Caitlyn Garlock

EDUC 5265: Literacy Across the Curriculum

Kate McDougall

Literacy Strategy Toolkit EDUC 5265

by

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Table of Contents K-W-L Activity ............................................................................................................................. 3 Graphic Organizers ...................................................................................................................... 4

Directed Reading-Thinking Activity ........................................................................................... 5 Paired Reading.............................................................................................................................. 7

Cornell Notes ................................................................................................................................. 8 Think-Pair-Share .......................................................................................................................... 9

Quick Write ................................................................................................................................. 10 Jigsaw........................................................................................................................................... 11

Context Clue Discovery .............................................................................................................. 13 Categorization ............................................................................................................................. 14

Poll Everywhere .......................................................................................................................... 15 Calibrated Peer Review.............................................................................................................. 17

Reading Science Text Cards ...................................................................................................... 18 Vocabulary Bingo ....................................................................................................................... 19

Creative Writing for Vocabulary .............................................................................................. 20 SQ3R ............................................................................................................................................ 21

Journaling.................................................................................................................................... 23 Jeopardy ...................................................................................................................................... 24

Coloring Pages............................................................................................................................. 25 Word Cloud ................................................................................................................................. 26

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K-W-L Activity Purpose – To help the student and teacher determine prior knowledge and provide a reflective strategy after reading. Implementation/Use – Teacher asks students to state facts they know in the first of three columns. Students then tell the instructor information they want to know or think they will learn, revealing what they consider relevant to the topic and where the instructor should focus instruction. After reading, the students correct misunderstandings and add information they learned in the final column. This strategy gives students a concrete way to interact with a reading assignment and learn critical thinking skills. Observation Notes – A middle school German class studying Oktoberfest analyzed the material using KWL. For What We Know, the students wrote, “Oktoberfest started in Germany, but it is now celebrated all over the world.” The students Want to Know “Does Oktoberfest start in October?” and recorded in What We Learned, “Oktoberfest starts on a Saturday in September and ends on the first Sunday in October.” The students took an idea they knew a little about, questioned further and discovered the answer in the text itself through directed reading. Rationale – Scientific articles and textbooks are often very dense and difficult for students to follow and understand on their own. If they have a chance to read in groups or in a partner and learn strategies to maintain focus before, during, and after reading, they are more likely to absorb the necessary elements from the texts. This strategy pushes them to constantly think and analyze the text instead of reading passively and hoping to understand the concepts. Analysis – Tapping into and developing prior knowledge is a key component of preparation for reading. Through KWL, students discover what they already know through self and peer collaboration. They may be reminded of ideas they forgot through others in the class and use that knowledge to help them understand the text. Students may learn this technique in the classroom and hopefully continue using it to increase literacy at home.

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Graphic Organizers Purpose – to show relationships that are often too difficult to visualize mentally. A graphic representation can present a holistic picture of the text reading, creating concrete images of complex ideas and concepts. Implementation/Use – students preview the reading to determine the structure and main ideas and then work in small groups to decide what form the graphic organizer should take. After silently reading the text, groups discuss how to organize the gathered information. Each group presents their finished product to the class. Observation Notes – students studying Vertebrates might use a graphic organizer to separate each type of vertebrate into categories to visually separate them. Below a box labeled Vertebrates, students would write Fish, Reptiles, Birds, Amphibians, and Mammals. Then, each of these boxes would give additional information. For example, under Fish, on might include cat fish, angel fish, goldfish, and bass in on box, lay eggs in another box, cold-blooded in a third, live in water, and finally salt or fresh. Each of the final boxes represents specific information pertaining to the Fish box. Rationale – The instructor can prep ahead of time as an aid during the lecture, or ask students to make one during the lesson in groups. Students can use a model during lecture to follow along if they get lost in the slides or text, but forming it themselves helps them to remember the steps and why they considered each so important. Analysis - Students can look at the graphic representation and easily compare and contrast the breakdown of sub-boxes and their characteristics. Because the branches range from broad to narrow, students can also compare between both levels and within a branch. This is especially useful for ELL students who may grasp visual clues more easily than a block of text. This strategy focuses on literary comprehension, but also critical thinking skills required for separating information into categories.

