5:3 Graphic Organizer

When and where did I find the word: Graphic Organizer was with in the title and embedded throughout the article assigned in this weeks reading.

Gallavan, N.P. & Kottler, E. (2007).  Eight types of graphic organizers for empowering social studies students and teachers.  The Social Studies, 117-123.

What it means: Graphic Organizers are defined by Gallavan & Kottler (2007) as visual models that provide teachers and students with tool, concepts, and language to organize, understand, and apply information to achieve a variety of purposes and outcomes.  p. 117

Level of Familiarity: I have regularly heard of and used graphic organizers through my learning and my teaching.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I need to know this word well to choose the correct type of graphic organizer that compliments the lesson I am teaching. This article explained how and when to use graphic organizers and the different types of graphic organizers.  

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers need to evaluate the types of graphic organizers they use in their classrooms to match their lesson and their students learning. Evaluating their graphic organizers will help ensure that a model is meaningful to the students.

5:2 Conceptual Density

When and where did I find the word: Conceptual Density was the one of the text features discussed in the Friendly Texts and Text-Friendly Teachers article that was assigned this week. (Dreher & Singer 2001)

Dreher, M. J. & Singer, H.  (1989).  Friendly text and text-friendly teachers.  Theory Into Practice, 28(2), 98-105.

What it means: According to Dreher and Singer (1989) conceptual density refers to the rate at which new ideas and vocabulary are introduced.

Level of Familiarity: I have never heard of the term conceptual density; however,  I have always wondered what to call books that feel extremely difficult to read and have many terms and ideas packed into one chapter or one paragraph.  I think Dreher and Singer (1989) would refer to those texts as conceptually dense.  

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I want to know this word well and how to help students identify, organize and clarify their understanding when this feature is presented in a text book.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers need to evaluate how a textbook spaces the presentation of new concepts and whether the new concepts receive sufficient elaboration to make them understandable (Dreher & Singer 2001, 100)

5:1 Friendly Text

When and where did I find the word: Friendly text was the title of and mentioned multiple times within the article that described text friendly features. (Dreher & Singer 2001)

Dreher, M. J. & Singer, H.  (1989).  Friendly text and text-friendly teachers.  Theory Into Practice, 28(2), 98-105.

What it means: According to Dreher and Singer (1989) Friendly texts are texts that have features that facilitate learning from it. Within the article it described many different kinds of text features: Text organization, ways to measure time, signaling, discourse consistency, cohesion, explication, conceptual density, names into words, metadiscourse, and instructional devices.  These help the reader create a relationship between the text and their understanding of/ learning from the text.

Level of Familiarity: I have never heard of the term friendly text.  I, however,  have been familiar with the definition behind the term for a while. The many features described in the article are features that I look for in my own textbooks and textbooks for my students.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I want to know this word well and the features that are associated with it, to manage my own classroom books and help my students understand and use the text features.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  This word is a very important term to know. Teachers should examine their own books for text friendly features. If their books are text friendly, it may help to point out the specific features such as signaling that will help students to understand/ comprehend the information in the text.  

4:4 Schemata / Schema

When and where did I find the word: Schema and Schemata was found during class the course reading in the (Billmeyer and Barton 1998) Section 4 pg. 62

Billmeyer, R. & Barton, M.L. (1998).  Teaching reading in the content areas:  If not me, then who?   (2^nd ed.).  Aurora, CO:  Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory.  

What it means: According to Billmeyer and Barton (1998) Schema refers to an underlying organizational pattern or structure.

Level of Familiarity: I am very familiar with schema. I have heard this term for the majority of my undergraduate and graduate career.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I do want to know this word well. Knowing my students schema will help me teach them new information in a way that will fit into their organizational structures. It helps me to connect to their background knowledge and pull out old information to clarify/develop their learning.  

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Schema is important for all teachers to know. Since it refers to how students connect their background knowledge to new learning in an organizational pattern to make new learning easily retrievable.

4:3 Isthmus

When and where did I find the word: Isthmus is a word that I came across when reviewing with my students for a geography test in Social Studies.

What it means: Isthmus is a small strip of land that connects two larger bodies or land..

Level of Familiarity: I do not believe I have heard this word in at least 12 years. If I have heard it before it was during my own 8^th grade year and I have never used it since.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I find it interesting that I have never heard this word previous to this lesson, however it is an important word to someone who my live in Panama, which is considered an Isthmus.

Do  think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  It may be important for others to know to help them define vocabulary when reading a book to students.

4:2 Metacognition

When and where did I find the word: Metacognition  came up in week 4 reading in our course text Teaching Reading in the Content Areas. (Billmeyer & Barton 1998). Section 2 On page 42.

Billmeyer, R. & Barton, M.L. (1998).  Teaching reading in the content areas:  If not me, then who?   (2^nd ed.).  Aurora, CO:  Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory.  

What it means: Metacognition is thinking about one’s thinking. In this text, it is to refer to being strategic and reflective about reading comprehension. (Billmeyer and Barton, 1998)

Level of Familiarity: I have heard the word metacognition all through my undergraduate and graduate schooling when discussing how students learn, questioning, and development.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? Metacognition is important for teachers to understand when discussing comprehension skills and modeling strategic reading skills. It is important for your students to understand what types of questions they should be asking themselves as they read, and what types of questions the teacher needs to ask their students to enhance their zone of proximal development. (Vygotsky)

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Understanding metacognition and helping students to develop their own independent thinking is a strategy that should be taught in every classroom to create life long learners.

4:1 Transformative

When and where did I find the word: Transformative came up in weeks 4 reading in our course text Word Wise. (Fisher and Frey 2008). Chapter 5 On page 95.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2008).  Word wise and content rich:  Five essential steps to teaching academic vocabulary.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

What it means: In the sentence, it was as a change in potential or a changing moment for both the student and the teacher: “spending just three minutes with a student can be transformative for both the teacher and the learner” (Fisher & Frey 2008).

Level of Familiarity: This word is not new to me, however I find this word to be very powerful when used in this context.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? Yes again this word is very powerful when used in this context. Many times teachers forget to learn from their students. Transformative in this context discusses the change in thought for both the student and the teacher from a 3 minute conversation each day.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why? It is important to remember this word and the meaning, Each day you should be learning as much from your students about their learning as they are expected to learn in your classroom.