Guide O Rama

Exploring the Oceans (pg C92)

Guide O Rama

Page # | Tip

C96      | read the introduction (Oceans and Seas) and look for key details about our world’s oceans.

_________________________________________________

C97      | What does the vocab word salinity make you think of? This section made me wonder about animals that live in the oceans. How does salinity affect their lives?

_________________________________________________

C98      | How far out do you think our continental shelf is? Use your chromebook to learn about the eastern continental shelf and Georgia’s Gray’s Reef.

________________________________________________

C99       | Look at the diagram across 98-99. This is helpful to visualize the concepts you read about in the text.

________________________________________________

C102     | Have you been to the ocean before? This section on waves helps us understand how ocean waves work. Can you think of a way we could model these waves in our classroom?

_______________________________________________

C102      | According to the text, how high can waves get in a major storm?

_______________________________________________

C104      | The section on currents makes me think of Finding Nemo. Think about the movie. What current do we learn about in that movie? What do you know about currents?

________________________________________________

C104       | Have you ever been caught in a rip current? Think about the strength of the wave and how it moved you. If you have not, think about what the book describes. Write a few sentences about your experience or what you think it would be like based on the book.

_______________________________________________

C106        | Look at the tide chart for the Bay of Fundy.

1. What day is the tide the highest?
2. What is the height on Jan 18th at time 1206?
3. What day and time is the tide 24.1?
4. What is the difference between the highest and the lowest tide?

Subjects Matter Chapter 7

I 100% agree with just about everything in Subjects Matter chapter 7. This chapter discusses the importance of building trust and community in a classroom, and even provides some strategies proven to help teachers do just that. One thing I have learned from working with students through 4-H and the 4-H camping program, is that kids have to trust you and want to be a part of your teaching if they are going to learn. In a classroom where it is so easy to answer incorrectly and be embarrassed about your abilities, we should be uplifting our students to a place where they are comfortable, secure, and willing to participate fully. On page 168, the author states, “A class where students work well together and respect one another needs to be an orderly group. And the results are not just a better climate, but greater learning. Students who know each other well and have been taught to listen to one another are are likely to take risks and stretch beyond their comfort level as they learn” (Subjects Matter, 168). I believe in structure and discipline, as, like this author, I believe most students strive where there is order and direction. In creating an open and inviting classroom environment, your environment must be clean and orderly. Much like you clean your house before guests come over so they feel comfortable, you keep your classroom neat and clean for your students to feel comfortable. When things are “loosey goosey”, learning may be impeded.

Another important point chapter 7 makes regards the role of students in the classroom. One of my personal teaching strategies involves students having “jobs” in the classroom, in particular the students who may be distracted or a distraction to the other learners. By giving students appropriate roles, we are giving them something to focus on, a responsibility, and allowing them to feel they serve a purpose in the learning, not just to answer correctly on a boring standardized test. These are just two small ways to help students feel at home in a classroom, but I fully believe they can make all of the difference.  

Chapter 6- Uncovering Ideas, not just Covering them

We often refer to our teaching as “covering the concepts”. Making sure everything is covered, including our asses. In subjects matter chapter 6, we discover there is more to “covering” a subject, and this includes “uncovering”. Now that sounds weird. Let me expand. In what we do in the classroom, we are looking to cover the information and make sure we have enough time to do so. What we really should be seeking however, is an uncovering of knowledge so that our students can be deeply understanding the material we are covering in class. In uncovering we should seek for our students to discover and be curious, to learn more than just the broadest understanding. So how do we get this depth over breadth concept? Here we can turn towards the advice given in subjects matter. In this the author suggests that assigning a few pages for a student to read is “neither teaching nor learning” (pg 146). Chapter 6 gives alternate suggestions to just “assigning a few pages” and presents arguments for a broader sense of “uncovering the knowledge”.

In chapter 6 we learn several ways to use textbooks more effectively. The very first point the author brings up is that we, as educators, should have empathy. Because we have read the book an extra 5 or 10 times, can mean things get lost in translation. We know what we’re talking about, but a child may not have a clue in reading their first time around. It helps that we recognize this and put in the effort to help the students get started in reading. Providing front-loading strategies to prepare them for their reading is becoming more and more popular, and it helps students feel ready to do the learning. Subjects matter also suggests we never leave kids alone with their textbooks; use the time with the book to promote collaborative efforts, having students work in pairs and groups. This can help supplement social interaction and stir their interests by allowing students to discuss what they think and don’t understand. From here we as educators can infer what qualms our students still have and can supplement the reading with more resources, as we do live in a world full of outside resources.
[373]

Synthesis Blog One

Synthesis Blog:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/instill-the-love-of-reading-levar-burton

The main concept I have felt throughout this reading is the concept of introducing our students to reading in a manner that helps them fall in love. I don’t remember when I learned to read, but I do know I was young enough that I was able to read chapter books when I started kindergarten. My parents, as educators, had known the value of reading, and they worked to instill this love of reading in me. I asked once how they taught me to read, and I discovered they didn’t know- I just did. I learned because they loved to read, and they read to me. In most home situations, the children may not have this reading-supported environment. For some students, the first time they see a book may be the first time they step into a classroom. In these situations, we, as the educators, must work to instill love of reading and provide opportunities for these students to fully develop as readers.

I found a blog that is focused on this aspect of learning; instilling the love of reading in our students at a young age. Their first suggestion is to meet the students in their comfort zone. In subjects matter chapter 3, we are encouraged to pick texts that reflect a student’s background and life history. Highlighting these experiences and placing value in their culture is crucially important. But after doing so, I think it’s just as important to use their connection and trust in you to stretch their reading horizon. The fourth element of the discussion involves showing students how much you, as the teacher, love to read. As the adult in the setting, we have the ability to shape our student’s opinions of reading, especially through think alouds, which is a practical skill we have been consistently working on in this course. [312]

Think Aloud Reflection

Preparation:

For my think aloud, I selected a text related to the 5th grade standards, about a man named Henry. Henry’s family was taken away from him in the slave trade, and he was determined to make his way back to freedom. In many ways, everyone faces some type of struggle like the one Henry faced. I have not faced something so horrible, but I have experienced things that made me search for freedom. In my lesson, I sought to make connections to the text, and allow the students to relate to the text as well, while extending their view of the world. In Subjects Matter chapter 4, the author discusses our role as educators in introducing our students to new cultures and cultural experiences. We place value in their culture as well, but by emphasizing historical experiences of a certain culture, we as educators are fulfilling our role of helping to expand our students’ horizons. In selecting this text, I feel like I was able to model a selection that would serve a purpose without expliciting telling the students what I was doing. I think in preparation, I chose a strong text to achieve my goals and for the grade level.

Presentation:

I was not particularly nervous about doing the think-aloud in class. I enjoy talking in front of people, and so nerves were not something that impacted my reflection upon my think aloud. However, what I did find restricting in the presentation was the document camera. I prefer to face my students, walk around the room, interact, and get on the level (kneel down) when discussing a text with students. Notice how I said “with”. My personal hope is that I never talk at a group of kids, but become a person they feel comfortable sharing thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. By staying “with” them I can better understand how they learn and what they do and do not respond to. In this way, I hope to create an open and welcome thought space in my classroom environment.

I also really appreciated the plethora of comments and the discussion following my think-aloud. Sarah commented that she appreciated that I left enough space in between lines to make her own notes and annotations. I had purposefully done so not only so there was plenty of space to write, but for many students who struggle with reading, spacing the words out enough to make it a little easier to read. I found her validation of why I did so confirming.

Overall, I think my think aloud went well and am glad I got the opportunity to do so.
[437]