Rationale: This article discusses genetics and what is needed for a living thing. It also puts the current knowledge of scientists into perspective by discussing how little scientists know about genes. It is a springboard for discussions about genetics, less complex life forms, and scientific discoveries.
Text Frames: Compare/Contrast; Concept/Definition
Strategy Used: Double-Entry Diaries (Buehl, 2014)
Below is the activity that I gave my partner (Abi) to complete. To see the activity that she gave me, go to her blog.
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Directions: Fill out the chart below. On the left side, write
information or text passages that stand out to you. On the right side write
what this information made you think of and label your thoughts with the
following code:
R: The reader was reminded of
background knowledge that connects to the text.
Q: A question the reader was wondering
about at a given point in the text.
V: A spot where the reader could
especially visualize what was being described.
I: An inference as the reader adds to
meaning based on hints provided by the author.
?: A point of confusion.
See the example below about a
hurricane reading (from Buehl, 2014) to base your answers off of.
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What I Learned
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What I Was Thinking
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A hurricane is a low-pressure area with strong winds and
heavy rain
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R: I remember watching scenes on the news when Hurricane
Sandy did all that damage in New York and New Jersey.
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The greatest damage is from currents called storm surges,
which push walls of water inland.
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V: I can really see this happening, the waves smashing on
the shore, knocking over trees and buildings.
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The center is called the eye of the storm, where there is
no rain and almost no wind.
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Q: I wonder why it’s called the eye?
I: The eye seems like a safe area.
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I used this activity because it would help my students activate their own prior knowledge as well as think beyond the text. This text would pose some challenges for my students mainly because of its content. The article is written fairly simply, but the content is something that most students would not have a lot of prior knowledge about. They would have learned about genes before reading this, but they probably would not have done a lot of thinking about how many genes are required for life and have little knowledge about how much scientists actually know about specific genes. This activity would allow them to explore this new information. This reading strategy teaches students to be active readers and keep records of their thoughts for use in discussions or studying (Buehl, 2014).
When Abi completed this activity, she said that it made her feel very engaged. She said it helped her think about information that was in the article as well as how it could be expanded, and she liked the fact that something a student wonders about is coded differently than something a student finds confusing. She said that she would encourage students to physically highlight and comment on the article for this activity to more easily connect with the text.
After viewing Abi's answers and her thoughts on this strategy, there are a few things that I would change if I were to give this strategy to a class. First, I would do what Abi suggested and have students write their thoughts directly on a copy of the text. I think that I could even potentially eliminate making a chart or rework the current chart. I would want students to be able to use their notes during a class discussion, and I think that it would be easier to connect with another person's thoughts if you could easily locate the passage that they are talking about as well as see if you commented on a nearby passage. This would be easier if your notes or even just the passages you made notes about are marked on your article. Another thing that I would change is that I would pair students up right after this activity to discuss their thoughts. I think that it would be valuable for the students to be exposed to ideas that they may not have thought of and compare their thoughts on similar passages. I would also want to make sure that I see all of my students thoughts, particularly points of confusion, so that I know what I may need to address in future lessons. Overall, I think this strategy was extremely beneficial, and I would definitely use it in my own class.
Jennie, I really like how you and Abi worked together with this activity. I really like the idea of Double-Entry Diaries as it reminds me of the strategy that I looked at of making connections through connection stems by getting students to think about the material in a different way. One thought in using this is that you could have students underline or put in brackets things that the find interesting or are confused about through reading it the first time, and then read it again and develop a question about the material before moving to discuss with a partner about the article as a way to get students to re-read the material again for more comprehension.
ReplyDeleteI like that version Reid! The idea is definitely to work to make the strategy your own. Maybe even the class could decide which ways they think might work best after discussing the purpose of the strategy, therefore teaching them to be metacognitive as well as more likely to use it in other settings.
ReplyDelete