I recently had the opportunity to observe Ms. Rachel Eggleston, a 10^th grade Chemistry teacher at Paul Cuffee High School .  Most science educators I’ve spoken with seem a little apprehensive about teaching Chemistry because it involves bringing together two of the areas that many students struggle with. Namely, Science and Math. Going in, I was curious to see how Ms. Eggleston was managing the task in an inner city school where the demographics showed that most of her students had learned English as a second language and a number of students required additional supports.

            The very first thing that stood out to me was the number of students in her classroom. Every seat was filled, which in my mind meant: “She’s got her hands full.” It quickly became apparent that she was extremely organized not only in the physical aspects of her classroom but also in her methodology. The typical periodic charts that one would expect to find in a chemistry class adorned the walls, but she also included extremely effective prompts for organizing concepts and solving chemical equations that I hadn’t seen in my many years of chemistry classes. Clear and concise directions and expectations, which she kept posted at the front of the room, made it so the students were quietly completing a “Warm up” while she welcomed each student into her classroom.

According to the agenda, students would be watching a movie about Percy Julian. Once again I was confused. When was there a movie made that would lend itself to teaching chemistry? She certainly had my attention. Students brought out a multi-page graphic organizer that they were using in conjunction with the movie to focus in on the important ideas as well as to reflect on each section of the movie that they were watching. The movie itself was the biography of an African American chemist who, against all odds, made astounding contributions to the pharmaceutical field via his research and his involvement in the NAACP. The students watched attentively and every few minutes she would pause the movie and with great enthusiasm, she would reiterate the concepts that she had outlined in her graphic organizers.

To say that I was impressed would have been an understatement. In this room I was witnessing something that had not been in the forefront of my mind until SED 407. Her lesson was literacy based. Every page required students to reflect on what was happening in this man’s life and how his contributions shaped the world of chemistry, as we know it today. She had spaced the movie out over three days to ensure that she would have time to discuss key points towards the end of each class and to address an essay that the students would be writing at the end of the unit about Percy’s accomplishments.

I took away several things from these observations. Most importantly I learned that being well prepared, organized, and engaging can make the most intimidating subject areas much easier to teach. This teacher had set each student up to succeed simply by preparing them with a graphic organizer that would encourage them to stay focused and think back to the information that was being presented. Classroom management wasn’t even an issue because her expectations and routines had been set in place way in advance, at the beginning of the school year.  These students were learning about the scientific method, chemical compounds, and civil rights movements all at once, in a classroom where I had expected to find difficult chemical equations and frustrated students who would be overwhelmed and disengaged. Bringing in Literacy as a component not only ensured that these students would spend extra time digesting the lesson, it also made it easier for them to relate the lesson to their own experiences and appreciate the importance of these otherwise seemingly “Useless” equations.

Going forward, it will be important for me to think outside of the box and always look for ways to create lesson plans that contain literacy at their center, regardless of how impossible it may seem to connect the two.

RAFT

March 27, 2014

Mrs. Napolitano

Science Department Head

Sunny High School

1414 Elmwood Ave.

Providence, RI 02908

Re: Textbook Adoption for Intro to Biology, Fall of 2014

In anticipation of a new, wonderful school year at Sunny High, I’ve begun my search for a Biology textbook to complement my lesson plans. I’ve recently had the opportunity to review Prentice Hall’s 2002 textbook titled “Biology”. It was written by Miller and Levine. This book, although perhaps the first of many editions, is an invaluable asset for an introductory high school level Biology course. The authors have earned their PHDs from Brown and Harvard and have each published several books and numerous research articles in prestigious scientific journals. Among the list of consultants that they employed in putting together this text book, they’ve also included a lengthy list of High School Reviewers and Contributing Writers from across the country which allows for direct input from those who would stand to benefit the most from an all encompassing, well organized, student friendly, textbook.

Among the many resources that accompany this textbook are included lab manuals, a guided reading and study workbook, and chapter tests which come not only in two levels for differentiated learning styles, but also in a Spanish version for ELL students.  Teachers are also given the option of acquiring a package that includes teaching transparencies, CD-ROMs and videotapes to further explore particular topics.  The table of contents groups chapters into units and each chapter is broken down into sections which include additional features such as excerpts discussing current issues in Biology, Technology and Society, Careers in Biology and Biology and History. Offering those additional topics as a conversation piece throughout the book will help students understand why they’re studying Biology, what they can do with that knowledge and how much further we’ve yet to go to uncover the many mysteries of Science.

