This document argues that teaching science to all students using the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) can help improve English language acquisition for English language learners (ELLs) by engaging them in the language-intensive practices of science. The NGSS require students to observe, measure, describe, analyze, and defend their work using academic language, providing opportunities to learn both science content and language skills simultaneously in an authentic context. The document outlines how the NGSS are structured to support language development and provides examples of how certain performance expectations incorporate descriptive, technical, and analytical language use.

1. Teaching science to every student, every day, will
improve language learning while also increasing
science content knowledge.
By Dr. Richard N. Vineyard & Dr. Jack W. McLaughlin
November 12, 2015
Next Generation Science
in Support of Language
Acquisition for All Students

2. Next Generation Science in Support of Language Acquisition for All Students
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SUMMARY
Based on the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education (2011), 26 states worked
collaboratively to develop the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), published in 2013.
The Next Generation Science standards present a new, balanced, vision for K-12 science education
where the practices of science and engineering are used to help students investigate and learn new
content across a wide-range of disciplines.
The NGSS require that students use and understand the elements of language as they make observations,
define questions, develop rules for data collection and describe and defend their results. At the same time as
states are working to improve science education in part to develop an informed citizenry and also to better
prepare students to be ready for the workforce of the future, more and more students are coming to school
needing to learn English as well as the required content for their grade. Because school and teacher
accountability models continue to emphasize student performance in ELA and mathematics as two heavily
weighted measures in rating school success, ELL students are often placed in extra instruction for English
language acquisition instead of science (student performance in science is rarely included in school
performance evaluations).
The next generation of science learning is based on students learning and
engaging in the practices of science and engineering as they work to make
sense of the phenomena that they are investigating.
The practices of science and engineering require students:
 To describe, write about, and discuss the content they are learning about;
 To represent their ideas using a variety of verbal and visual models and explanations; and,
 To communicate and defend their ideas and conclusions.
This paper makes the argument that including all students in science instruction will help all students, including
English Language Learners (ELL) to increase their abilities to understand and use language in general and
their content knowledge and literacy in science. Learning language in the applied situations and real-world
context of science, will help students remember and use both the language and information that they have
learned.
Why Teaching Next Generation Science is Important for All Students
A recent article in Education Week (L. Withrow,10/2015) compared STEM and English to peanut butter and
jelly, two seemingly opposite ingredients, that when combined resulted in a mouth-watering treat. I think the
same can be said for the combination of science and engineering with language acquisition skills for all
students. Teaching science to every student, every day will support English language learners to improve their
ability to understand and use English while they are also increasing their science content knowledge. The
science that they will be learning is not just the facts, terminology, and equations that have historically been
seen as science. The next generation of science instruction is about a broader, more inclusive discipline. In his
remarks at the 2015 White House Science Fair, President Barack Obama described science as:
“… more than a school subject, or the periodic table, or the properties of waves. It is an
approach to the world, a critical way to understand and explore and engage with the world,
and then have the capacity to change that world, and to share this accumulated knowledge.
It’s a mindset that says we that can use reason and logic and honest inquiry to reach new
conclusions and solve big problems.”

