Classroom Close-up
Reviewed by Tiffany Flowers, Assistant Professor of Education at Georgia Perimeter College
“There is no one strategy that fits every content area, age group, or situation but each strategy needs to be chosen based on the goals of the lesson."
An Interview with Dianne de Las Casas – Motivating Readers with a Sparkling Spirit
I wanted students to know more than just the nucleus was the control center. Here is what a finished product might look like.
The important thing about the nucleus is that it is the control center of the cell.
It contains the DNA or genetic code.
It controls everything the cell does and makes.
It is large and round and is located near the center of the cell.
But the important thing about the nucleus is that it is the control center of the cell.
Another example of how it could be used is with the various rock types. Once again, I wanted students to know more than just how they were formed.
The important thing about igneous rocks is that they are formed from melted rock that has hardened.
Some have crystals - big or small.
Some are glassy.
Some have air holes in them and may even float.
But, the important thing about igneous rocks is that they are formed from melted rock that has hardened.
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product might look like.
Gray Squirrel
Who is small and gray with a fluffy tail, a
great climber, and loud when warning of
potential danger?
Cousin of mice, rats, chipmunks, and other
rodents
Lover of acorns, berries, bark, and “flying”
from tree to tree
Who feels shy around other animals and
humans, territorial around other squirrels,
and brave when jumping from tree to tree.
Who needs seeds and nuts for food, tall
trees for food and shelter, and leaves and
sticks for their nest
Who fears owls, hawks, cats, and coyotes.
Who gives up tail hair to make nests for
the young, forgotten acorns to become
saplings in the
1-5 kits each spring.
Who would like to see unguarded bird
feeders, mild winters, and large nut trees.
Resident of the temperate forest
ecosystems
Also known as Sciurus griseus
Content area teachers can enrich their
teaching by adding reading strategies that
not only help the students build valuable
reading skills, but also bring deeper
understanding and comprehension to the
content.
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4. Biopoem: In this strategy, students take on
the role of a character or object in the text and
use information from the text and their
inferences to fill out the structure. This is a
good strategy to use when students need to go
beyond memorization of facts and begin
applying information to a specific scenario. The
structure of the biopoem is listed below from
Vacca et al. (2014).
Line 1. First name
Line 2. Four traits that describe character
Line 3. Relative (“brother,” “sister,”
“daughter,” etc.) of ___________________
Line 4. Lover of ________________ (list
three things or people)
Line 5. Who feels ______________ (three
items)
Line 6. Who needs ______________ (three
items)
Line 7. Who fears ______________ (three
items)
Line 8. Who gives ______________ (three
items)
Line 9. Who would like to see
______________ (three items)
Line 10. Resident of __________________
Line 11. Last name (p. 289)
This strategy works well not only for
biographies of scientist or other important
people in history, but I teach biology and bio-
means life, so I like to modify it slightly to work
for the living organisms we study. I would use
this when studying the different habitats/
ecosystems/biomes and the animals that are a
part of them. Students would take on the role
of one of the organisms living in the area and
fill out their biopoem accordingly. Most
animals do not have first and last names,
therefore, some modifications might be
necessary, or scientific names could be used.
The following is an example of what a finished
.