The websites that were most useful were Read, Write and Think, Lesson Plans Page, Learn NC,  Teachers Network, etc.

My favorite article is the last one read for Unit 4, … Developing Approaches to Vocabulary Instruction with Secondary Mathematics, Art, … Teachers.”  I have become a fanatic about literacy and reading and vocabulary learning since I have been taking this class.  This article really opened my eyes as to how I can help my math and science students increase their vocabulary and learn more about what I am trying to teach.

I want to continue to find websites which provide applicable, valid resources for student learning in math and science and how to incorporate reading in these areas.

I plan to create a blog for my classroom and link it to my teacher website from school.  I think this is a great way to communicate with parents and students.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this class.  It required a lot of research and a lot of writing and work!  However, it will only make me a more knowledgeable and responsive teacher as I strive to meet the needs of my students.

Grades 7-8

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/printables/PMathCIBudgetingWithPercents78.htm

Students will use percents, calculate percents, and visually represent percentage values.  Students will use a real-world application to further their understanding for the purpose and reason of using and learning percentages.  Students will learn how to create a budget, and learn how to use software applications to create pie graphs to represent these percentages.  Students will choose a job and an apartment out of the newspaper, the classified, internet or any source where an opening for a job can be posted.  If the student did not find a job or an apartment, then fixed figures will be given to them (hourly wage of $5.45, rent $800.00, etc).

This is an excellent activity for this age group of kids.  They need to know there is more to “working” than just making money.  If they have financial obligations, they need to know their boundaries of where they can live, the amenities they can afford, and what they can afford to do for entertainment, etc.

Percent and Fractions, Grade level 5th-7th grades

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/printables/PMathPercentFractions.html

I like this lesson plan because the class learns as they work the lesson.  It is basically 100% student oriented.  The students will work in pairs and will have their own bag of m&m’s, a calculator, markers and crayons.  They will count and sort the m&m’s by color and apply the skills learned in the lesson.

I know that middle schoolers like to move around and enjoy hands-on activities.  I feel like they will enjoy this lesson activity and learn a lot about percents and fractions at the same time.

Knowing that vocabulary increases under highly controlled conditions tells me that vocabulary learning is an ongoing process.  It never ends.  So I need to be diligent, but practical in my objectives and expectations.  Studies reveal that students in middle and high school grades tend to not read as much as they did in elementary school.  I would like to employ some type of reading program that uses the interdisciplinary measures in this article.  By not only learning the history of the word, the definition, the meanings of prefixes and suffixes, the student can not only learn the meaning of one new word, but many words related to that particular word.  With the use of literature circles, multigenre reading and writing, comparing and contrasting, categorizing, discovering share word roots, students have many creative ways in which to learn these new words.

This article was an eye-opener and gave me new insight as to how to prepare my lesson plans to support my students in increasing their vocabulary skills.

The websites related to this article were very impressive.  Mr. Pasley’s was very organized and to the point.  It wasn’t distractive, but gave a clear and concise outline to what is expected and required in his classroom.  Ms. Link’s website was very colorful and unique and creative.  It was very organized and was also to the point and had clear and concise objectives.

Question 1:  What are two types of effective vocabulary instruction?  What type of learner do these approaches support?

Question 2:  What are the two methods that illustrate how texts can be used to complement and reinforce vocabulary and content?

Question 3:  How does comparing and contrasting, categorizing and discovering shared word roots support student learning?  Give examples of each.

Traditional term papers are “unoriginal,” are dreaded by students and teachers alike, and are pale in comparison to what they should be.  Multigenre papers are more relevant to students’ lives and interests’, incorporate tools, such as the Internet and interviews, and the presentation is more accessible and interesting to audiences other than academia.  Even though there are many other types of research papers, (1) the mystery paper, (2) I-Search paper, (3) Survey Based paper, (4) Traditional research paper, the multigenre would be my first choice.