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The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) present science as a body of knowledge represented by
three separate but tightly connected elements:
 the content of science and engineering as represented by the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI);
 Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) the tools that scientists and engineers use to investigate
questions and solve problems; and
 Cross Cutting Concepts (CCC) the big ideas that tie all three together.
All of these elements in the NGSS are presented to students through a series of Performance Expectations
(PE) that require the student to use language to describe, record, explain, argue, discuss, and defend the
ideas that they are engaged in learning.
A reality of the K-12 education system today is that in many – if not most – classrooms and schools, there are
significant numbers of students who come to school as English language learners (ELL). These students have
the extra challenge of learning a new language while at the same time mastering the academic content in all of
their subjects. In their efforts to raise student proficiency scores in reading, schools and states have directed
many additional resources to programs for ELL. Across the country, policies have been to create programs for
these ELL that focus on the conventions of learning English. To attend these extra language classes, ELL
students have been pulled from courses such as science and social studies. Science as presented in the
NGSS can provide many of the needed extra supports that these students need to improve their
understanding and use of English while they are also learning science.
The implications for teaching English language learners using the NGSS were examined in detail in a recent
article (Lee, O., H. Quinn, G. Valdes, 2013). They propose that implementation of NGSS will require major
shifts in science education, comparable to major shifts due to CCSS for English language arts/literacy and
mathematics. Across these three subject areas, the new standards share a common emphasis on disciplinary
practices and classroom discourse. As engagement in these practices is language intensive, it presents both
language demands and opportunities for all students, especially ELLs.
Due to an overemphasis on ELA and math in school accountability, many schools continue to downplay the
teaching of science, particularly in the elementary grades. Much of the evaluation rating of the schools
continues to be based on the academic performance and proficiency scores of their students in ELA and math.
Although some states’ school evaluation systems do include student performance in science as part of the
equation, it rarely represents a major component. Because student performance in science is not a factor in
school ratings, too often science is not scheduled as part of daily instruction and is only taught for limited time
slots perhaps once or twice a week.
An examination of the academic content standards used by most states as the basis for ELA and mathematics
instruction (CCS- ELA and CCS-M) shows not only have overlaps between the two content areas in their
description of the tools (practices) used to learn the content, but also an even greater overlap with the science
and engineering practices found in the NGSS.
The “Big” Questions
So how will teaching the NGSS help students, ELLs and native English speakers alike, learn to use language
more effectively? And more importantly, how do we prepare our teachers to implement the NGSS?
These are critical questions because the in-depth multidimensional teaching and learning described in the
NGSS will keep students engaged. The inquiry-based structure of the standards requires that students use the
skills and tools of ELA and mathematics to define, explore, investigate, explain, and defend their work in
science. The science instruction envisioned in the NGSS is engaging and focused on the content and practices
of science. Students connect with the content through the use of observation, exploration, investigation,
description, and argumentation all based on the content and evidence related to the DCI under investigation.

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The inherent investigative exploration of the content of science, along with the diverse practices that scientists
and engineers use to learn about the content, help keep the students engaged in the learning. Clarity of
outcome expectations provide a scaffold to use in building their understanding of the vocabulary and
appropriate use of language. These expectations can then be applied to many other disciplines in their
academic program. Keeping students interested and engaged in the learning (time on task) is a critical factor
in increasing their mastery of the new academic content.
Examples of programs that emphasize the importance of keeping language learners connected to the lessons
can be found in programs such as Tellmemore®, Fluenz®, and Rosetta Stone®, designed to keep students
engaged and learning new content in a system that connects the new learning to real situations. Language
acquisition programs like these are used worldwide to help individuals learn new languages quickly. In reading
the information on the company websites, they all say that the secret to the success of the program is that
instead of memorizing rules, you’ll discover patterns, or through application of the language in conversation.
These language learning programs have students/learners practice and learn new vocabulary linked to specific
content or contextual clues. The student is presented with new words along with rules for pronunciation and
syntax, but the programs also have built in systems to apply the new learning to contextual structures
(patterns) so that new information adds to the clarity of the language not to the confusion of more clutter in the
memory. The learning is active and applied, which helps the learner retain the new vocabulary and use it
multiple situations.
Using science investigations as an opportunity for language acquisition training provides an immediate
connection between the collections of letters and sounds required to read and say the words, and the content
that they are actually aligned with (connected to). Following the commercial language program model, students
can learn language in the context of science, connecting the words, phrases and syntax to ideas, artifacts and
situations that have meaning. The new vocabulary is learned as part of a pattern, making the new learning
easier to both remember and use correctly. The active application of the new vocabulary and syntax can help
the learner move from memorizing and repeating, to understanding and thinking in the new language: in this
case the language of science. In science classrooms, it has been too common for students to see learning the
language of science as a memorization exercise: for example, memorizing names of plants or animals, or
geologic layers of a canyon or mountain range. While it is true that the language of science can and in many
cases should be complex, however the content of science provides a robust and multifaceted tapestry for
connecting the language to the content.
As far as the second question, around professional learning, the use of online learning resources to provide
and support instruction is on the rise. Additionally, there is a growing recognition and interest in the opportunity
to apply and contribute to the learning sciences by conducting education research through online learning
environments (Koedinger, Kim, Zhuxin Jia, McLaughlin, and Bier, 2015).
Consider open edX, the Cambridge-based education partnership founded by
Harvard University and M.I.T., to support two important missions:
 improving online education
 advancing teaching and learning through research
To date, the partnership has invested more than $40M to create an online platform that serves more than
5,000,000 students around the world, delivering content collections from universities including UC Berkeley,
Stanford, Harvard, M.I.T., and 50 others.
By creating the open edX platform and investing in the study of effective online education, Harvard and M.I.T.
have called many of the longstanding features of traditional education into question: rigid bell schedules,
lengthy periods between assignment submission and feedback, and the rarity of sharing portfolios of work and
resources in a network of peers and instructional coaches, to name a few examples.