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Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Purpose - it encourages students to be active and thoughtful readers, activates students’ prior knowledge, teaches students to monitor their understanding of the text as they read, and helps strengthen reading and critical thinking skills. Implementation/Use –

D = DIRECT. Teachers direct and activate students' thinking prior to reading a passage by scanning the title, chapter headings, illustrations, and other materials. Teachers should use open-ended questions to direct students as they make predictions about the content or perspective of the text (e.g., "Given this title, what do you think the passage will be about?").

R = READING. Students read up to the first pre-selected stopping point. The teacher then prompts the students with questions about specific information and asks them to evaluate their predictions and refine them if necessary. This process should be continued until students have read each section of the passage.

T = THINKING. At the end of each section, students go back through the text and think about their predictions. Students should verify or modify their predictions by finding supporting statements in the text. The teacher asks questions such as:

What do you think about your predictions now? What did you find in the text to prove your predictions? What did you we read in the text that made you change your predictions? Observation Notes – When teaching Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, students discuss what the story will be about based on the title and pictures. The instructor determines ahead of time where they will pause for emphasis. Then, students will determine the accuracy of their predictions so far as well as plot based points of interest. This occurs several times throughout the text. Finally, students regroup to evaluate what they think and what they still want to know after reading.

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Rationale – For high school science classes, students will be able to work in groups to assist one another with complex vocabulary and concepts. The pre-reading activity will stimulate their brains and prepare them for a deeper understanding of the material. The discussion after the reading will push their cognitive thinking into evaluative and analytic frames of mind helping them see past the surface level knowledge in the units. Analysis – this strategy allows students to brainstorm with a partner to combine their knowledge to cultivate a more thorough understanding of the text. The question breakdown allows students to think outside of the surface level information in the text. Finally, by analyzing and predicting the topic before reading, students will be more invested in the material than if expected to figure out the topic and meaning while reading. This strategy improves group collaboration, critical thinking, academic reading, speaking, and listening skills.

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Paired reading Purpose – to help students learn how to work together. Paired reading encourages cooperation and supports peer-assisted learning. Implementation/Use – Students read an assignment individually, then split into pairs. One partner is the “recaller”, the other the “listener.” The “recaller” retells the passage from memory; the “listener” interrupts only to ask for clarification. The “listener” corrects any incorrect ides and adds anything not mentioned. The partners switch roles for every section analyzed. Observation Notes – Students are given a scientific article on the transmission of genetic diseases. All students read through the article on their on first. Then, they split into pairs. The “recaller” tells the listener everything he can remember from the first section of the article. Then, the listener fills in gaps of information missed by the first student. They then switch roles for the next section. Rationale – Students have an opportunity to practice either in the role of a tutor or receiving free tutoring from a fellow classmate. This is a very important skill for students and can taka ay some of the anxiety around asking for help when it’s an assigned task. Analysis - This strategy is particularly useful for pairing strong and weak readers together. The strong reader has an opportunity to practice teaching the material to someone else and therein learn his or her on weaknesses, while the weaker student can learn material otherwise too complex from a student with a reasonably firm understanding.

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Cornell notes Purpose – to master information rather than record facts in an efficient manner. Each step in Cornell Note taking prepares the ay for the next part of the learning process. Implementation/Use –

1. Record lectures in the main column. 2. Refine lectures with questions, corrections, and underlining; recall cues, graphics

and pictures. 3. Recite by covering main column and expanding on recall cues - then verify. 4. Reflect on organization by studying all cues 5. Review by repeating recite and reflect steps.

Observation Notes – To prepare for a lecture in class, students will divide their paper into sections as demonstrated on this page. Then, they will listen to a lecture during class and record brief notes with key concepts. After class, they will write questions about the material in the QUESTIONS column and summarize the notes at the bottom of the page. The instructor may give students time at the beginning of the year to meet up with a partner to practice reviewing notes together, but students should do this on their own as the year progresses. Rationale – students struggle with the “best” way to take notes. Many students feel they must copy down everything on the slides word for word without thinking about what the slid really means. This way, students have an opportunity to interact with their notes and organize them into what is and is not important. Analysis – Cornell note taking stimulates critical thinking skills and helps students efficiently remember hat was said in class. The questions section provide a built in study tool for students to quiz themselves for tests. The summaries at the bottom provide a synopsis of the page so students can quickly determine if they can find what they need on that page or if they should look elsewhere. Since Cornell Notes are endorsed in many school districts, students can feel reasonably confident they are using an effective note taking strategy. Additionally, they are useful resources for those interested in continuing in higher education.

