Katie Robinson
EDRD 7715/W02
Dr. Ritchie
June 6, 2012
Module 1: Instrctuctional Challenge
Hocked
gems financing him, our hero defied the scornful laughter. “Think of it as an
egg, not a table,” he said. Then three sturdy sisters sought proof, forging
over vast calmness, and sometimes over turbulent peaks and valleys, until at
last welcome winged creatures appeared, signifying monumental success.
After researching this passage a
little more, I was able to think about it with the right schema. It is amazing how
much of an impact a person’s schema can have on a reading.
1. What
are the hocked gems?
-I picture
gems being jewelry. Since the gems are hocked, I picture the person in this
story pawning the jewels to get money.
2. What
should we think of as an egg and not a table?
-Because
this passage is referring to Christopher Columbus, I think this statement is
referring to him debating whether the Earth is round or flat. Therefore, the
egg symbolizes that the world is indeed round, verses the table symbolizing a
flat Earth.
3. Who are
the three sturdy sisters?
-The three
sturdy sisters were the three ships he took on his voyage: The Nina, The Pinta, and The
Santa Maria.
4. What
kind of winged creatures appeared?
-I
think the winged creatures that appeared were birds. The birds helped Columbus know
the world was round. Because birds must have something to land on, they would
not travel too far from land. This let Columbus know land must be close by.
If you were to use this passage with students, what schema
would you need to activate with them first?
·
I would need to tell the students prior to reading
the passage to think of Christopher Columbus and what his voyage was all about.
How can you help teach children whose schema and the text’s
content don’t match?
·
I think this passage would be a good one to use after studying Christopher
Columbus and his voyage. I think students who have no background knowledge of
Columbus, would not understand this passage even if told what schema to use
while reading the passage. To help students whose schemas don’t match, I would
take it line by line, explaining how each piece ties back to Columbus and what
he discovered.
How
much time should children spend in texts that don’t match their interests or
schema?
·
I
don’t think children should spend much time reading passages that make no sense
to them. It does not make logical sense
to me as a student, or teacher, to read something that I am having such
difficulty comprehending. If this were my classroom, I would first allow the
students to read the passage independently. Then, I would have them pair up and
discuss what they are thinking. As I hear conversations evolve, I would then
start giving clues based on what schema to use while reading. Depending on the
further need of students, I might just break the reading down line by line, and
discuss it whole group.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know that I was not the only one who needed to do some research to understand in what context to read this passage :)! I was unable to find much meaning in the passage until I found that it was associated with Christopher Columbus. After looking at this passage in the context of Columbus' voyage, I answered the questions very similarly to how you did. I completely agree with you that is not very practical, nor does it make a lot of sense to have students read something that they do not understand. I like your idea of having students first read this independently, then in pairs, and then guiding students to an understanding of the passage as needed.
Katie & Anne,
ReplyDeleteI also had to do a little research and then really think about what it could possibly mean! It was really tough for me the first ten times reading through :) Allowing children to understand who Christopher Columbus is would really help them understand the passage. They could also use the comprehensive strategy to try to decode it. I think that is a great idea to allow students to be paired up to share their views and opinions. The giving them clues would be great, like scaffolding them to help understand and comprehend the passage.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI also had to do research but it looks like our schema was the same with our answers before the research. I teach 4th grade and this would be a great activity for the students after they have finished their research on the different explorers (they would then have the schema). I agree it does not make sense for students to read this passage without any prior schema since it is hard to comprehend it. I love that you decided to do a "think-pair-share" as a conclusion of this activity. I think the students would get a lot of hearing what others said about this passage.
I like your suggestion of having the students discuss the passage in groups. As long as the students stay on task and have enough trust amongst each other that they won't shy away from stating their questions or confusion about the passage, this would be a really good way to informally assess what they do and do not understand about the passage, and how/why meaning breaks down. Also, it would probably add to their self-confidence and efficacy to explain to them that even adults struggle with making meaning sometimes, and that knowing when and why you are having difficulties is one of the most important aspects of being a good reader. I think a lot of times kids think being a good reader means being a perfect reading (whatever that is...), so I think it would help them to explain how we're all the same even if some of us are more experienced readers.
ReplyDeleteI didn't do the research that the rest of you did unfortunately. I took the passage for what it was and used my schema to come up with an idea for what it was. Now knowing what the passage was about I was completely wrong, but I think that is great lesson learned. Students should be challenged but at the same time given some background information before reading. It shows me how important it is for me to tap into students schema before reading something new with them. I also think though that students shouldn't always read books that apply to their schema. I think it's important for students to be exposed to books outside of their comfort zone in order to progress as readers. Personally I love reading books that I know nothing about because I feel as though I've learned something new afterward.
ReplyDeleteI think it is good that you would educate the students initially on Christopher Columbus and what he did. Building background knowledge like that is very important in the students being able to successfully understand the topic. I also like how you would pair up the students to work together on the topic. I think that student interaction is very vital and would really help the students learn other perspectives and think about the topic in a different manner.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this passage would be more appropriate to introduce towards the end of a unit on Christopher Columbus, that way the students would have an existing schema and could have group discussions to explain what they thought the passage meant to their peers in a no pressure environment. I also think that expecting students to be responsible for texts that are so removed from their existing schema is inappropriate. It is necessary to build connections to build schema, however the texts and material must be scaffolded to be effective.
ReplyDelete