Module 7: Examining Similarities & Differences and Identifying Errors in Thinking (p. 85-100)
Included in this design question are activities to help students practice and deepen their knowledge. What are your thoughts on the following topics and how have you or could you use them in your classroom/instructional setting?
- Comparing
- Classifying
- Creating similes and metaphors
- Creating analogies
- Identifying errors in thinking
While I was reading this module, I kept thinking, "wow, this would be challenging for my 2nd graders!" Some of the activities mentioned were difficult for me to follow, let alone for me to teach at a level my students could be successful with.
ReplyDeleteThere are many lessons and times that I use comparing with my students. As found in other research, comparing and contrasting has proven to be a highly effective strategy for students to deepen their knowledge. I am using different ways to compare/contract in my current teaching practices and not just using a Venn Diagram. I also made a connection to the text on p. 87 with the comparison sentence stems; these are very much like what we use in the ELA when doing our writing prompts.
We do some classifying in my classroom, but after reading this text, I will try to see how I can use that strategy more. I mainly thought of classifying with science techniques, so I will try to branch out.
I think using similes and metaphors can be confusing for primary students, students who are still "reading to learn," ELL students, and high poverty students with limited vocabulary skills. That doesn't mean that these populations can't do similes and metaphors, but it will take a lot of modeling.
I feel that creating analogies can be a very powerful tool! Research proves this. I used to teach analogies more when I taught upper grades (4th-5th). I think we should use analogies more often than we have recently as many standardized tests seem to have analogies. I do like the Visual Prompt for an Analogy (Figure 7.7 on p. 94). I think this would be a great way to introduce analogies to primary students.
I am really not sure how to use any of the identifying errors in thinking strategies with my 2nd graders. I think those concepts are SO abstract and I'm not sure how to bring that down to my students' level of understanding. Anyone else have any ideas here?
As I was reading this section, I too was thinking "wow this is going to be difficult for some of my 4th graders". I then had to re-read to to adjust my filter and I realized that we could incorporate some of these with our new AVID strategies. The only one that I really shied away from was the identifying errors. I can it used with debates, but we tried that last year and it was a little hairy with a lot of teacher direction much less having them do it independently.
DeleteI completely agree with you, Kim, about some of these ideas being WAY above the kids' heads. The identifying errors section just made me laugh as I thought about our ELL kids and primary kids. But I'm glad to hear that Amy has some new strategies that will help make this work with AVID!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kim on mainly using the comparing strategy. I use almost all of the examples in the book except the Double-Bubble Diagram That seems messy to me and it could be because of my OCDness, but I think my students need to have a little more structure then that strategy lends. I really liked the idea of making an interactive bulletin board. I would love to do that in my room and have students help add to it and correct it as we go through a unit in ELA. I think it would bring their learning to a focus point and help with the end of the unit writing piece.
ReplyDeleteI use the classifying strategy more with science than anything else, but with our new science guide, I didn't use it hardly at all last year. I think it would be interesting to use it in math. It would work great for geometry and maybe even to classify different ways to solve basic problems. It's something I may try this year.
Creating similes and metaphors was a light bulb moment for me. I only used these when treasures called for us to teach them. Duh, this would be a great way for students to express themselves in a sentence on how they thought the lesson went or how their learning was during the lesson. It would also be a quick check for understanding of the concepts. I'm thinking of doing this a my close for the lesson.
I wish my teachers would have taught us the visual for analogies (figure 7.7 pg.94). I have always struggled with making these and this visual clicked for me. I see this being used in ELA to make connections within texts or between texts and science.
I did not like the Identifying Errors in Thinking section. I found this to be more for secondary students. I think we could incorporate some of these aspects to a debate, but I really find it hard to imagine my 4th graders being able to do this.
This module made me open my eyes to different ways to deepen my students knowledge. Every time they mentioned discussing with a small group or partner, my mind automatically went to have study buddies for my kiddos. I'm also wondering if some of these strategies would be good to use with buddy classes. I have Susy's class as my buddy and they could work on some of these strategies with their buddies. I'm just not sure how many classes do the buddy thing. Do any of you?
Amy, it's funny you mentioned the Double-Bubble diagram. I was thinking it was kind of cool as something different. I hadn't seen it before. I do understand what you're feeling, though-- about having more structure. I was thinking with younger kids we could have parts of it filled out already to get kids started.
DeleteI know that comparing, contrasting and classifying are all important skills to learn and that they help students develop deeper understanding. I have witnessed students grasping new knowledge these ways. I did like the Double Bubble Diagram as something different to try.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Identifying Errors in Thinking was way too much for elementary students. I agree completely that it's too bad there have to be so many middle schoo/high school examples in this book. Maybe their next book(s) could be written for specific levels?
Question 3-Module 7
DeleteComparing seems like one of the easier concepts to teach. For example, I've used comparison sentence stems to identify similarities and differences between haikus and cinquains.
I try to make Venn Diagrams more complex than the traditional two intersecting circles. When reading the section about the Double Bubble Diagram, I was excited to learn this new technique. Students often cram in their responses making them unorganized and unreadable in the traditional Venn Diagram.
I could also see how the Comparison Matrix will fit in nicely with the expectation of using charts with our new AVID approach. Student groups could present information to complete the chart. The individual assessment would be completing the last column explaining the similarities and differences.
Using the Classification Chart could be used to sort and identify attributes into categories. I would probably provide the students with the initial information, then students would cut/glue the attributes in the correct locations. Eventually, to deepen their understanding of a topic, I would have students develop their own attributes.
Our language is full of similes and metaphors. Students seem to enjoy writing and illustrating examples. The students catch on to the use of "like" or "as" in their examples.
When creating analogies to help deepen their understanding, I use the format of A:B::C:D. The use of colons substitutes for the words "is to" and "as."
I enjoyed reading the section Identifying Errors in Thinking. Students need to be able to evaluate any topic using logic. We discuss how we shouldn't believe everything we read. With all the political discussions going on now, the skill of finding faulty logic will be a valuable tool. This category is important s this is a life long skill.
This module is full of a lot of thinking. Comparing, contrasting, classifying, metaphors, on and on. I believe that our students need visuals in all of their learning. I am a visual learner and I connect with that. Making a visual connections to learning is a way to help students connect to it and draw upon in their recollection of their learning. I agree with Valerie that the Identifying Errors in Thinking is valuable for our students. They need to be able to think about what they are learning in a logical way and filter it in a logical sequence. I remind my parents almost daily that you can't always believe what you hear or read (especially on Facebook). The author of information can always make it sound like their information is the best.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3, module 7
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the classroom with my 4th and 5th grader all of these strategies were very big, except for finding the errors. That one is new to me. Several years ago, when teachers started reading about Marzano, there was a big push for using graphic organizers, specifically compare/contrast with the venn diagrams.What suprised me is how challenging it was for them to be able to correctly fill in the venn diagrams with information. There used to be one maybe two facts that didn't belong inside the circles of the Venn Diagram and that was a lot like finding the errors, but it was only at the identification stage, nothing deepr. The kids love the similes and metaphors. I always liked teaching those early in the year so they could begin spotting them in their reading. But there is a difference between spotting them and really getting the deeper meaning out of them. I liked the graphic organizers that they had. Analogies seemed to always be harder for my kids, and I really liked the visual prompt they showed. I think the added benefit of a visual for our kids would really help them a lot! I can totally see the reasoning and the benefit behind the part about finding the errors. I think the misinformation followed by the weak references would be the easiest for our kids to understand at the elementary level, through non-fiction first.