Reflection 9 Tierney and Readance

I found Tierney and Readance’s chapter to be extremely helpful.  I found the seven vocabulary strategies they outlined to be very promising. They mention how to utilize each strategy and when it should be implemented which is greatly appreciated and makes it easier to use. However, I especially liked that they had comments and cautions about each strategy. That way a teacher would know what they need to lookout for during the activity and how they should structure the strategies to ensure student learning and efficiency.

I really liked the Contextual redefinition vocabulary strategy. Teachers read the text and select unfamiliar words, the teacher writes a sentence “so that the students have appropriate clues to each word’s meaning (pg 312.) This way students can try and determine the vocabulary definition by themselves which would promote a deeper connection to the definition than if a teacher just gave them the information.  Students need to provide definitions to the words and then try to come to a consensus with their peers on what they believe the definition is. The teacher then provides the word in the appropriate context so that students can see how the word is used. This allows students to mentally change their definition of the vocabulary word. The last stage of the contextual redefinition vocabulary strategy is for a student, or students, to verify their hypothesized definitions.

Overall, I thought this chapter had a lot of good strategies for teachers to use. I could use any of these in my science classes. Vocabulary is something that is important to all subjects in education and students need the skills to determine what words mean. In my experience by the time students reach 9^th grade often students still lack the skills to deduce the definitions of words. We have a word wall that is split into academic vocabulary words and subject vocabulary words. Often we give them the definitions or ask questions to try and get them to figure out the definitions. I think I may try some of the strategies listed in this chapter to use on the word wall for words students do not know.

Web Resource Review #2

 

Ecology.com is a wonderful website that has a lot of information and is easy for students to use. I would recommend using this site with students in middle schools and high schools. It has sections that would be more acceptable for elementary school students; however I have not observed much success with that age range and having the necessary computer skills to perform some of the actions. Those skills can be taught but would take time away from teaching. This website has numerous sections devoted to a wide variety of topics seen in ecology such as earth, air, and water ecology as well as sections devoted to green energy, human impact, and species. Each section has wonderful articles to provide students with general content knowledge but also allow them to see how scientists are researching these topics in real world scenarios. This website also has wonderful videos in a section called Ecology TV. I would use this website as an additional source of information for my students. Many have expressed interests in many of these topics, and while I would love to cover them we just do not have the time right now, and this would be a wonderful site for them to conduct research on their own time. Perhaps this could be used for the class required enrichment assignments.

One negative I saw on the website is that it includes a forum page. Typically I do not mind websites with forum pages, but for an educational website it may lead to some misunderstandings if students read those posts as opposed to reading the content on the pages and in the articles. This website is also free! However, it also has a site store in which they sell various products that promote living an ecologically friendly lifestyle as well as some random gadgets. Overall, this is a wonderful website that can really expose students to wonderful articles about real life science research in ecology.

 

Ecology.com

Reflection 8

I found Mark Bauerlein and Neil Howe’s discussion on the millennial to be extremely interesting yet also disconcerning. I found this discussion interesting because it offers some insight into how the current teenagers think. But should we as a society compare the teenagers of today to the teenagers of previous generations? I say no. How could we effectively compare various generations of teens when their lives and experiences are so vastly different. Comparing various generations educational prowess is utterly ridiculous. Mark Bauerlain states that the students today, with so many advantages (such as the internet), result in lower academic achievement than those students from earlier generations (Bauerlein & Howe, 2008.) So many changes have occurred in the content covered in schools and the educational theories regarding education that it would be impractical to even attempt such ridiculous comparisons. The negatives Bauerlein uses as his argument can be from a number of different reasons. Education has changed a lot since many generations were in a classroom. Now many teachers have staggering amounts of standards they need to address in such a small time frame that they can do little more than focus solely on those standards and essentially teach to the test. If it is not on the state mandated exam often it is not taught. I, for instance, have 47 different standards I have to teach in biology, and with the state EOC being so important to each student’s grade I focus a lot of my effort on getting through those standards so they can be prepared. I want to teach my students content that they may not normally see in state standards but I have so much I need to cover that I have to wait to teach that content until after the EOC. Neil Howe on the other side of the issue argues that the Millennials will be the next great generation. I believe that this generation has the ability to become great. Just like every generation before there is the potential to be greater than the last generation, but it’s what students do with that potential is up to them.

