Lab Reports in a Sheltered Biology Class
At a large high school, Biology I is sheltered for English learners and co-taught by a science teacher and an ESOL teacher. The class has 28 students in a 90-minute block; students' English proficiency ranges from level 2 to level 4, and nine home languages are represented. The district requires all students to complete lab reports using claim-evidence-reasoning (CER). On the last osmosis lab, 19 of 28 students scored below 60% on the report: many wrote fragments, copied the procedure, or omitted reasoning, even though most explained osmosis correctly in oral conferences. The co-teachers have one 45-minute common planning period each week. There are eight lab stations, one classroom set of laptops, and no additional paraprofessional. The next lab is in six days. The science teacher wants to simplify the report to a fill-in-the-blank worksheet; the ESOL teacher worries that this lowers content expectations.
1. Write language and content objectives for the next lab and identify scaffolds for CER writing.
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A content objective could be: students will explain how water moves across a membrane during osmosis using evidence from the lab. A language objective could be: students will write a CER paragraph that states a claim, cites data, and explains reasoning using because and therefore. Scaffolds should preserve the reasoning demand: pre-teach osmosis vocabulary with visuals and a bilingual glossary; model a CER with a familiar example; provide a graphic organizer with claim, evidence, and reasoning boxes; supply sentence frames at three proficiency levels; give a word bank of process verbs and transition words; and allow oral rehearsal before writing. A labeled diagram can support evidence collection but should not replace the written or oral explanation of reasoning. The fill-in-the-blank worksheet would remove the reasoning component, so it lowers expectations rather than scaffolding them.
2. How would you group and manage 28 students with eight stations and one laptop set?
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Create eight groups of three or four, mixing proficiency levels while ensuring that no group depends on one student to interpret everything. Assign rotating roles: materials manager, recorder, data analyst, and reporter. Use three or four timed stations of about 15 minutes each: a hands-on osmosis station, a data/laptop station shared by two groups, a CER writing station with frames, and a vocabulary or diagram station. Post a visual rotation chart and use a timer. The science teacher can anchor the lab station while the ESOL teacher supports the writing station, then switch. Explicitly teach transitions and group roles before the lab. Prepare materials in advance and use a group checklist. Clear routines and purposeful roles manage behavior better than removing students from inquiry.
3. How should the co-teachers assess the reports without lowering content expectations?
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Use a two-part rubric: one section for science content (accurate claim, relevant evidence, logical reasoning) and one for language (organization, vocabulary, conventions). Grade content separately so language errors do not hide science understanding, but do not excuse missing reasoning. Allow multiple ways to demonstrate the content, such as a labeled diagram plus an oral defense or a draft with peer feedback. Provide the same CER structure to all students, with scaffolds varying by need. Compare results across sections to see whether the scaffolds improved reasoning rather than just compliance. The science teacher's worksheet idea should be rejected as a modification; the goal is to support students in producing the same kind of explanation, not to replace it with recall blanks.