Upon closer inspection, I began flipping through Chapter 37 which covers Circulatory and Respiratory Systems. Different fonts and colors are used for different types of headings. The section heading, for example, “The Circulatory System”, is in a large burgundy type and the subheadings for that topic are half the size and in a bold, blue color. This makes it easier for students to preview the chapter before actually reading it from beginning to end. Important concepts within the paragraphs are highlighted in green and important vocabulary words are in black bold-faced type.  The margins are equipped with a reading guide, which states the key concepts and vocabulary words that the students will encounter in each section. Reading strategies are also included within the guide to help readers prepare for what they are about to learn.  This includes potential questions that students may already be struggling with. Before any reading is to be done however, an inquiry activity is included at the very beginning to get the students thinking. In this instance, students are guided through measuring their own heart rates and then asked to formulate a hypothesis proposing an explanation for any differences observed between a sitting heart rate and a standing one.  This engages students immediately and prepares them for the lesson at hand.

Every page contains illustrations in the forms of pictures, charts and/or diagrams with clear explanations and labels. The pictures included in the sections describing careers in Biology, do a very good job of including minorities and females who in the past, in my opinion, have been underrepresented in the scientific fields. Since Sunny High is an urban school comprised primarily of underprivileged minorities, this is a very important feature because it will provide our students with strong role models and perhaps even inspire our students to pursue a scientific career.

Aside from being user friendly, the book also has checkpoints which ask one important question that requires the readers to draw upon what they just read and formulate an answer. This is important because the students must actively think about what they are reading and that will help them make the transition between short-term and long-term memory. The students will be reading for mastery. Another form of check-point included in each chapter is the Section Assessment. It is usually no more than five questions and although some simply require the use of rote memory, some push the reader to engage in more critical thinking. Critical thinking is further encouraged during the activities included in each chapter which sometimes require the student to design an experiment or model. This would lend itself perfectly to group learning and indirect teaching, which in turn  will allow me to focus on the accommodations that I intend to use with the students who are struggling in my class.

The chapters finish off with a study guide, which helps prepare the student for the assessment included, but as if that weren’t enough, each chapter includes a page of questions designed to prepare students for Standardized Testing.  Incorporating this right into each lesson will allow me to cover much more content throughout the year instead of sacrificing learning time to test preparations which I am aware are a very high priority to our school and district.

Every chapter included in this book builds on the previous one and since this book is designed for an introductory level experience, only the very important key points are introduced and just the right amount of detail is provided. I do not foresee having to skip over any of the content but in the event that our New England weather interferes with the amount of in-class time at my disposal, I will probably cover the different types of organisms with less depth than I would cover concepts such as photosynthesis and genetics. I believe teaching them the important basic concepts will better prepare them for future classes, including their college careers.

This book is very complete and lacks nothing that I have found in any other textbook. Since it is an older edition, I believe it will keep our school well within its budget while providing students with a high quality resource.

Sincerely,

Brigette Banta-Cain

RI CONFERENCE

March 7, 2014

Ms. Christina Louth

North Providence High School

1828 Mineral Spring Ave

North Providence, RI 02904

Re: Cutting up Curriculum: Using Magazine Advertisements to Teach Content Area Subjects

Dear Ms. Louth,

      I recently attended your workshop hosted by the Rhode Island Writing Project at Rhode Island College. Your refreshing approach to keeping lessons relevant was not only engaging, but extremely simple and cost effective.  You prefaced the activity by showing us a Ted’s Talk video where the take home message was that it was time for students to stop learning and start thinking.  This could not have been more true. Often times we become so focused on covering content and performing on high stakes tests that we forget to give students adequate time to digest what they’ve already been taught. 

            One of the things that really stood out for me was how easily I could incorporate the idea of cutting up magazine ads into my content area. Even more so how quickly the activity transformed into a interdisciplinary project because as I analyzed the advertisements, I paid closer attention to what the companies were trying to sell us and why. It quickly stirred up my emotions to see that Toyota was claiming that the Prius would keep our environment safe and “green”. At least that was my interpretation of the picture, but the fact that it was “My” interpretation, and no one else’s, made it resonate even more with me. Now I’m wondering if consumers really believe that the only cause of the climate changes we’re experiencing are due to vehicle emissions and that shelling out an extra $20k for a hybrid car will really fix the problem.  It now takes the scientific issue and turns it into a social/humanities issue, effortlessly.

