9:2 WebQuests

When and where did I find the word: WebQuests was part of the reciprocal teaching reading for the presentation this week. The article was Web-based inquiry learning: Facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests. I thought the article was a very good choice and since I am planning an upcoming lesson using a webQuest, it was also very helpful! (Ikpeze & Boyd, 2007)

Ikpeze, C. &Boyd, F. (2007). Web-based inquiry learning: Facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests. The Reading Teacher, 60(7), 644-654

What it means: According to Ikpeze and Boyd (2007) “WebQuests can be designed to offer learners opportunities for multiple knowledge representations and multiple perspectives so that they can capture the real-world complexities to which the knowledge is applied.”

Level of Familiarity: I have used WebQuests in my own classroom as a part of scaffolding knowledge the way that Ikpeze and Boyd discuss in their article.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I definitely want to know this word well. It is a new way of scaffolding information in a way that is motivating to students’ learning. The article gave excellent information as to how to create and search for appropriate WebQuests to bring into the classroom.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers should know this word well, The students are always looking for information and along with the previous article on digital literacy, this is a new way students are learning to find and research information. Students’ need to have an understanding of how to read and evaluate online information just as much as in the textbook.

9:1 Media Literacy

When and where did I find the word: Media Literacy was part of the reciprocal teaching reading for the presentation this week. The article was Orchestrating the Media Collage: Being able to read and write multiple forms of media and integrate them into a meaningful whole is the new hallmark of literacy.” (Ohler, 2009)

Ohler, J. (2009).  Orchestrating the Media Collage: Being able to read and write multiple forms of media and integrate them into a meaningful whole is the new hallmark of literacy.  Journal of Educational Leadership. 8-13.

What it means: According to Ohler (2009), media literacy is the ability to recognize, evaluate, and apply the techniques of media persuasion.

Level of Familiarity: I have never heard of the formal definition of media literacy before reading this article. This is however is a very important word to know especially when considering how our students are growing up in a multi media generation. They have to not only know how to read media, but also how to evaluate and write media. 

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? As explained above, I am teaching students how to be successful in the world that we live in and one part of that is teaching students how to read, write and evaluate media.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers should know this word well, they need to know how to teach and bring into their classrooms multi media. Teachers need to give students as much exposure to multi media as possible, and show them how to read and evaluate it for usability.

7.1 Reciprocal Questioning

When and where did I find the word: Reciprocal Questioning was in the reading this week, in the article “Did You Ask a Good Question Today? Alternative Cognitive and metcognitive Strategies” ( Ciariello, 1998)

Ciardiello, A.V. (1998).  Did you ask a good question today?  Alternative cognitive and

metacognitive strategies.  Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 42(3), 210-

219.

What it means: According to Ciariello (1998), Reciprocal Questioning is a procedure in which the teacher and students take turns asking and answering each other’s questions about reading or a picture.

Level of Familiarity: I have heard of Reciprocal Teaching which is a similar strategy in which te student takes on the teacher role and leads the class in a discussion. Reciprocal Questioning would be an interesting strategy to use in the classroom.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I do want to know what this word means; I would like to use this strategy in my classroom, not only as a comprehension and questioning strategy, but as a whole class review.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers should know this word well, It can be of benefit to them when developing questions, or having their students develop questions in class. Teachers can also use this type of strategy as a review.

6.2 Rubrics

When and where did I find the word: Rubrics was in the reading this week, in the book Content Area Writing (Zemelman & Steineke 2007)

Daniels, H., Zemelman, S. & Steineke, N. (2007).  Content-area writing.  Portsmouth,
             NH: Heinemann. p. 121

What it means: Rubrics are tools that help students and teachers assess students skills by measuring for different levels of completeness, understanding, or creativity.

Level of Familiarity: Rubric is a term I am very familiar with, both in my undergraduate and graduate programs. I have given rubrics to my students in school to use and use them often as a grading guide. I love getting a rubric in class because I know what is expected of my work and how I will be graded. In a way, for me, it also scaffolds the project or paper that I am working on.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I do need to know this word well. It not only helps me as a student understand what the expectations are, but also helps me to organize my work and my thoughts before I start the project.  As a teacher, I think that it decreases subjectivity in my grading.  

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers need to know what rubrics are because not only can they help in the grading process but also students who need that extra support with their writing or specific projects.

6:1 Write-Aloud

When and where did I find the word: Write-Aloud was in the reading this week, in the book Content Area Writing (Zemelman & Steineke 2007)

Daniels, H., Zemelman, S. & Steineke, N. (2007).  Content-area writing.  Portsmouth, NH:

Heinemann.

What it means: According to Zemelman and Steineke (2007) Write-Aloud is talking your thoughts aloud while you project your draft for students to see. p. 123

Level of Familiarity: I haven't really heard of Write-Alouds; however, it makes sense that if you are going to do something like a read aloud where you tell your students your thoughts while you are reading a story to them, why wouldn't you use that same strategy while teaching writing?

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I need to know this word and use this in my classroom, so that my students see the process that writers go through when writing for different audiences.   

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers need to understand what Write-Alouds are and why we as teachers should use this strategy to help our students understand what their thought process should be as they begin the writing process.

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)