Bauerlein, M. & Howe, N. (2008). The Millennials: The Dumbest Generation or the Next Great Generation? Retrieved October 24, 2012

 

 

Sinatra Reflection

I enjoyed Sinatra’s article and I thought it had some interesting ideas. I liked that Sinatra outlined how a teacher can provide scaffolding through modeling and teach students how to use map plans (Sinatra, pg 273) which can improve their thought processes from their readings. Concept mapping is a very important instructional strategy used in teaching as it “allows thinkers, readers, and writers to translate ideas and concepts into a visual, graphic display that they can use for reading or writing assignments (Sinatra, 2000, pg 266.)” Concept maps are very important in science as many of the key ideas or concepts are abstract or are way too large for students to observe in their everyday lives. I liked how Sinatra’s article included various graphic organizers for concept mapping. I also liked how Sinatra emphasized the use of modeling. Modeling is extremely important in science as concepts can be abstract and modeling will help students understand and learn the material. The rest of the method outlined by Sinatra is aligned more with the “I do, we do, you do” lesson plan that has been shown to us before. I am not looking down on the “I do, we do, you do” lesson. Rather it is the opposite; I enjoy and often implement that lesson guide in my class. However, Sinatra’s instructional strategy did not prove enlightening although it did provide me with a few new ideas on how I can increase student comprehension through reading activities.

Sinatra, R. C. (2000). Teaching learners to think, read, and write more effectively in content         subjects. Clearing House, 73(5), 266-273.

 

Cellular Text Set Collection

Biology4kids.com

            This is a great site for middle schools and even high school students who are lower skilled readers. The site has great information on all the organelles we will go over in class. This site even has quizzes for students to assess their retention from their readings.

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/cell_main.html

The Cell

            This site is more advanced than the other websites. Thus, I would not recommend using this site with students younger than those in high school. However, this site does have great definitions and explanations for some of the processes that take place in the cell. It also has wonderful illustrations and pictures of various cell types.

http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~acarpi/NSC/13-cells.htm

Learn. Genetics

            This is a wonderful site that can accommodate lower skilled readers up to higher skilled readers. However, this site would probably be too advanced for most middle school students. It has short passages, but the content is excellent. This site also has wonderful animations that accompany the text. The site also has audio versions of most of the texts that I found for ESL students.

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/

The Biology Project

This is an easier to read website/ program. Each topic covered in the site takes students to problems that students need to answer and when they do they read more about the topic. I found this site to be good for students to review. The activity and level of the content is aligned with high school students, but honors classes in middle schools could benefit from the use of this site. However, this site would benefit moderate to advanced readers more than lower skilled reading students. This site also has an easy link that takes students to a version that is in Spanish for Spanish speaking ESL students.

http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/cell_bio.html

Johnkyrk.com

This online programwas created by biologist and educator John Kyrk and is wonderful for all reading levels. Advanced readers may find it too easy, but the program serves as a great tool. Students highlight over parts of the cell and the program tells the student what it is and what the organelle is responsible for in the cell. This program supports ESL students through seven different language translations.

http://www.johnkyrk.com/

Cells Cells- Parts of the Cell Rap

            This is a fun video created by 6^th grade teachers for their students. The song is catchy and informational. They also included the lyrics so students can read along with the rap and its visuals. It is good for lower skilled readers in middle school. High school students may enjoy it, but may also find it juvenile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zafJKbMPA8

 

Enjoy Your Cells

            This picture book is great for beginning readers. Most high school and middle school students will be beyond its limited concepts. However, younger readers, lower skilled readers, and ESL students may find this book useful.

Balkwill, F. R., & Rolph, M. (2001). Enjoy your cells. (Vol. 1). Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Cells

            This book is wonderful for young readers in elementary school to early middle school. The book is also useful for ESL students and those with low reading skills. The book also has wonderful pictures and diagrams as it outlines the history of the discovery of cells. In this book, students will also find the vocabulary section of the book to be useful as it has definitions for them to easily see.

