How Note-Catchers Move Students Beyond Hunting for Answers in Science Texts
Think about the last time your students opened a science article and saw a set of questions at the end.
Did they read the article carefully?
Or did they scan the page, find a sentence that looked like an answer, write it down, and move to the next question?
Teachers complain about this for a reason. Students can sometimes answer every question without developing a clear understanding of what they read.
However, I do not think reading the questions first is the problem. In fact, I teach my students to do it.
Reading the questions before the article gives students a purpose. It helps them know what information they will need and what they should pay attention to as they read.
The problem begins when finding the answers becomes the only purpose for reading.
Finding an Answer Is Not the Same as Understanding the Text
Students can become very good at matching words from a question with words in an article.
If the question includes the term photosynthesis, they scan until they see photosynthesis. Then they copy the sentence around it and assume they are finished.
Sometimes that strategy produces a correct answer. It does not necessarily mean the student understands photosynthesis or how the information connects to the rest of the article.
Science texts often require students to combine information from multiple places. Part of an explanation may appear in a paragraph, while another part appears in a diagram, caption, photograph, or graph.
Students need to know how to locate information, but they also need to stop and think about what that information means.
I Teach Students to Preview the Questions
Before my students read a nonfiction text, I have them look at the questions.
We talk about what the questions are asking and what information they should be looking for. This helps make the reading more manageable, particularly when the text includes unfamiliar science vocabulary or a large amount of information.
Previewing the questions can also help multilingual learners. They know in advance which ideas will matter, and they can begin noticing important vocabulary before reading the entire article.
However, I do not want students to treat the article like a word search. That is why I use a note-catcher in addition to the comprehension questions.
The Note-Catcher Changes the Purpose of Reading
My note-catcher asks students to record key points from the reading. It also includes a separate box where students explain what an image, diagram, or graph shows.
That separate box matters.
Students often assume the paragraph contains the important information and the visual is there to make the page look interesting. In science, the visual may provide information that is not fully explained in the paragraph.
A graph might show a pattern over time. A diagram might show the parts of a system or the steps in a process. A photograph might provide evidence that helps students better understand a description in the text.
By asking students to write separately about the visual, I am telling them that it deserves the same attention as the written text.
Reading a Science Text Means Reading the Whole Page
Science reading involves more than moving from the first sentence to the last.
Students may need to make sense of:
- headings and subheadings
- bold vocabulary
- captions
- photographs
- diagrams and labels
- graphs and tables
- written explanations
These features do not always repeat the same information. Students may need to connect what they learned from a paragraph with what they noticed in a graph or diagram.
This is one reason I do not rely only on questions at the end of an article. Questions may direct students toward particular details, but a note-catcher asks them to consider what the text is mostly teaching them.
Visuals Are Not Automatically Easier
Teachers sometimes assume that diagrams, graphs, and photographs make a science text more accessible. They certainly can, especially for multilingual learners, but only when students understand how to use them.
A graph may contain limited written language and still be difficult to interpret. Students must know what the axes represent, what is being measured, and what pattern the data shows.
A labeled diagram may introduce several new vocabulary words at once. A photograph may need a caption before students understand what they are seeing or why it matters.
That is why my note-catcher does not simply ask students to look at the visual. It asks them to explain what the visual shows.
Students have to turn looking into thinking.
Questions and Note-Catchers Serve Different Purposes
I do not see comprehension questions and note-catchers as competing strategies.
The questions help students identify specific information they will need. The note-catcher helps them gather the larger ideas and pay attention to information presented visually.
Used together, they can help students move through a science text with more purpose:
- Preview the questions.
- Read the article with those questions in mind.
- Record key points from the written text.
- Examine the images, diagrams, or graphs.
- Explain what each visual contributes.
- Return to the questions and answer them using the information gathered.
Students are still looking for answers, but they are doing that within a larger process of understanding the text.
Try This With Your Next Science Article
Before giving students a science article, look at what you are asking them to do with it.
If students only need to answer a few questions, they may be able to complete the assignment by scanning for matching words.
Consider adding two simple sections to a note-catcher:
- What are the key points from the reading?
- What does the image, diagram, or graph show?
These prompts do not require an elaborate organizer. Their purpose is to slow students down enough to notice that the article contains more than isolated answers.
Final Thoughts
Teachers are right to be frustrated when students answer the questions without really reading the article. However, telling students not to look at the questions first does not necessarily solve the problem.
I want my students to preview the questions because strategic readers know why they are reading and what information they need.
I also want them to understand that finding one matching sentence is not enough.
The questions give students a reason to begin. The note-catcher helps them gather key ideas, examine the visuals, and make sense of the article as a whole.
The goal is not to stop students from looking for answers. It is to make sure they understand what they find.
Leave a Reply