Visual representations

Scientists often communicate information in visual form, such as through graphs, diagrams, tables, maps, models, and even photographs. For students to obtain a sophisticated level of literacy in science, they need to learn how to “read” visual representations, as well as to use visual features of text, such as titles, captions, and interpretation keys, to locate and comprehend the science concepts presented in the texts. Amplify Science addresses this important (and often overlooked) area of literacy by explicitly teaching the strategy of visualizing, and by teaching students in all grades to integrate information presented in words with information presented in visual representations in order to come to a deeper understanding of the science ideas. In addition, students are guided in their creation of various types of scientific visual representations to record observations, organize data, and communicate the science ideas they are learning.

Students learn:

• That visual representations in science text convey key ideas and represent data.
• There are many different types of visual representations, and scientists choose those that are most effective for particular purposes.
• That often the most powerful understanding comes from neither the text nor the visual representation alone, but from connecting the two.
• To attend to visual representations as they read, and to use visual representations as evidence to support claims.
• To examine, discuss, and interpret a variety of visual representations common in science.
• To explain how the visual representation shows the information.