In writing a multigenre paper, many subjects can be selected for the topic.  You can display your findings in many unique ways, such as, a birth certificate, announcement, invitation, a letter, a poster, etc.  Endnotes are a must -requirement for this type of paper.  It satisfies the student’s and the teacher’s needs.

The students who wrote the multigenre papers enjoyed writing the paper, as well.  It was exciting and they were allowed to use their own creativity.  They learned their software and  hardware (computer) far better than before.

The biggest hindrance of writing a multigenre paper is the lack of understanding of what it is, and what it looks like.  However, writing a multigenre paper is a refreshing alternative, using practical skills and creative thinking, of which the students enjoyed the process and took ownership.

Question 1:  What changes have been made concerning research-based papers (list 3)?

Question 2:  What other types of research papers exist?

Question 3:  What are the major positives and negatives of writing a multigenre paper?

Before reading activities allow the students to learn about certain things in the story.  During reading activities allow students to apply their previous knowledge and the text has a whole different meaning because their prior knowledge only enhances the story.

“I Poems” are a creative way to get the student involved in the story.  It also gives the students something to compare it to.  For those students who struggle with ideas for the “I Poem,” you can use the “I Am” poems.  This provides a prompt or a structure that supports their thinking and imagining.  In addition, it is okay for a student to even “imitate” poems written by others.  Students write what they have already learned and then can put it in their own words.

“I Poems” help students to recognize who the characters are, why they feel/act like they do, and how they see things, to begin noticing what places are like and what makes one place different from another.

Question 1:  What are the attributes of an “I Poem?”

Question 2:  What do the six theorists say about how writing enhances understanding?

Question 3:  How does the “I Am” poem differ from the “I” poem.

Name of Strategy:  Dense Questioning – After reading

Source (Where did this come from?):  Reading Strategies

Link to the Strategy:  www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Reading/Reading%20Strategies/dense%20teaching.htm

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented.  This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

This strategy teaches students to ask different types of questions.  Students develop a series of questions that get increasingly more sophisticated.  It begins with the reader posing a question about the text.  When students pose questions about a text it is bound to make their interaction with and understanding of the text deeper and richer.  The student can pose questions to the class, allows student to interact with each of the chapters in a text (word problems) as a way to gain multiple perspectives, and different groups can generate different types of questions, and then students can be reconfigured to share their questions.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

4.01  Collect, organize, analyze, and display data to solve problems.

Explain why you think this strategy will work.  How does the strategy help your students learn?

This is a great way to utilize a Venn diagram.  A good example of this is my MAT3910 class.  The problem was that several students were participating in different sports or clubs and it posed the question as to how many total students were in the class.  You can attempt to work this type of problem without a Venn diagram, but you will get the wrong answer.  The Venn diagram paints a visual picture of what the word problem is saying.  It displays the data in the word problem in a very simple way so the student can ”see”  and understand what the word problem is asking and allows the student to find the answer.  Excellent way to utilize dense questioning!

Name of Strategy:  What I Know; What I Want to Learn; What I have Learned (KWL)

Source (Where did this come from?):  North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

Link to the Strategy:  www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr2kwl.htm

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented.  This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

Teachers activiate students’ prior knowledge by asking them what they already know; then students (collaborating as a classroom unit or within small groups) set goals specifying what they Want to learn; and after reading students discuss what they have Learned.  After the students read the text and “learn” the material, they go back to the “K” column and see if any of their prior knowledge was inaccurate.  They check any of them that are inaccurate, according to the text.  Then, they rewrite any of their statements that were inaccurate so they are correct.  Then, they go to the “W” column and check any of their questions that the text did not answer.  They need to be prepared to bring the unanswered questions up in class or tell how they will find answers to them and where they will look to get the answers.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity. 

This is a strategy that can be used in all parts of the Standard Course of Study, Grades 6-8.

Explain why you think this strategy will work.  How does the strategy help your students learn?

