Research suggests that such discourse, when guided by appropriate questions, helps learners connect ideas with prior experiences and relates ideas that might have been experienced separately. Connected ideas are remembered better than unconnected ideas. FOSS has always involved students in reading and other language arts experiences related to the science investigations. The curriculum encourages going beyond hands-on experiences to include simulations and reading resources. In the original curriculum, trade books and library references were listed or made available to extend student understanding toward abstractions.
Research shows that understanding what one reads is improved if preceded by appropriate experiences.
Bringing some knowledge to reading increases one's understanding of the reading. After much investigation into reading materials, FOSS staff came to the conclusion that quality booksbooks that contain appropriate and accurate content, developmentally appropriate content, and appropriate reading levelswere few and far between, and those that were well done usually went out of print before we could prepare a list of them. Thus a set of readers called Science Stories was developed. Unlike other reading materials, these are written to build upon and extend classroom experiences. In use, they are a seamless part of the science instruction.