-based approaches in the science classroom. Writing promotes critical-thinking skills and construction of vital scientific concepts and challenges ingrained misconceptions. Yet, many teachers encounter practical problems when incorporating writing into science-inquiry activities. In this article, the authors asked middle school science and writing teachers to generate a list of common barriers to implementing writing-to-learn strategies in science-inquiry lessons and suggest methods by which these difficulties might be overcome. The resulting suggestions should help teachers deal with the inevitable problems that arise when incorporating writing-to-learn in their classrooms.