Students apply higher-order thinking strategies which help them construct meaning from what they read and help them monitor their progress toward their goals.  A worksheet is given to every student that includes columns for each of these activities.  They also recollect prior knowledge and learn how to apply it to the next step.

Name of Strategy:  Using Reading & Writing Strategies in Math-(During)

Source (Where did this come from?):  National Reading Recovery Conference, February 7, 2005; presented by Anita Barnes

Link to the Strategy:  www.readingrecovery.org/pdf/conferences/NC05/Handouts/Barnes_Using_Reading_And_Writing.pdf

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented.  This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

Use the language and vocabulary of a Reading Teacher: Identify the characters and setting=Main idea of math problem is the skill to solve it.  Identify the main idea, implied main idea, supporting details=students need to use the information in the details (facts) to make an inference.  Make an inference/draw a conclusion=math problems often need more than what is explicitly written.  Students learn to make preditions from the title and the pictures.  They read, assess and attack problem-solving by understanding, planning, solving, checking the solution and reflecting.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

This activity can be applied to any word problem addressing any area of the Standard Course of Study, Grades 6-8.

Explain why you think this strategy will work.  How does the strategy help your students learn?

Word problems are very difficult to decipher at times.  (1) Students can adjust their reading rate for their purpose-reading is NOT a race to the End!  (2) Re-reading is a good strategy of a good reader.  Re-reading is a good thing (even though some students think it means they are stupid, while other students think they are cheating).  (3)  Thinking aloud and/or self-talking encourage students to use this strategy, is great strategy for long division, and is great for modeling test-taking strategies.

Name of Strategy:  Reciprocal Teaching – Before

Source (Where did this come from?):  Reading Strategies

Link to the Strategy:  www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Reading/Reading%20Stragegies/reciprocal%20teaching.htm

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented.  This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

Reciprocal teaching has 2 major factors: (1) instruction or practice of the four comprehension strategies-predicting, questioning, generating, clarifying, and summarizing, (2) a special kind of cognitive apprenticeship where students gradually learn to assume the role of “teacher” in helping their peers construct meaning from text.

The teacher will teach and model the 4 basic strategies listed above.  Students need to understand that skilled readers employ these strategies every time they read something.  (2)  Once students understand and are able to apply all 4 strategies, the students work independently at first by noting examples of all 4 strategies on a short text.  Students can make notes in margins, teacher can create a graphic organizer or note sheet where students can record their questions and commentary.  (3)  The next day, small groups from to share notes and construction their own meaning.  One student is selected as the “teacher” of the group ( this role needs to be rotated). (4) During discussion, students need to cite reference points and add commentary.  (5)  Teacher spends time circulating room to visit each groups discussion.  (6)  Teacher structures some sort of closure activity, such whole class discussion, built around questions that groups still have or interesting commentary that each group discovered as a result of their discussion.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

This strategy could be use throughout the entire Standard Course of Study in solving word problems.  It also could be used in 6th Grade, Goal 5.01. Simplify algebraic expressions and verify the results using the basic properties of rational numbers:  a. Identity b. Commutative c. Associative d. Distributive e. Order of operations

Explain why you think this strategy will work.  How does the strategy help your students learn?

I think that this would be a great strategy to use while solving word problems in any area of the standard course of study, grades 6-8.  As a student in middle and high school, I struggled with word problems.  They were confusing and I always tried to read something into it that wasn’t there. I automatically labeled it as a “trick” question and tried to figure out the information that was not there in trying to obtain the answer.  But, most word problems in school are not trick questions.  Word problems contain information that must be clarified and summarized.  The reader needs to know how to distinguish between exactly what information is relevant to getting the answer and what information is irrelevant.  Another area I think this strategy would work is understanding and applying the basic properties of rational numbers.  I feel that students helping other students is a great way to help them learn.  By using this strategy, the students are to assess their own understanding of how to apply these strategies and the students share their ideas.  Since there are many different views/thoughts on how to use a process in this manner, another student may find out a better way or may understand it better in another manner.