This document consists of three papers which explore aspects of language use in science classrooms descriptively and prescriptively, based on naturalistic and experimental observations. The discovery of the importance of the verbal mode of communication through involvement in creating computer-based activities is discussed. Papers include: (1) "Words and Science" (Jan Hawkins and Laura M. W. Martin), in which the thematic questions that tie the papers together are outlined; (2) "Taking Notes and Taking Note of Physics" (Babette Moeller, Jan Hawkins, Cornelia Brunnmer, and Sol Magzamen), in which words are regarded as a contributing medium to achieving understanding of physics concepts; and (3) "Computer Networking and the Connection of Science and Literacy Skills" (Shelley V. Goldman and Carol Reich), which reports on a study of language and communication in a classroom of deaf students. (CW)