            While I quietly created my own advertisement, it gave me time to process all the things I knew about climate change and also made me ask additional questions. For example, “How much is this vehicle really helping to reduce pollution versus perhaps riding a bike to school?” “What would be a better way of reducing my carbon footprint?” Perhaps having students create a list of additional questions that pop into their heads and engaging in group conversations, will add another dimension to the activity that will also aid in their understanding of concepts. This is definitely and idea that I will add to my toolbox. Thanks for sharing!

Sincerely,

Brigette Banta-Cain

D&Z 5&(

Despite the many ways that education has evolved throughout the years, our reliance on books and other forms of texts as educational tools still holds a firm grip on our lessons plans.  It is because of the importance of reading that close attention must be paid to both what, and how, students read. Chapter 5 of D&Z presents so many great and creative ways to guide readers through text but one technique that really spoke out to me was the Anticipation Guide. It draws on what the student already knows and asks the student to make predictions and make his or her own conclusions before even tackling the reading. This resonates with me because one of the most important skills for scientists, is the ability to take into consideration all possibilities and either prove, or disprove, what was originally thought to be true. After doing the reading, the students will either reinforce what they already know or potentially realize what information was being misused in drawing their initial conclusions.

The “It says/I say” technique is also invaluable for me because lets face it, most scientific articles tempt the most talented readers to skim through after the first couple of paragraphs. I’ve seen students simply pull out answers and not really understand the questions being asked and the answers they’ve provided.  This technique encourages students to interpret the information that is being presented which in turn requires them to substantiate and explain the reasoning behind their responses.

I was even more so impressed with the idea of hosting a Book Club in science class. I have been playing around with the idea of incorporating new, real-life applications of scientific findings into my weekly lesson plans via recently published articles etc., but I wasn’t so sure how I’d decide which ideas would be most engaging and the frequency with which I’d draw attention away from the “normal” curriculum. A book club would solve both problems because the students are choosing the topics and are already coming to class having read and prepared what they are going to share with their peers, allowing for a quick and efficient weekly or bi-weekly transfer of information between students and an even easier opportunity for the teacher to assess students’ ability to think and lead conversations.

Despite the many ways that education has evolved throughout the years, our reliance on books and other forms of texts as educational tools still holds a firm grip on our lessons plans.  It is because of the importance of reading that close attention must be paid to both what, and how, students read. Chapter 5 of D&Z presents so many great and creative ways to guide readers through text but one technique that really spoke out to me was the Anticipation Guide. It draws on what the student already knows and asks the student to make predictions and make his or her own conclusions before even tackling the reading. This resonates with me because one of the most important skills for scientists, is the ability to take into consideration all possibilities and either prove, or disprove, what was originally thought to be true. After doing the reading, the students will either reinforce what they already know or potentially realize what information was being misused in drawing their initial conclusions.

The “It says/I say” technique is also invaluable for me because lets face it, most scientific articles tempt the most talented readers to skim through after the first couple of paragraphs. I’ve seen students simply pull out answers and not really understand the questions being asked and the answers they’ve provided.  This technique encourages students to interpret the information that is being presented which in turn requires them to substantiate and explain the reasoning behind their responses.

I was even more so impressed with the idea of hosting a Book Club in science class. I have been playing around with the idea of incorporating new, real-life applications of scientific findings into my weekly lesson plans via recently published articles etc., but I wasn’t so sure how I’d decide which ideas would be most engaging and the frequency with which I’d draw attention away from the “normal” curriculum. A book club would solve both problems because the students are choosing the topics and are already coming to class having read and prepared what they are going to share with their peers, allowing for a quick and efficient weekly or bi-weekly transfer of information between students and an even easier opportunity for the teacher to assess students’ ability to think and lead conversations.

Bibliography

Daniels, Harvey, and Steven Zemelman. Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-area Reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004. Web. 

Bibliography

Daniels, Harvey, and Steven Zemelman. Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-area Reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004. Web.