Science and Writing and Apes, Oh My!: An Iterative Interdisciplinary Approach to Argumentative Writing and Forensic Science in the Secondary English Classroom

Lexi Cox / lcox2@bellarmine.edu / Faculty Advisor: Jessica Ivy

 This hybrid thesis consists of a research base that informs the creation of an interdisciplinary English Language Arts and forensic science unit for tenth grade students. Using “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe as an anchor text, students explore argumentative writing, the nature of science, and various technologies as they construct their own experiments and write an argument identifying the criminal of the story. This unit went through three iterations in its evolution, receiving feedback from university professors and high school English teachers. Emerging themes from this feedback included modeling expectations, emphasizing interdisciplinarity, and alternative schedules for differentiation, which led to a final product that is feasible, engaging, and covers a variety of content standards.

 Accepted for presentation at the 2020 National Council of Teachers of English Virtual Annual Convention, November 2020.