Science Department Teacher Meetings -Term II Overview and Reflection

Margaret Aull Year 11 Reading Task with Comprehension Strategies

Occasionally I’m presented with a text which seems to be too difficult for anyone to read let alone Year 11 art students. I wondered about a language features approach to the text but this seemed to be overkill for such a short text where the degree of lexical dentistry is more normal at a University level. It seemed the best approach was to reinforce the reading strategies needed to read such a difficult. Through teacher talk, students must be encouraged to read and reread the text until they have gained some understanding of the academic and philosophical concepts contained within the passage. There are some weighty and sometimes personal issues mentioned in the text. Teacher talk may wish to explain that topics explored in Aull art such as spiritual essence, metaphorical references and metaphysical representation may not be fully clarified just by reading the text. These concepts will require some intensive investigation if clarification is desired. ie the writer is somewhat ‘none the wiser’ having read the text and having investigated the topics in terms of the vocabulary definitions.

A Maternal Lens Curated by Ema Tavola Margaret Aull

Mrs Gren, Reading in the Science Classroom

In the 1990s YouTube became available as a teaching tool. The US Military was quick to seize upon this new facility when giving instruction in the use of sophisticated weaponry such as missile launchers. Military instructors resorted to this method because, it was argued, many enlisted me lacked the literacy skills needed to read instruction manuals. US football coaches abandoned the whiteboard in favour of using videos when discussing field tactics claiming young players turned off the minute a coach picked up a whiteboard marker or piece of chalk. It’s impossible to accurately assess if, during the 1990s, there was a real decline in literacy skills or attention spans. Either way, videos now play a large part in academic instruction. I’ve witnessed its use in after-lunch classes, where students put on their headphones, sit quietly for twenty minutes and watch the screen. This silent disco of a lesson provides a way to get students on task but it avoids the very real need to put written texts in front of students. Texts which they must process as they strengthen their comprehension skills. In addition to the video, teachers reported using this task to ensure the detailed concepts of MRS GREN are being learned.

Anticipation Guides -Before and After Reading

An anticipation guide is a quick way to get students to work on their prediction skills. After completing the first section of the guide and having looked at the text, students should be able to write a quick guess about the topic or text to be studied during that day's lesson.