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How Can I Use RocketLit in My Science Classroom?
How Can I Use RocketLit in My Science Classroom?

Use the 5E Inquiry Model to Make the Most of RocketLit in Your Science Instruction

Erin Cooke avatar
Written by Erin Cooke
Updated this week

RocketLit’s adaptive and differentiated science texts provide students with rich, engaging content—delivered at their exact reading level. Whether you're introducing new concepts or deepening understanding, RocketLit can support inquiry-based learning at every stage of your science unit.

In this article, we’ll walk through the 5E Science Inquiry Model and share ideas for how to integrate RocketLit at each phase of your instruction.

What This Help Article Covers:

🎥 Want a deeper dive? Watch our RocketLit Webinar on how to use RocketLit with the 5E model.


❓ What Is the 5E Inquiry Model?

The 5E model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) is an instructional framework that supports student-centered, inquiry-based learning in science classrooms. Each phase builds upon the last to help students develop deeper understanding through investigation, reflection, and application.

The 5 E's of Inquiry-Based Learning | Knowledge Quest

🧠 Using RocketLit in Each Phase of the 5E Model

✨ Engage

Goal: Spark interest, curiosity, and wonder

Use RocketLit to:

  • Build background knowledge (schema)

  • Spark curiosity and gain student interest in a topic

  • Generate questions and wonderings to explore further

📍Classroom Tips:

  • Assign a high-interest article as a hook at the beginning of a unit!

  • Use RocketLit annotations to prompt students to highlight questions or interesting facts.


🔬 Explore

Goal: Allow students to investigate, observe, and build foundational understanding

Use RocketLit to:

  • Confront common misconceptions with evidence-based reading

  • Foster student-led interest in specific phenomena

  • Introduce tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary in a meaningful context

📍Classroom Tips:

  • Let students choose from a few topic-aligned articles to promote ownership and inquiry.

  • Assign articles that align with hands-on labs or simulations.


🗣️ Explain

Goal: Guide students in making sense of what they’ve learned

Use RocketLit to:

  • Reinforce content by having students cite evidence from text

  • Offer additional support for students who need more time or instruction (great for homework, study hall, or tutoring)

  • Structure small group instruction based on reading level or concept understanding

📍Classroom Tips:

  • Ask students to cite RocketLit articles when constructing written or verbal explanations.

  • Assign articles for small group instruction, targeting different student needs.


💡 Elaborate

Goal: Deepen understanding and apply knowledge in new ways

Use RocketLit to:

  • Extend learning by critiquing and revising models, arguments, or explanations

  • Offer free-choice reading that connects to the core unit

  • Support students in making cross-topic or real-world connections

📍Classroom Tips:

  • Have students annotate how the article connects to prior learning.

  • Offer optional or challenge articles for early finishers or advanced learners.


📊 Evaluate

Goal: Assess understanding and reflect on learning

Use RocketLit to:

  • Have students reflect on vocabulary they’ve mastered—and identify words they still need to learn

  • Revisit previously assigned articles to reflect on growth or shift misconceptions

  • Assess understanding through built-in multiple-choice and optional free response questions

📍Classroom Tips:

  • Have students reread an article from earlier in the unit and annotate what they now understand differently.

  • Use RocketLit Reports to analyze reading level growth and assignment completion.


Need more help?

For additional assistance, click on "Send us a message" in the site chat or email us support@rocketlit.com.

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