Reading is a metacognitive activity. When somebody reads
something, they have thoughts or ideas that stem from what they have read. If
you are one of these readers, you probably remember what you read more easily
than somebody who says they just read the words. The concept of reading being
metacognitive may also be subconscious to people, and only becoming conscious of
upon hearing these words from another person. As somebody studying to become a science
teacher, I see the value in helping students realize that reading is a metacognitive
process. Once this is done, it will be easier for students to build upon
reading skills, and give meaning to what they have read, allowing them to
recall that information more easily in the future. One such strategy is to
connect what you’re reading to something that you are familiar with, such as
connecting people sitting on a bus to Octet Rule in chemistry. Steve Cosgrove’s
biology class outlines this idea. The students were only reading the words, and
as a result, they were unable to recall the information well enough to meet
Steve’s
Nick, I like that you will devote time to reading strategies at the beginning of the year, but I can't help but wonder how long is too long? How long can we spend time teaching readings strategies when there is so much content that has to be taught and learned? In my own opinion, it doesn't matter because the students will make the most out of their reading if they are taught how to analyze and understand the text. But, you are always going to have people asking that question.
ReplyDeleteAs future science teachers, we have to be able to do more with the content than just throwing the students a book to read...because as we know, science is hard! Personally, I would like to do activities with the material (make the DNA and RNA molecules, have them balance equations in a fun way- one of my middle school teachers had us balance equations with chalk right on the black workbenches... there was something about writing on the tables that make it that much more interesting to learn!)
Of course, like they said in the D&Z Ch 1, we can't hope that every student becomes passionate about our subject, but if we make it fun, a few students may!
Another fun idea... We could grow lettuce seeds in light and dark environments... all that is required are test tubes, lettuce seeds, a cotton disk and a few drops of water!... This is doing something with the material... they can figure out whether the lettuce seeds grow better in the dark or in sunlight!
So although you would like to teach reading strategies, I hope reading isn't where the bulk of the learning will be taking place.
Nick, I think that it is great that you want to make sure that the students have good reading strategies, but I also don't think that it would be good to spend too much time on it. When I was in high school, the only time I read the textbook was when I had an extra question, or in Chemistry AP. I learned the most through the activities. I think that the textbooks should be provided only as extra support for a student that needs it after the lesson. So the students shouldn't have to be reading very much from the textbook, and then if there are any outside readings that you provide, those are more likely going to be easier, and more interesting to read than the textbook. So they will have an easier time reading them than the book. Therefore, I think that it is great to talk about the reading skills but, I wouldn't take too long on that subject. :)
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