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While many online systems include glorified PowerPoint presentations, or are dominated by videos, the open
edX platform allows for a much more interactive and engaging experience through the use of technology-
enhanced activities with immediate online feedback. Google Hangouts and other collaborative features create
a social network where learning can be shared, coached and celebrated.
Public Consulting Group (PCG) adopted open edX as their K-12 online learning platform in 2013 and provides
a similar experience for many of their 5,000 school district and state education department partners. PCG’s
Pepper Career & College Readiness Network has partnered with many of the most trusted K-12
professional learning organizations to provide high quality, research-based content including NGSS.
One additional goal PCG added to the edX mission is to provide content that is applicable to the classroom
since a majority of their clients focus on standards adoption. In a survey of 73 practicing K-12 mathematics
teachers from Los Angeles Unified School District taking a course using the Pepper platform, users found the
content “highly engaging” and “very applicable” to their classroom instruction.
Learning the language of science is not just limited to the names of organisms and the periodic table of
elements. Science is about using descriptive and precise language to make and record observations and then
to develop questions to be answered about what was observed. Scientists (and students learning science) also
have to be able to use language in a variety of modes. They use descriptive language for observations,
technical language to describe the tools and methods to use in investigations, they also have to be able to
analyze results and present and support arguments based on evidence from the investigations as they present
their conclusions.
NGSS are Particularly Suited to the Use of Science to Support Literacy and Language
Acquisition
Given the richness of science and engineering practices, NGSS will lead to science classrooms that are also
rich language learning environments for ELLs. An important role of the science teacher is to encourage and
support language use and development in the service of making sense of science. (Lee, Quinn, & Valdes, 2013)
The organizational structure of the NGSS is developed to support the use of appropriate academic language.
The NGSS are organized around performance expectations (PE) which describe what students should know
and be able to do in a specific content area, and at a grade level. The individual PE are linked to specific
academic content (DCI) and processes (SEP) and often associated with one or more of the big ideas that
connect the content areas together (CCC).

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As an example, here is a PE from middle school physical science: 5-PS1-3. Make observations and
measurements to identify materials based on their properties. This PE is from the physical science
domain (DCI PS1.A -Structure and Properties of Matter). The PE clearly requires that the student be able to
use descriptive language to record the observations and precise technical language (and mathematical
thinking) to collect and record measurements. Then the learner can use descriptive and comparative language
to create a system of characteristics that can be used to identify individual materials by their observable
characteristics and properties.
Appendix D of the NGSS (NGS, 2013) includes abundant arguments to support the idea that science can be
an important component in helping students learn and build their language skills and facility. The important
significant argument is that in learning science experientially (through active engagement in learning) the
students are both learning the content and how to identify and describe what they are seeing and doing.
Engagement in any of the scientific and engineering practices involves both scientific sense-making and
language use. Students engage in these practices for the scientific sense-making process, as they transition
from their naïve conceptions of the world to more scientifically-based conceptions. Engagement in these
practices is also language intensive and requires students to participate in classroom science discourse.
Students must read, write, and visually represent as they develop their models and explanations. They speak
and listen as they present their ideas or engage in reasoned argumentation with others to refine their ideas
and reach shared conclusions.
These scientific and engineering practices offer rich opportunities and demands for language learning while
they support science learning for all students, especially English language learners, students with disabilities
that involve language processing, students with limited literacy development, and students who are speakers
of social or regional varieties of English that are generally referred to as “non-Standard English.” When
supported appropriately, the students are capable of learning science through their emerging language and
comprehending and carrying out sophisticated language functions (e.g., arguing from evidence, providing
explanations, developing models) using less-than-perfect English. By engaging in such practices, moreover,
they simultaneously build on their understanding of science and their language proficiency (i.e., capacity to do
more with language). NGSS Appendix D, p.6. 2013.
Implementation of the NGSS and particularly the engineering standards may provide opportunities to engage
many students who otherwise see science as an interesting but not particularly practical discipline. Solving
problems where the solutions are not readily applicable to the lives of the practitioners too often seems like a
purely academic exercise. This perception of science is often evident in populations of second language
learners, students living in poverty, and also in female students. However, using the principles of engineering
design to develop a solution to a real problem, may be seen by these students as more applicable to real life
and making progress towards building a useful set of skills.
Making use of the opportunities for improving student ELA and math skills by using science will require that the
teachers of science become well versed in the NGSS and also have strong understanding of the science
content at their grade level or content area. It will also take a commitment on the part of states, districts,
schools and teachers to developing an understanding of the multidimensional nature of the NGSS and to
developing and using lesson plans and assessment programs that take advantage of the opportunities for
students to learn science in the way that science really works.
Successful implementation of NGSS with ELLs will require political will, especially in the current accountability
policy context, where these students tend to receive limited and inequitable science instruction because of the
perceived urgency of developing basic literacy and numeracy. To the contrary, we argue that NGSS can
provide a context where science learning and language learning can occur simultaneously. We also argue that
ELLs’ success in the science classroom will depend on shared responsibilities of teachers across subject
areas, as learning of science and development of literacy and numeracy reinforce one another. (Lee, Quinn,
Valdes, 2013)

