Monday, February 24, 2014
Midterm Question
I would like to further discuss critical literacy on page 115. What are the best strategies to teach this?
Lesson Plan: Parts of a Plant (adapted for elementary sped)
VA ASOL:
*get copy of VA Asol from school and refine
*SWBAT complete a chart labeling the parts of a plant.
*SWBAT identify the basic needs of plants.
Written Purpose:
Within fourth grade science, students must understand the parts of a plant and their basic needs.
Preparations
To assess students' prior knowledge we will complete a KWL chart as a class. We will discuss what we know about plants such as what they are, what they need to survive, and their parts.
We will also prepare for the topic by completing a graphic organizer of a basic plant with labels pointing to the basic parts such as roots, leaf, stem, seed, and flower. All students will be given the same organizer and will independently label.
We will complete a guided reading assignment using an adapted book about plant parts. It is a basic SECEP book with minimal words and visuals.
Plant Book- an adapted book created by teacher (will be attached in a word document)
Basically it is a book with the same sentence starter, "Plants have ...". Each sentence will end with a particular part of the plant such as, stem, leaves, roots, flower, and seeds. Each page will have a corresponding visual.
**2 Instructional Strategies per stage
Assistance
VOCABULARY ACTIVITY
I will add in a vocabulary component during the assistance phase. After we have read the book as a class, we will complete a graphic organizer. Students will complete a worksheet that has pictures of the parts of the plants and the corresponding "vocabulary" words. Students will cut out the words and match them to the pictures. Teacher will model this and then students will complete.
*I am not finished. I still need the R and two instructional strategies for the assistance and reflection.
4.4 The student will investigate and understand basic plant
anatomy and life processes. Key concepts include
a) the structures of typical plants and the function of each
structure;
b) processes and structures involved with plant reproduction;
c) photosynthesis; and
d) adaptations
allow plants to satisfy life needs and respond to the environment.
*get copy of VA Asol from school and refine
*SWBAT complete a chart labeling the parts of a plant.
*SWBAT identify the basic needs of plants.
Written Purpose:
Within fourth grade science, students must understand the parts of a plant and their basic needs.
Preparations
To assess students' prior knowledge we will complete a KWL chart as a class. We will discuss what we know about plants such as what they are, what they need to survive, and their parts.
We will also prepare for the topic by completing a graphic organizer of a basic plant with labels pointing to the basic parts such as roots, leaf, stem, seed, and flower. All students will be given the same organizer and will independently label.
We will complete a guided reading assignment using an adapted book about plant parts. It is a basic SECEP book with minimal words and visuals.
Plant Book- an adapted book created by teacher (will be attached in a word document)
Basically it is a book with the same sentence starter, "Plants have ...". Each sentence will end with a particular part of the plant such as, stem, leaves, roots, flower, and seeds. Each page will have a corresponding visual.
**2 Instructional Strategies per stage
Assistance
VOCABULARY ACTIVITY
I will add in a vocabulary component during the assistance phase. After we have read the book as a class, we will complete a graphic organizer. Students will complete a worksheet that has pictures of the parts of the plants and the corresponding "vocabulary" words. Students will cut out the words and match them to the pictures. Teacher will model this and then students will complete.
*I am not finished. I still need the R and two instructional strategies for the assistance and reflection.
Chapter 7: Vocabulary
Content-specific vocabulary relates to the terms that are specific to a certain discipline, such as biology or math. Students must understand these terms because some words can have various meanings across different subjects, such as the word scale. What is a scale in science compared to what is a scale in music? "Academic vocabulary encompasses a set of terms often found among expository texts and formal presentations or speeches but which is not unique to any content or academic discipline." (Reading to Learn, p. 169) This type of vocaubulary includes words such as analyze, significant, function, etc. If children don't understand these words, it impedes their learning.
Word knowledge is important to reading comprehension. Word knowledge can be attributed to a reader's own experiences. The textbook describes an experience involving taking a plane. A young child might relate this to playing with a plane, while an older student might associate this experience with an airport.
Reading to Learn in the Content Areas describes the stages of word knowledges.
5 Facets of the Intricate Nature of Word Knowledge
1. Incrementality: levels of word knowledge develop over time
2. Polysemy: multiple meanings for a word
3. Multidimentionality: many different types of knowledge to be learned about a word, including meaning, connotation, denotation, etc.
4. Interrelatedness: connections are made between or among words
5. Heterogeneity: word type, purpose, and prior knowledge influence word knowledge required
Incidental vocabulary develops through basic life experiences, such as conversation, word play, exposure to media, and reading. I work for SECEP with children who have autism and we definetly encourages and promote this development. After all, language development is a major characteristic of autism. We constantly talk to the children, play with them, and read with them.