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Think-Pair-Share Purpose - to allow students to work with partners to respond to a learning task, and then share with the class. Implementation/Use - Assign a brief task or ask a question to the whole class. Allow a brief time for quiet thinking. Tell the students to work briefly on the task or question with a partner. Randomly call on students to share their work or answers. This strategy is used to improve student engagement and participation. Observation Notes - The teacher introduces the concept of freedom that is key to the upcoming US History lesson. The students think independently and then in partners to write a true statement about the freedom. The students will practice reading their statements to each other. The teacher uses name sticks to call on students for sharing the statements. (6 minutes) Rationale - This strategy is successful in helping students accomplish a learning task in a safe environment. Engagement and participation are very high. The students are invested in what comes next. Analysis - This strategy allows students to work on a task with a partner, as opposed to being asked to perform on the spot in front of the entire class. In the partnership, knowledge is surfaced for both students to use. The product of the dialogue is usually better than each individual could produce and is ready for sharing without raising hands. Think-Pair-Share allows students to experience success and does not create an embarrassing situation for any student who may not be able to respond spontaneously. It is easy to implement and use regularly. The strategy uses and improves listening, speaking, thinking, and (sometimes) reading and writing.

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Quick Write Purpose – to use before, during, and after reading to activate prior knowledge by preparing students for reading, writing, or a discussion. It encourages critical thinking skills and allows students to organize their ideas for better comprehension. Implementation/Use – the strategy asks learners to respond in 2-10min to an open-ended question or prompt posed by the teacher before, during, or after reading. Prompts should be related to the topic being studied. Students should understand that in a Quick Write, students respond to a question or prompt related to the text by writing down whatever comes to their minds without organizing it too much or worrying about grammar. This strategy is used for assessment and discussion purposes. Observation Notes – Prompts can be written as specifically or generally as needed. For example, they can summarize what was learned, connect to background information, explain content concepts or vocabulary, and make predictions, inference

and hypotheses, or pose questions addressing key points in the reading. Quick writes can be assigned as part of a student’s journal or notes,

used to think or brainstorm for a THINK-PAIR-SHARE, students can generate their on questions and share their responses in groups.

Rationale – Sometimes it can be difficult to jump right back into material with so many other things on students’ minds. This way, they can use the quick write to jog their memories and prepare their brains for critical thinking in class. Additionally, collaborating in groups after the quick write can help students feel validated for what they wrote and learn new things from a new perspective. Since quick write are generally graded for participation, not quality or accuracy, it gives them the freedom to think without apology or filter. Analysis – The open-ended nature of a Quick Write makes it flexible and easy to integrate into many different scenarios. The more frequently an instructor uses it, thee more comfortable students will become speaking and writing more freely. There are no right or wrong answers, generally, but it can be used to assess whether or not students did the reading homework. If not, grouping after the Quick Write can allow students to learn from their peers what they missed in the assignment. Those who did the assignment can speak more freely after brainstorming on paper.

Jigsaw Purpose - to foster a cooperative learning technique where each student plays a unique and essential part to the puzzle. The jigsaw classroom has a three-decade history of reducing racial conflict and increasing positive educational outcomes. Implementation/Use – in groups of 5-6 with one student appointed leader, divide the day’s lesson or activity into 5-6 segments. Each student per group learns one segment by reading through the information at least twice for familiarity. Then, students form temporary “expert” groups by joining with others who read the same segment. They will discuss the main points and prepare to present them to the rest of the class. Students then reform their initial “jigsaw” groups and present his or her segment. The instructor may offer suggestions by whispering to the leader. Often a quiz is administered at the end for assessment purposes. Observation Notes - The students in a history class form 5-6 student groups. While studying WWII, Sara is responsible for researching Hitler's rise to power in pre-war Germany, Steven, covers concentration camps, Pedro Britain's role in the war, Melody the contribution of the Soviet Union, Tyrone Japan's entry into the war and Clara the development of the atom bomb. Each student returns to the jigsaw groups to present a well organized report to the group based on points decided in their “expert groups”. The situation is specifically structured so that the only access any member has to the other five assignments is by listening closely to the report of the person reciting. Thus, if Tyrone doesn't like Pedro, or if he thinks Sara is a nerd and tunes her out or makes fun of her, he cannot possibly do well on the test that follows. Rationale - This strategy is successful in helping students feel empowered by learning while still maintaining a safety net as they check in with their “expert groups” for guidance. Engagement and participation are very high due to an assessment at the end. The students are invested in what comes next and have lots of opportunities for group collaboration.

