Raising Achievement in Science by improving Literacy Skills.

Literacy is not often associated with Science, especially Chemistry but students are examined on their depth of understanding through long answer questions. These questions are often not attempted at GCSE and also A Level as students are put off by a blank page. My project has been to implement the use of literacy boards and key words when attempting these 6 mark questions. I have trialled it with the top set Chemistry group. It has worked very well and they are now more confident in attempting literacy tasks. Any literacy task has been marked and then the students have been given the opportunity to improve their work. I have looked at the following areas. 1. Rates of reaction. I demonstrated the thermal decomposition of hydrogen peroxide without a catalyst. Students recorded any observations. The experiment was then repeated using a catalyst. Through observations and verbal rehersal, students were asked to identify the two roles that a catalyst plays in a chemical reaction. This write up was completed as a homework. Some students missed out one the key points but they then improved their work. 2. Le Chateliers Principle. At A Level, one of the most difficult questions to explain is the application of Le Chateliers principle to a range of chemical reactions. This has also been trialled with the top set Chemistry group as a stretch and challenge activity. These questions have been practiced by setting out the explanation as bullet points to allow students to order their answers. 3. GCSE Addition Polymerisation. This question often confuses students. The use of a Literacy board helps to identify key words that need to be used to gain extra marks. I have now made a number of Literacy Boards. These will be laminated and used by the rest of the department. I have also written the use of literacy in both the new GCSE and A Level specification.