I really enjoyed the section on vocabulary instruction for children with learning disabilities because of the population I work with. I think it is important that the book mentioned educators need to limit the number of words for study to those that are most important. The book mentioned using visuals, semantic maps, and field trips. We use vocabulary maps when we read books at SECEP. Our students match the picture to the vocabulary word. I think this is a very good strategy for visual learners.
I thought the word inventory was good for teaching vocabulary before having students read. Students assess their own prior knowledge and then teachers instruct properly based on this information. Some other types of graphic organizers that can be used to teach vocabulary are semantic maps, word maps, and concept maps.
I really liked the examples of possible sentences students could write to define a word on page 184 and how it compared to good sentences. Often when students do not understand the assigned vocabulary they make up poor sentences or make up irrelevant sentences. I found this to be very true of younger children. When assigned word study, they will just write a sentence in order to finish the assignment; however, the sentence displays no understanding of the meaning.
Teachers should discuss the use of context clues to assist students in their reading. Often these are imbedded in the text to assist students with unfamiliar vocabulary. These include:
1. Definitions
2. Signal words
3. Direct explanations
4. Synonyms
5. Antonyms
6. Inferences
Teachers can also be creative in the ways they teach vocabulary. While the dictionary is a good tool and teachers should teach skills involved in dictionary utilization, nobody wants to define words all day! It is boring! I really liked the idea of word bingo and the use of analogies. I think teaching analogies is very important because it is on alot of apptitude tests students will encounter throughout their educational experience.
Do you know of any other creative ways to teach vocabulary?
Source:
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co
Word knowledge is important to reading comprehension. Word knowledge can be attributed to a reader's own experiences. The textbook describes an experience involving taking a plane. A young child might relate this to playing with a plane, while an older student might associate this experience with an airport.
Reading to Learn in the Content Areas describes the stages of word knowledges.
5 Facets of the Intricate Nature of Word Knowledge
1. Incrementality: levels of word knowledge develop over time
2. Polysemy: multiple meanings for a word
3. Multidimentionality: many different types of knowledge to be learned about a word, including meaning, connotation, denotation, etc.
4. Interrelatedness: connections are made between or among words
5. Heterogeneity: word type, purpose, and prior knowledge influence word knowledge required
Incidental vocabulary develops through basic life experiences, such as conversation, word play, exposure to media, and reading. I work for SECEP with children who have autism and we definetly encourages and promote this development. After all, language development is a major characteristic of autism. We constantly talk to the children, play with them, and read with them.
I really enjoyed the section on vocabulary instruction for children with learning disabilities because of the population I work with. I think it is important that the book mentioned educators need to limit the number of words for study to those that are most important. The book mentioned using visuals, semantic maps, and field trips. We use vocabulary maps when we read books at SECEP. Our students match the picture to the vocabulary word. I think this is a very good strategy for visual learners.
I thought the word inventory was good for teaching vocabulary before having students read. Students assess their own prior knowledge and then teachers instruct properly based on this information. Some other types of graphic organizers that can be used to teach vocabulary are semantic maps, word maps, and concept maps.
I really liked the examples of possible sentences students could write to define a word on page 184 and how it compared to good sentences. Often when students do not understand the assigned vocabulary they make up poor sentences or make up irrelevant sentences. I found this to be very true of younger children. When assigned word study, they will just write a sentence in order to finish the assignment; however, the sentence displays no understanding of the meaning.
Teachers should discuss the use of context clues to assist students in their reading. Often these are imbedded in the text to assist students with unfamiliar vocabulary. These include:
1. Definitions
2. Signal words
3. Direct explanations
4. Synonyms
5. Antonyms
6. Inferences
Teachers can also be creative in the ways they teach vocabulary. While the dictionary is a good tool and teachers should teach skills involved in dictionary utilization, nobody wants to define words all day! It is boring! I really liked the idea of word bingo and the use of analogies. I think teaching analogies is very important because it is on alot of apptitude tests students will encounter throughout their educational experience.
Do you know of any other creative ways to teach vocabulary?
Source:
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co
Monday, February 17, 2014
Learning through Reflection
True learning takes place when students have a chance to reflect on what they have read or the assignment. Reflection is the third stage of PAR. Reflection helps a student comprehend beyond the literal level. Teachers usually have to help students develop this skill because it does not develop naturally for most students. Reflection helps students become autonomous learners. Autonomours learners are self-regulated. Students can strengthen this skill by comprehension monitoring. Comprehension monitoring is a way to keep a mental track of one's own learning.
There are three important skills to emphasize during reflection. These are communication skills, critical thinking, and critical literacy.
Steps to Problem Solving/ Critical Thinking
1. Gather ideas and information
2. Define the problem
3. Form tentative conclusions
4. Test conclusions
5. Make a decision
Teachers need to teach this process to help their students develop critical thinking skills. Teachers can help students with this process through the use of activities such as study guides and group-and-label techniques.