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Analysis – an efficient way to learn material, the jigsaw process encourages listening, engagement, and empathy by giving each member of the group an essential part to play in the academic activity. Group members must work together as a team to accomplish a common goal; each person depends on all the others. No student can succeed completely unless everyone works well together as a team. This "cooperation by design" facilitates interaction among all students in the class, leading them to value each other as contributors to their common task.

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Context Clue Discovery Purpose – to allow the students to decode the meaning of vocabulary words in academic text or articles in class. Students must put together “clues” from the surrounding sentences to strategically guess the definitions. Implementation/Use – context clues appear in three forms. Direct definition context clues include a definition in the sentence. Synonym context clues use words around it that mean nearly the same thing. Antonym context clues refer to words around a difficult word that means the opposite or nearly the opposite as the word itself. Observation Notes – Students in an English class read a passage from a diary written in a “new language”. They use context clues to figure out the meaning of each new word. For example, what could the word poof-poofs mean? The sentence tells the student it is something that can be eaten. It must be a breakfast food because Ryan said it was morning. The diary also mentions it goes in a bowl. The most logical guess for the word meaning is cereal. This is a silly example, but the same principles can be applied to unknown academic vocabulary in scientific contexts. Rationale - Textbook writers and authors include words or phrases to help their readers understand the meaning of a new or difficult word. These words or phrases are built into the sentences around the new or difficult word. By becoming more aware of the words around a difficult word, readers can make logical guesses about the meanings of many words. Analysis – By teaching students the importance of context clues, they are more likely to perform reading assignments for class and understand the main ideas. Often, students see an unknown word and immediately give up; assuming the rest of the reading will not make sense either. Hopefully, by teaching them this strategy, they can feel more confident making educated guesses and continuing with the assignment. This strategy aids students in reading comprehension.

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Categorization Purpose - to organize new concepts and experiences in relation to prior knowledge about the concept. This strategy enlists the use of graphic organizers as visual representations of relationships. Implementation/Use - Categorizing features of vocabulary words enables students to use higher order thinking and promotes cognitive word awareness in a visible manner. To categorize successfully, students need to be able to internalize the patterns under study and begin to make connections. Categorizing vocabulary words gives students an opportunity to develop an understanding of the essential attributes, qualities, and characteristics of a word’s meaning. Appropriate text that best supports the application of the categorizing strategy has a variety of words in the text suitable for sorting according to features and noticeable patterns. Observation Notes – Students may be given a list of organic molecules. Separately, they each look daunting and disconnected and may overwhelm the students. However, asking the students to form groups and categorize each organic molecule into two categories, small organic molecules or large organic molecules can help clarify the connections between the words and teach them to look for patterns. Rationale – Students can learn connections between other vocabulary words by placing them into appropriate categories. Working with them in this way not only makes them more accessible, but easier to memorize. Analysis – While students categorize their vocabulary words, assess the student’s ability to separate the words appropriately. Note the way in which they choose to create the categories and challenge them to form a different list of categories with the same words. Many words relate to each other in different ways. This requires analytical thinking and aids students’ vocabulary building skills.

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Poll Everywhere Purpose – to provide students with an instantaneous method to anonymously respond to the material during lecture. This strategy allows students to combine technology they are familiar with while still interacting with the subject specific topics. Implementation/Use – Ask your students a question with the Poll Everywhere app. This can be downloaded from www.polleverywhere.com where you will construct short answer, multiple choice, or True False questions on the online database. You can then download the question from the PollEverywhere app directly into your PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. Students’ text their answers to the prescribed contact number in real time using mobile phones, twitter, or web browsers. The instructor can see the student’s responses live on the web or within his or her PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. The responses can be organized in a graph, each individual response, or hidden from view. There are lots of ways to personalize this process and make it work for each setting. Observation Notes – Students may be asked, “In what year did Columbus sail to America?” The responses on the PowerPoint presentation would say “A) 1492, B) 1515, C) 1450 or D) 1501.” Next to each answer, a unique text code would show up such as “908854”. Students would text that number to the PollEverywhere contact number and all of the results would be displayed directly on the screen in real time. The instructor can also count the number of responses to assess participation. Rationale – Students love to text on their cell phones. This is a way to let them use their phones in class in a permissible way while still engaging in the material. It also provides anonymity so students don’t feel awkward raising their hand in class or asking a question. Everyone can provide feedback immediately to the instructor so he or she can adjust their teaching style or speed as needed with the polls. Analysis – Students can feel supported in their classroom while having fun and engaging with the material at the same time! It provides a brief break from the