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The online and blended learning programs available through Pepper will provide teachers with the tools and
supports they need to implement the NGSS and meet the challenges of teaching science and building
language skills for all of their students.
In addition to introducing teachers and administrators to the structure of the NGSS, the Pepper course menu
has grade or grade band specific courses to introduce and engage teachers and administrators with the
Performance Expectations, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Cross Cutting Concepts that they will encounter as
they implement the NGSS in their classrooms.
Pepper also includes interactive, NGSS-
aligned literacy development resource
called Science Builder. The resource
include interactive experiments, thousands
of vocabulary words, and other NGSS-
related “learn by doing” activities for both
educators and their students.
Designed for use by teachers individually or
in learning groups, the content collections
and resources facilitate the development of
increased understanding of the core content
knowledge, and also provide a framework
for the creation of lesson plans that
incorporate the three dimensional learning
structure of the NGSS.
Science Instruction for All Students Helps All Students in All Academic Subjects
In summary, current research makes a compelling case that inclusion of science instruction for all students will
help all students, ELL and non-ELL learn, remember, and use language in all their academic subjects.
Application of the NGSS science and engineering practices in science classrooms will also lead to learning
environments that support rich language learning experiences for all students. Making use of the opportunities
for improving student ELA and math skills by using science will require that the teachers of science become
well versed in the NGSS and also have strong understanding of the science content at their grade level or
content area. It will also take a commitment on the part of states, districts, schools and teachers to developing
an understanding of the multidimensional nature of the NGSS and to developing and using lesson plans and
assessment programs that take advantage of the opportunities for students to learn science in the way that
science really works.
The online, Pepper professional development courses will allow teachers to develop the deep understanding
of the structure and content of the NGSS. At the same time, the Pepper courses will provide them with tools
and supports that they will be able to use in meeting the dual challenges of teaching science and building
language skills for all their students.

