sciencewriter.cast.orgCAST: CAST Science Writer

’) ’); CAST CAST Until learning has no limits® Search terms: Who We Are About CAST Team Board Funders & Partners Contact Us Newsroom Our Impact Universal Design for Learning UDL & NETP 2024 UDL in Public Policy Stories From Our Work Timeline of Innovation Our Work Current & Past Projects Research, Design & Development Accessibility & Inclusive Technology Postsecondary Education Workforce & Career Education Remote & Online Environments Professional Learning Publishing Resources (current section) Books & Media Tips & Free Resources Online Tools (current page) Learn with Us About CAST Professional Learning PreK–12 Schools, Districts & States Postsecondary Faculty & Staff Individuals & Small Teams All Offerings Get Involved Research Opportunities UDL & ARP Work at CAST Internships Donate 40th Anniversary UDL-Con 2024 UDL Awards 2024 Sharing CAST Stories Search terms: Home Resources Online Tools CAST Science Writer CAST Science Writer Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn When asked to write in a specific genre, students often get lost in the details, especially when it comes to writing science reports. With support from the NEC Foundation , the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) , Texthelp , and an anonymous donor, CAST developed Science Writer, an interactive, web-based instructional learning tool, to support middle and high school students throughout the process of writing a science report. Utilizing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework and research-proven, evidence-based best instructional practices for improving the written language performance of students, Science Writer provided: A breakdown of the report writing process into manageable components Response spaces for each step of the science report writing process (e.g., methods, results, conclusion) An organizational structure for report writing Sentence starters to help initiate responses in writing In the revision and editing sections of the tool, checklists helped students spot content and grammar errors. In addition, Science Writer included a journal, in which users could write notes, track data, or include questions. Science Writer provided myriad opportunities for practice — a critical element to successful reading or writing strategy instruction. The tool used animated characters — Max, Sam, and Eko — to provide tailored support and keep learners engaged. Max and Sam gave students a model and the reasoning behind it, and Eko offered specific hints on how to progress. To incorporate UDL, Science Writer provided students with many choices and levels of support for learning. It offered each student the ability to make decisions about how much or how little support they required while they developed the report. Embedded text-to-speech allowed students to listen to their writing and any of the directions and instructional material. The text-to-speech tool also included a built-in dictionary and translator. For more information about Science Writer, contact Tracey Hall . Top of Page CAST Until learning has no limits® Connect with CAST Follow us: Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Instragram Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on YouTube Subscribe to our newsletter Work at CAST More from CAST CAST Publishing UDL Guidelines UDL on Campus National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM Center) Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES) Contact CAST cast@cast.org 781-245-2212 50 Salem St Building B, Ste 303 Lynnfield, MA 01940-0030 Get directions on Google Maps CAST would like to thank TextHelp Systems Ltd. for use of the SpeechStream toolbar in the CAST website. Donate Accessibility Policy Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright Notice © CAST, Inc....