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monotony of lecturing and gives them an opportunity to interact with the material and use their critical thinking skills. With Poll Everywhere, they cannot passively listen - every student is expected to participate. They activity does not have to be worth any points, it can simply be a way to provide and receive instantaneous results. The questions can be tailored to meet both literacy and academic needs, depending on the nature of the question.

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Calibrated Peer review Purpose – to teach students using higher-order thinking skills required in writing and reviewing processes. Students not only learn their discipline by writing, they also learn and practice critical thinking by evaluating calibration submissions and authentic submissions from their peers. Throughout each part of an assignment they gain a deeper understanding of the topic. Implementation/Use – Students first write and submit an essay on a topic and in a format specified by the instructor. Students then assess three “calibration” submissions against a detailed set of questions addressing criteria on which the assignment is based using a rubric. After each student has been scored on their calibrations, each student receives an anonymous submission by three other students. They use the same rubric to evaluate their peer’s work with comments as well. Students’ evaluations are rated higher if they responded in line with the calibration criteria. Observation Notes – Students may be given an assignment asking them to write a lab report on a lab comparing densities. The students write up their results and turn it into this site first to receive feedback. While they wait for their peers to provide them with a pseudo-grade, they grade their peers’ work as well. This also gives them ideas for what they may have forgotten to include in their own work giving them time to go back and make revisions at any time. Rationale – students can receive instructive criticism in a safe environment while preserving anonymity. They perform all peer review online giving making it easy to assign this for homework. Students can also learn more about the assignment by reading the ideas of their peers. Analysis – Peer review can be a daunting task in the classroom. Students may feel awkward grading their peers or feel like their work is graded based on a popularity contest. This strategy eliminates those pitfalls and streamlines the process while also providing students with necessary tools as writers and critical thinkers.

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READING SCIENCE TEXT CARDS Purpose - Text cards help students interact with words and their meanings. Teachers can create science text cards by writing statements about science concepts on index cards. Implementation/Use - Working individually or in small groups, students discuss the statements before sorting. A number of different formats can be used such as true/false

cards, agree/disagree cards, matching pairs, sequencing, and classification. Students discuss the concepts in small groups and separate into categories or agree/disagree piles depending on the nature of the cards. Observation Notes – The potential for using these cards is almost endless. Teachers can write text cards about science concepts, vocabulary, opinion statements, sequencing, classifications, etc. The students can work individually or in small groups to discuss the statements before

sorting them based on the prescribed method. Rationale – This strategy pulls students out of their desks and gives them an opportunity to engage with the material and work with their peers to problem solve. They can move around the classroom to different stations or simply work at their tables or lab stations. This is a great strategy when reviewing concepts before a test to help them organize their thoughts and figure out where they may still be struggling. Analysis - this strategy is good for any subject because it gives students an opportunity to state their opinions and get involved in the subject rather than simply learning the facts. They provide students with a modality to interact with the class. This strategy also teaches teamwork because students have to work together to come up with a solution in a fun way.

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Vocabulary Bingo Purpose – to engage students in fun, lighthearted activities that will help them retain the information. After teachers put students through the typical curriculum (i.e. learn the word and what it means), this routine can be used to reinforce the meaning in a new way. Implementation/Use – Have the students make bingo cards, placing words they just learned in the various places on the card. The instructor may choose to do this instead to save time. Then, read the definitions of the word. If the students have that word, they’ll color in the box on their cards where it exists. This helps students put the definition with the word itself. Teachers can also reward students who complete bingo with prizes or extra credit points. Play continues until one student has five spaces in a row covered and calls "bingo". Observation Notes – Students choose 25 words to place on their boards from a word bank of 30 with definitions agreed upon in advance. Stress to the students that they must know what the word means as you will be reading the definition and not the word itself. For example, if the word house is on the bingo board, students may hear “a structure with four outside walls, a door for entry, many inside rooms, that a family may choose to live in.” It is important to check bingo in this game for discussion and continued learning. Ask students if they marked it and why they marked it. This way, misconceptions can be corrected in advance. Rationale – It only takes one class period and is an easy activity to integrate into the curriculum. It is designed to keep students current on vocabulary the instructor is using in class. It can also be used as a formative assessment. The instructor can check if the students really know what he or she is talking about when using “science” words. The main focus is communicating using purely academic language. Analysis – students often think they know what a word means or how to calculate it, but find on a test they are lost. Vocabulary Bingo works on getting students to use the proper vocabulary word and search for words if they’re using it incorrectly. Bingo boards are usually collected for a quick assessment (credit or no credit).