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REFERENCES
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010a). Common Core State Standards for English language arts
and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Retrieved from
http://www.corestandards.org
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010b). Common Core State Standards for mathematics. Retrieved
from http://www.corestandards.org
Koedinger, K. R., J. Kim, J. Zhuxin, E. A. Mclaughlin, and N. L. Bier. (2015). Learning is Not a Spectator Sport:
Doing is Better than Watching for Learning from a MOOC. Proceedings of the Second ACM Conference on
Learning. ACM, New York, NY, USA.
Lee, O., H. Quinn, and G. Valdes (2013). Science and Language for English Language Learners in Relation to
Next Generation Science Standards and with Implications for Common Core State Standards for English
Language Arts and Mathematics. Educational Researcher, published online 11 April 2013.
National Research Council. (2011). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts,
and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
NGSS Lead States (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (Appendix D, All
Standards, All Students/ Case Studies). www.nextgenscience.org
NGSS Lead States (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (Appendix L
Connections to CCSS-Mathematics). www.nextgenscience.org
NGSS Lead States (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (Appendix M.
Connections to CCSS Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects). www.nextgenscience.org
Obama, B. (2015) Remarks by the President at the White House Science Fair. March 23, 2015. Retrieved from
http://www.ed.gov/stem
Pepper College and Career Readiness Network http://www.pepperpd.com
Stage, E.K., H. Asturias, T. Cheuk, P.A. Daro, S. B. Hampton (2013) Opportunities and Challenges in Next
Generation Standards. Science (340): 276-277.
Withrow, L. (2015) What Can CSI Teach ELA? Education Week, Education Futures: Emerging Trends and
Technologies in K-12. Oct. 23, 2015.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Richard N. Vineyard, Ph.D., is Lead Program Manager for Science at PCG
Education. His extensive experience in science education and assessment
informs his work with the K-12 community, specifically in helping schools
understand the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Dr. Vineyard works
with state, district and school administrators to design and develop new
instructional programs based on the NGSS. He also supports projects focused on
the professional development of teachers in science and other Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education initiatives. Prior to joining
PCG in 2015, Dr. Vineyard was Assessment Director for the Nevada Department
of Education (NDE) where he worked to supervise the development and
implementation of all state level assessments in Nevada. His career with the NDE
spanned more than 17 years, during which time he worked first as the state
Science Specialist on statewide education initiatives including the development of
science content standards and Nevada’s first assessments in science. As
Assessment Director, Richard was also instrumental in the development and
revision of content standards in all areas and state level assessments in ELA,
Math, Science, including the Nevada Alternate Assessments for students with
disabilities. Richard has served on numerous state and national committees on
science education and assessment, and is Past President of the Council of State
Science Supervisors.
Dr. Jack McLaughlin is a Manager for PCG Education. Dr. McLaughlin comes
from a proud family tradition of service in public education. Jack has served as
school teacher and administrator in New York and California. In California, Jack
served as a kindergarten teacher, Director of Curriculum and Instruction and as
District Superintendent. Working in New York City, Jack served as an educator in
District 75 (Special Education) and as Director of Educational Services. Jack has
served as an executive in the private industry since 2001, working to improve
student achievement. Jack has worked with more than 400 school districts in the
US and the Bahamas. Dr. McLaughlin received his Master’s Degree in Education
from the University of Southern California, and his Doctorate in Educational
Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.
The authors would like to thank those who provided suggestions and edits to earlier versions of this publication:
Tammy Abernathy, Meggin McIntosh, and Diane Mugford.

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ABOUT PCG EDUCATION
Combining 30 years of management consulting experience with significant K-12 educational domain expertise,
PCG Education offers consulting solutions that help schools, school districts, and state education agencies to
promote student success, improve programs and processes, and optimize financial resources. Together with
its state-of-the-art technology, PCG Education’s consulting approach helps educators to make effective
decisions by transforming data into meaningful results. A division of Public Consulting Group (PCG), PCG
Education has current projects in 47 states and four Canadian provinces and serves 17 of the 25 largest U.S.
school districts. Our technology system – including our Pepper College & Career Readiness Network –
serve more than 1.45 million students and educators across the U.S. To learn more, visit
www.publicconsultinggroup.com
ABOUT PUBLIC CONSULTING GROUP
Public Consulting Group (PCG) is a management consulting firm that primarily serves public sector education,
health, human services, and other state, county, and municipal government clients. Established in 1986 with
headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, PCG operates from 45 offices across the U.S. and in Montreal,
Canada, London, U.K., and Lodz and Warsaw, Poland. The firm has extensive experience in all 50 states,
clients in four Canadian provinces, and a growing practice in the European Union. Because PCG has
dedicated itself almost exclusively to the public sector for more than 25 years, the firm has developed a deep
understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements and fiscal constraints that often dictate a public
agency’s ability to meet the needs of the populations it serves. We have helped numerous public sector
organizations to maximize resources, make better management decisions using performance measurement
techniques, improve business processes, improve federal and state compliance, and improve client outcomes.
Many of PCG’s 1,300 employees have extensive experience and subject matter knowledge in a range of
government-related topics, from child welfare and Medicaid and Medicare policy to special education, literacy
and learning, and school-based health finance. PCG’s current work includes active contracts in 47 states. To
learn more, visit www.publicconsultinggroup.com

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