Silverstein, A., Silverstein, V. B., Nunn, L. S., (2009). Cells (Science Concepts, Second Series). Twenty First Century Books.

Cell Wars

            This book is wonderful for low skilled readers and ESL Students in higher grades, but it is also good for early readers. This book describes the processes that cells take to fight off diseases. This is also a good book for students who just want a basic knowledge of the immune system’s processes.

Balkwill, F. R., & Rolph, M. (1994). Cell Wars. First Avenue Editions.

Mighty Animal Cells

            This is a wonderful picture book for younger readers. It details how new cells are created, what cells do and what their organelles do. I would not use this book for middle school or high school students unless they were low skilled readers or ESL students.

Johnson, R. L., & Desrocher, J., (2007). Mighty Animal Cells (Microquests). Lerner Classroom.

Cell Craft

            Cell Craft is a game where students build a cell and learn about the organelles and processes required to make it work. The game even includes high level content such as nucleic acids and chemical bonding. This would be a good game for middle school students and high school students but the content, computer skills, and reading level required to move forward in the game are not appropriate for elementary school students.

http://www.biomanbio.com/GamesandLabs/Cellgames/cellcraft.html

Cell Defense: The Plasma Membrane

            This online game allows students to create plasma membranes to defense their cell against the onslaught of the outside world. Students will learn how the membrane works and its parts as well as some of the transport processes of the cell. This game is too advanced for elementary schools, but it would be appropriate for middle school and high school students. If students get something wrong they can correct it but the game points out why they should have done something in cellular terms and why that way is correct.

http://www.biomanbio.com/GamesandLabs/Cellgames/celldefense.html

Cell Explorer: The Animal Cell

            This game is fun and teaches the student about cell organelle structures and their functions while they battle to stop cell destroyers. Once again this game is good for middle school and high school students, but may be too advanced for elementary school students. This game would be helpful to all reading skills as it provides assistance to low readers while high skilled readers can easily just relax and have fun while learning.

http://www.biomanbio.com/GamesandLabs/Cellgames/CellExplorerAnimalCell.html

Basic Cell Biology Game

This is a good review/ trivia game. Students can practice and assess their knowledge of the cell. I believe that this would be good for middle school students. But it lacks the depth of content to make it useful in high school classrooms for use other than quick reviews. This is good for low readers and moderate skilled readers.

http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz93971ac45f0.html

Cellular who wants to be a Millionaire

This is a fun game that could be used as a competition style activity in a classroom. Students can compete to see who can become the millionaire first. Some of the concepts are more complex than those found in standard elementary or middle school curriculums and text books. I would suggest that this game be used in high schools and it can be used with low skilled readers and high skilled readers.

http://www.quia.com/rr/86966.html

 

 

Daniels and Zemelman Chapter 11

Being a reading teacher can be difficult, especially when teachers contemplate how to help struggling student readers. Even in high school, students are seriously lacking reading skills. Students who should not be placed in CP level classes are because there are not enough teachers who can handle or teach basic/regular level classes. We as teachers must find a way to help our students strengthen their reading skills especially finding a way to help students who are struggling. Daniel and Zemelman’s book outlines a number of ways to provide assistance to struggling readers. Building a relationship wit h students is important. If students do not trust the teacher then students may not take the necessary risks associated with learning. Building a supportive relationship can be hard for teachers. I only see my students every other day and I often find myself mixing up who likes what or who like sto sit wherever.

Another great way to support struggling readers is to model the actions for them. This can work well in lower grades, but as the student gets older it may be more difficult. Freshman in high school are at an age where they view themselves as adults but lack the ability to conduct themselves in such a way. I do not think that reading to my class would be as well thought of by my students as it would be if I were a middle school or elementary school teacher. However, I do believe that reading to high school students can be very beneficial to students in lower level classes.  I also like the idea of providing books or articles on tape. If I know some of my students are struggling readers I can record myself reading articles I provide my students. I have found that most “newer” textbooks offer online guidance that can involve audio as well as text support for the textbook. This would be great for students who need help while at home and then I can help them once they come back to school. No matter how teachers choose to provide assistance to struggling readers the most important thing is that we need the ability to recognize that students are struggling so we can help them.