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Creative Writing for Vocabulary Purpose - to help students define, use, and apply vocabulary words leading to better reading comprehension skills. Implementation/Use – This could be done either as a midterm or a final project, accumulating lots of words students may choose from. Tell students to use at least 25 vocabulary words learned throughout the year to construct a short story or song. Students should find creative ways to make it clear they know the appropriate time to use the vocabulary in sentences. If students a writing a song – or poem - the vocabulary must make sense and not just be thrown in because it rhymes. Instructors should stress this assignment is meant to be fun and he or she is looking forward to reading about their creative ideas. Observation Notes – Students have been learning about cell biology and the function of internal organelles. The students may choose to write their short story by personifying the organelles. This would be acceptable as long as they all maintain their functions and are described in the story appropriately. Each vocabulary word used should be bold and CAPITALIZED to stand out for the teacher when grading. Rationale – In order for this activity to be most successful, the instructor should find a method for distributing vocabulary words efficiently over time. For example, provide a list of vocabulary words at the beginning of a new chapter. Additionally, this assignment should only be executed after students have been taught the definitions of these words in detail. Analysis – this activity is meant to foster creative learning and help the students find ways to integrate these words realistically. Scientific vocabulary words have a tendency to feel dry with difficult and complicated structures. However, activities like this will foster writing skills, critical thinking, and vocabulary building as they synthesize something new from simple definitions in class.

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SQ3R Purpose – to help students preview academic text before diving in and reading it from the beginning. Students can learn to be active and effective as aggressive rather than passive readers. Implementation/Use – students should use this before reading an academic text such as a textbook.

S = Survey the chapter by reading the introduction, reviewing major section headings, glancing at figures, skimming questions, key words, summaries, and setting up a time for studying including breaks and rewards.

Q = Question. Create and answer questions for each section in the chapter: What is the main point? What evidence supports the main point? What are the applications or examples? How is this related to the rest of the chapter, the book, the world, to me?

R = Read the section. Skim or read the section actively by searching for the answers to your questions. Students should make notes in the margins or on post-its to create their own organization.

R = Recite the main points. Look up from the book and verbalize the answers to your questions.

R = Review. Students go back over the text and highlight/underline main points in the section. They may add more notes or repeat steps as necessary. Ultimately, students create a 1 page hierarchical summary of the chapter. Observation Notes – Students are assigned Chapter 11.1 to read and answer questions in their Biology textbook for homework before the next class. When sitting down to do the homework, students will preview the text using SQ3R. Then, after they’ve taken the time to understand the concepts, they may answer the questions with greater ease. Rationale – the process of completing each step in SQ3R is time consuming but ultimately worth it to achieve capable readers wiling and able to read academic language without feeling overwhelmed. Analysis – often students have the ability to read the texts but never take the opportunities because they

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get caught up on the overwhelming amount of information entering their brains in each sentence. By breaking the text down to prime their brains for understanding and critical thinking first, the text will feel less daunting and more achievable. They will naturally understand the material better if they take this strategy to heart. Learning along the way like this is a much better study method than cramming for a test the night before.

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Journaling Purpose – encourage students to think and take risks in writing. Journals provide space for the literacy experiments that build fluency. Implementation/Use - Students can use journals to jot down thoughts about and make personal connections to a topic. They can track ideas for stories and essays as well as questions about new or difficult issues. Students can also use journals to document and assess their learning processes.