What is critical literacy? It is analytical reading. Using primary sources can be a great tool to use to teach this skill. Students should question the author's reason for writing and their stance on a particular topic. This helps the student become an informed reader.
Cooperative learning is important to refelective learning. Students can learn from one another and pose different view points. Cooperative learning is different from group work. Rules need to be established before hand and each member needs to be active in the learning. Cooperative learning is effective because the strategies fall into one of the following categories of learning strategies:
1. Rehearsal strategies
2. Elaboration strategies
3. Organizational strategies
4. Comprehension-monitoring stategies
5. Affective strategies
There are three phases of cooperative learning. They are individual phases, group work, and teacher-led discussion. Students can use brainstorming and post-graphic organizers to assist in reflective reading. Teachers can help students make connections by using double-entry journals, a rallytable, paired reading, three-step interview, reflective guides, think-alouds, etc. I found the rallytable to be interesting and never had used it before, never as a student or teacher. For a rallytable, an open-ended question is asked of the students. The students pair up and pass a paper back and forth. Each time the student gets the paper, they write an answer until the teacher says times up. Then the teams share their answers and compare them to the other groups. Teams can actually use their answers to create graphic organizers to catergorize their answers. Then it becomes like a double reflective idea.
Has anyone else ever used the rallytable? What was your experience like?
Source:
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co
There are three important skills to emphasize during reflection. These are communication skills, critical thinking, and critical literacy.
Steps to Problem Solving/ Critical Thinking
1. Gather ideas and information
2. Define the problem
3. Form tentative conclusions
4. Test conclusions
5. Make a decision
Teachers need to teach this process to help their students develop critical thinking skills. Teachers can help students with this process through the use of activities such as study guides and group-and-label techniques.
What is critical literacy? It is analytical reading. Using primary sources can be a great tool to use to teach this skill. Students should question the author's reason for writing and their stance on a particular topic. This helps the student become an informed reader.
Cooperative learning is important to refelective learning. Students can learn from one another and pose different view points. Cooperative learning is different from group work. Rules need to be established before hand and each member needs to be active in the learning. Cooperative learning is effective because the strategies fall into one of the following categories of learning strategies:
1. Rehearsal strategies
2. Elaboration strategies
3. Organizational strategies
4. Comprehension-monitoring stategies
5. Affective strategies
There are three phases of cooperative learning. They are individual phases, group work, and teacher-led discussion. Students can use brainstorming and post-graphic organizers to assist in reflective reading. Teachers can help students make connections by using double-entry journals, a rallytable, paired reading, three-step interview, reflective guides, think-alouds, etc. I found the rallytable to be interesting and never had used it before, never as a student or teacher. For a rallytable, an open-ended question is asked of the students. The students pair up and pass a paper back and forth. Each time the student gets the paper, they write an answer until the teacher says times up. Then the teams share their answers and compare them to the other groups. Teams can actually use their answers to create graphic organizers to catergorize their answers. Then it becomes like a double reflective idea.
Has anyone else ever used the rallytable? What was your experience like?
Source:
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co
Monday, February 10, 2014
Blog 3
The textbook discusses mapping as a good way to help students improve their comprehension while reading. Mapping helps students understand main ideas and supporting details. "A computer-assisted concept mapping strategy had significant benefit for reading of low-achieving students." (Reading to Learn, p. 83) There are many computer programs out there available to help our students create these maps. Students can even use basic programs, like Microsoft Word. I found this to be very interesting because I work in special ed and we are always creating webs, flow charts, and other cocept maps to organize details. Even my students who have difficult with fine motor skills and have difficulty writing can easily create maps now.
What is constructivism?
"It is a way for students to make sense of their learning by developing a knowledge base or constructing their own purposes for reading a selection and developing tasks on their own that demonstrate their learning." (Reading to Learn, p.85) This theory requires students to learn by using higher thinking skills. I like this theory because this is the way we ultimately want to students to be able to learn; however, I don't feel it will be applicable to my field because my population needs much more guidance.
The textbook points out that the authors usually organize the text by separating it into meaningful sections. I think this is important for teachers to point out to their students, especially those younger students. This organization is especially true for textbooks, like science and history. This can help students make better use of their textbooks and be more successful in the class. The DR-TA can help students understand this concept of organization. "The key aspect of the DR-TA is predicting outcomes." (Reading to Learn, p.87) Examples of DR-TA's are Prediction Guides and KWL Charts.
What are some strategies for comprehending text structure?
The textbook suggests using a mystery game, pattern guides, cause-and-effect study guides, and a similarities and differences map. For comparing and contrasting two things, I often like to use a venn diagram. I feel it is visually easier for students to understand. In SECEP, we use visuals to create venn diagrams. I think the mystery clue game is a fun and interesting way to capture the students' attention. In the textbook, it was used for a french lesson. I think it would be good to use in a history class.
