Sequence of Events in Scientific and Technical Texts

Sequence of Events in Scientific and Technical Texts "I'm having a hard time coming up with an experiment to do for my assignment!" "Eureka!" "I've got it!" "I am going to research using a scientific text about what makes an object float and then conduct an experiment." Scientific and technical texts are informational texts that explain how something works using chronological order or sequencing. They can also tell, in steps, how to do or make something. An example of a ‘how something works’ text would be an article on volcanic eruptions... or the flow of electrical circuits. ‘How to texts’ include procedural texts like experiments, recipes, and instruction manuals. We read these types of texts to learn more about a particular subject, or to understand how to complete a task. When reading scientific and technical texts, we look at the relationship between the events. These events show us cause-and-effect relationships of how one thing leads to another. Let's read this scientific text to understand the cause-and-effect relationship behind what makes some things float in Pearl's tub and others not. Buoyancy is an object’s ability to float. You will notice that when you put an object into water, the water around the object gets moved or displaced. The amount of displaced water depends on the object’s density. Density is how heavy something is compared to its size. If the object is denser or heavier than the amount of water it displaces, it will sink because the water’s force cannot hold it up. Objects that are less dense or lighter than the displaced water will float because the water underneath them is more dense. In this graphic organizer, we'll record the sequence of events for testing buoyancy. First, an object is put into water. This event causes water to be displaced because of the object's density. We will record that HERE. There are two things that can happen as a result of an object's density... an object that is more dense than the water will sink... and an object that is less dense than the water will float. This organizer helps us understand buoyancy by illustrating the relationship between the density of objects and their effects in water. Now that Pearl understands buoyancy, she will perform an experiment testing different objects using the directions in this technical text. An experiment is a type of procedural text. A procedure is the series of actions conducted in a specific order. In this type of text, you can see that it is separated into two different sections. The first part tells us what materials we need to perform the experiment, and the second part, are the steps to follow. The materials section of the text lets us know what we need to have BEFORE we begin the experiment, so we are prepared to follow the steps properly. The steps of the experiment are listed like a set of directions and need to be followed in the exact order to produce the correct results. While Pearl awaits her grade on the assignment, let's review. Remember,... Scientific and technical texts are informational texts that explain how something works using chronological order or sequencing. They can also tell, in steps, how to do or make something. When reading these types of texts we look at the relationship between the events. These events show us cause-and-effect relationships of how one thing leads to another. We read scientific and technical texts to learn more about a particular subject, or to understand how to complete a task. "Look! I got an "A" on my project! "Okay, Otis, we can stop doing that now!"