Observation Notes – Students can use journaling for tasks such as “walk and write” – journaling during a field trip or simply noting how variables affect the surroundings – “media reflections” – students clip and paste interesting print media from comic strips to news articles – “overheads lab” – students analyze an image and pick apart the hidden symbolism, imagery, vocabulary, meanings, context, etc – or simply reflecting on a guest speaker or ethical debate/conversation in the classroom. Rationale – the basis for any scientific theory is observation. In any scientific discovery, one observes a correlation between two factors. The next step is to imagine a process that allows the two features to correlate. Therefore, the best authority in science is the student’s own powers of observation. Many issues in science cause ethical, moral and other dilemmas in the classroom. Allowing students to journal provides hem with a mechanism to release or form opinions on the matter. Analysis – students can take an unknown and turn it into something not only known but personal by writing about it in a journal. While scientific journals can also be used for lab experiments, these journaling activities have the potential to reach students on another more personal level as well.

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Jeopardy

Purpose – to help students review information before a test. Jeopardy tests student’s knowledge in a fun atmosphere helping students build classroom camaraderie and building new synaptic connections between the new subject matter and their experience in the game. Implementation/Use – using a PowerPoint Jeopardy template, create 50 questions related to the subject

matter broken down into 5 categories. 1 category is often called “potpourri” and is often a question unrelated to the unit of study. Questions should get sequentially harder in each category (i.e. 10 point questions should be basic knowledge questions, 50 point questions should test analytic or synthesis skills). Divide students into teams – often halving the class is most efficient. Once a question is read, students have 1 chance to answer the question correct. If they’re wrong, they lose the points their team would have won with the question and the other team has a chance to answer instead. Play continues until all questions are answered. Observation Notes – This can work for all subject matters in almost any context. You do not need to use a PowerPoint – a whiteboard works just as well for a game board and you can ask questions off a simple sheet of paper. If questions reword examples on the test, asking them on the same day as the test may pollute the scores. If you use Jeopardy on the same day as a test, use topic questions rather than questions exactly like those on the test itself. This is for review purposes, not to give them the answers. Rationale – Even if students study on their own, often test anxiety causes students to panic and forget what they learned right before they sit down for the test. By playing a game and creating a fun lighthearted atmosphere, students are more relaxed and can clear their minds to optimize performance. Analysis – This strategy not only gives students an opportunity to test what they know but also to learn from their classmates. If used the day before a test, students can go home and study what they missed or misunderstood in the game and use that to help them boost their performance on the test.

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Coloring Pages Purpose – to teach students vocabulary words for biology in a creative way. Every page provides descriptions of the key vocabulary in the image. By coloring in the name and organelle in the same colors, students link the memory in their right and left-brain imbedding the concept into their long-term memory. Implementation/Use – If studying cell biology, the instructor may hand students a page of an animal cell. Students would color in each organelle within the animal cell with different colors and color the name of that organelle the same color as its structure. This can be done with all types of biological concepts, especially physiology. Observation Notes – Students have fun coloring! They enjoy the throwback to their childhood days and often don’t realize how academically beneficial the exercise really is for their retention. After spending time coloring the worksheet, students become more familiar with the terms without stress. Rationale – by integrating creative ways for students to learn, you take away the monotony of worksheets or their desire to be creative. Instructors can integrate outside artistic interests by infusing their science course with this method. Analysis – students usually are very willing to participate in this as it provides a break from worksheets or lecture time. They enjoy opportunities to talk to their classmates while still performing the exercise. This can be assigned as homework as well to save class time.

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Word Cloud Purpose – to learn vocabulary or categorize vocabulary through inference clues to support the analysis of diction and tone. They can be done online using Wordle or Tagxedo or on paper in the classroom as a brainstorming exercise. Implementation/Use – students can use word clouds to write “all about me”, share criteria, identify keywords and terms, guess context, improve vocabulary, identify frequently used words in writing projects, study diction, identify important words, summarize skills, classroom polls, compare and contrast themes, breakdown vocabulary, teach students about technology, trait analysis, or prioritize curriculum. The opportunities are almost endless! Observation Notes – students like studying vocabulary in interesting ways. By asking them to make relevant shapes, change fonts, colors, etc to make the academics more aesthetically pleasing, they have more interest in the work and dedicate more energy to doing well. Rationale – words are an integral part of learning, especially in science vocabulary. Students may know they need to learn vocabulary words but be resistant to studying or fell overwhelmed with where to begin. By using games and creative strategies like this, you can strip away the layers between the students and their knowledge by helping them begin the learning process almost by accident. Analysis – students can use these projects for online displays creatively or as educational tools to help them use critical thinking skills. They can break down the important and less important parts of the word cloud and use them advantageously depending on the lesson of interest.