Do you have any suggestions for good DR-TA's students could use?
Source:
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co
What is constructivism?
"It is a way for students to make sense of their learning by developing a knowledge base or constructing their own purposes for reading a selection and developing tasks on their own that demonstrate their learning." (Reading to Learn, p.85) This theory requires students to learn by using higher thinking skills. I like this theory because this is the way we ultimately want to students to be able to learn; however, I don't feel it will be applicable to my field because my population needs much more guidance.
The textbook points out that the authors usually organize the text by separating it into meaningful sections. I think this is important for teachers to point out to their students, especially those younger students. This organization is especially true for textbooks, like science and history. This can help students make better use of their textbooks and be more successful in the class. The DR-TA can help students understand this concept of organization. "The key aspect of the DR-TA is predicting outcomes." (Reading to Learn, p.87) Examples of DR-TA's are Prediction Guides and KWL Charts.
What are some strategies for comprehending text structure?
The textbook suggests using a mystery game, pattern guides, cause-and-effect study guides, and a similarities and differences map. For comparing and contrasting two things, I often like to use a venn diagram. I feel it is visually easier for students to understand. In SECEP, we use visuals to create venn diagrams. I think the mystery clue game is a fun and interesting way to capture the students' attention. In the textbook, it was used for a french lesson. I think it would be good to use in a history class.
Do you have any suggestions for good DR-TA's students could use?
Source:
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Ch. 2 and 3: Teaching in the Affective Domain and Preparation for Learning
As educators, we need to teach in the affective domain. We need to get our students involved and interested in the literature we are reading. We want to appeal to their feelings and obtain some type of emotional response. When I was in middle school, I had a teacher who motivated our class to read and got us thinking in an affective manner. During history, she had us read Anne Frank's diary. We really felt like we were there during that time period. I remember being angry, sad, and scared just like the character. I was really focused on the literature and the book reinforced what we were learning about the war and Holocaust. The teacher had created many activities to tie the book into what we were learning. She had us think critically and even re-enact parts of the diary to appeal to our creative sides.
Teaching in the affective domain made me think about a movie I recently watched. Has anybody seen The Freedom Writers? The teacher used books that were on her students' reading level and that were relatable to their lives. Then she could use the book to teach grammar, syntax, vocabulary, etc. She was even able to encourage her students to write about their own stories!
Affective teaching is all about the students learning. You want to choose good literature to motivate them. Good teachers determine their students' prior knowledge before assigning reading and either provide good background information to the students to help prepare them or build upon the knowledge they already have. KWL charts are excellent ways to do this. Students can brainstorm and create webs. You could even do it in a less formal way such as a class discussion or debate! I found this to be especially crucial in areas like history. I seem to always be lagging in that area when I was in school! Background information is crucial to helping create the setting and really getting an understanding of the issues facing characters at that time.
Technology can be a good way to prepare students and help appeal to their emotions. You could show an educational film directed at the topic you are about to embark on reading. You could also have students play an educational "game" online to get them in the right mindset. Schooltube and networks like PBS, WHRO, and Discovery are all excellent educational resources. PAR really provides an excellent framework for all we want to accomplish with our reading and lesson plans. Prepare, teach, and then assess the learning. Build your lesson plans around these key areas. When you are teaching, its good to keep the students on topic and engaged. Graphic organizers such as fill in the blank notes really help keep students engaged and "up to par!" What a pun!
Source
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co
Teaching in the affective domain made me think about a movie I recently watched. Has anybody seen The Freedom Writers? The teacher used books that were on her students' reading level and that were relatable to their lives. Then she could use the book to teach grammar, syntax, vocabulary, etc. She was even able to encourage her students to write about their own stories!
Affective teaching is all about the students learning. You want to choose good literature to motivate them. Good teachers determine their students' prior knowledge before assigning reading and either provide good background information to the students to help prepare them or build upon the knowledge they already have. KWL charts are excellent ways to do this. Students can brainstorm and create webs. You could even do it in a less formal way such as a class discussion or debate! I found this to be especially crucial in areas like history. I seem to always be lagging in that area when I was in school! Background information is crucial to helping create the setting and really getting an understanding of the issues facing characters at that time.
Technology can be a good way to prepare students and help appeal to their emotions. You could show an educational film directed at the topic you are about to embark on reading. You could also have students play an educational "game" online to get them in the right mindset. Schooltube and networks like PBS, WHRO, and Discovery are all excellent educational resources. PAR really provides an excellent framework for all we want to accomplish with our reading and lesson plans. Prepare, teach, and then assess the learning. Build your lesson plans around these key areas. When you are teaching, its good to keep the students on topic and engaged. Graphic organizers such as fill in the blank notes really help keep students engaged and "up to par!" What a pun!
Source
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co
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