Navigating the Core Curriculum - Toby J. Karten

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everything they know about the Vikings, want to know, and learned at the end of the unit in the KWL chart. See figure 2.3 (page 26). For example, students responding that the Vikings football team from Minnesota chose its name to emulate the fierceness of a group that lived centuries ago might lead to a motivating discussion on Viking history.

      Then, students use the tasks and guided questions in figure 2.4 (page 26) to practice the vocabulary they acquire during the lesson. The teacher identifies learner decoding and word application skills and levels. Just as the Vikings explored new lands, students need to explore and conquer these academic words to then understand the social studies content.

       Intervene

      The teacher might decide to subdivide the tasks or guided questions with additional scaffolding, so he or she can provide lists of word blends and have students practice the words in text. Teachers can use the graphic organizers in figure 2.5 (page 26) and figure 2.6 (page 27) as models to assist students with differing reading abilities and executive functioning skills to categorize words and syllables.

      The teacher gives students fiction and nonfiction passages, ranging from those in a social studies text to online reads, such as ReadWorks’ (2015) “Long Live the Vikings” (www.readworks.org/passages/long-live-vikings) to fictional stories and fables about Viking gods with multimedia presentations, such as those at BrainPOP Educators’ (n.d.) “Lesson Ideas: Vikings” (https://educators.brainpop.com/bp-topic/vikings). He or she presents the concepts in sequential and manageable steps, from simple to complex, to minimize confusion.

       Figure 2.3: KWL chart for Vikings lesson.

       Figure 2.4: Tasks and guided questions for Vikings lesson.

       Figure 2.5: Categorization chart for Vikings lesson.

       Ensure Internalization

      Finally, the teacher allows students to practice their new vocabulary in various ways to ensure they internalize the learning, including performing arts with Viking collages, skits, interpretive dances, and songs. Some students write captions for Viking clipart (Classroom Clipart [http://bit.ly/2eiELKH]).

      To help students internalize their learning, teachers invite them to participate in a think-pair-share activity. Think-pair-share is a cooperative way to engage learners in small-group structured discussions to help them understand the content (Rubinstein-Avila, 2013). Teachers give students time to independently engage with the text and then connect or pair with another student or group to expand their knowledge. Linguistic engagements accompany the textual ones. Think-pair-share is effective for increasing intrinsic motivation and also has implications for students with different language proficiencies (Shih & Reynolds, 2015). In this case, students read brief passages and have small-group discussions about what they read and learned—the Viking takeaways. Of course, this example includes invited application across multiple subjects and grades.

       Figure 2.6: Syllables chart for Vikings lesson.

      Grade 8 Vocabulary Lesson on the Federalists

      I once observed an eighth-grade social studies teacher lecture her students on the Federalist period in U.S. history. Slowly, she began to lose the students’ attention. They somewhat listened as the teacher and other students read the history text. The teacher periodically stopped the reading to ask low-level comprehension questions.

      Later, I had a coaching session with the teacher and asked if she ever thought about engaging students in an activity to better help them understand the Federalist period and its relevant vocabulary words. She responded that she used to do a Federalist tug-of-war activity, show videos, and assign group research projects, but there was no time for that anymore. Ouch! I shared that students would not remember the words or concepts in a unit unless they are actively involved with multiple experiences. I encourage teachers to try the following steps to help students learn the Federalist concepts and vocabulary.

      Think-pair-share is a cooperative way to engage learners in small-group structured discussions to help them understand the content.

       Identify Knowledge

      Figure 2.7 (page 28) offers various ways a teacher can engage students with historical words and events through word exploration and critical-thinking activities.

       Figure 2.7: Federalist word tasks and guided questions.

       Intervene

      Teachers ask students to reword and divide more difficult questions into their components for students. For example, instead of asking students to delineate why Hamilton objected to the constitutional proposals for civilian rule and military strength, the teacher could say, “Explain who Hamilton was and why he did not want civilian rule. Offer examples of constitutional proposals at this time and how Hamilton felt about the U.S. government’s military strength.”

       Ensure Internalization

      Finally, teachers can have students participate in a kinesthetic debate to explore the concepts and share viewpoints to ensure they internalize the learning. Students stand by corresponding numbers on a number line that is posted on the floor to express their agreements and disagreements. The teacher uses sticky notes or sentence strips with the negative and positive numbers listed. As students share text-based statements, they listen to their peers and move to a different location on the number line if the fact-based opinions they hear sway them. This movement generates a vocabulary-rich class discussion and debate. The teacher instructs students to reference text-based vocabulary posted on a Federalist word wall.

       Figure 2.8: Federalist kinesthetic number line.

      Figure 2.8 shows how to set up the number line in the classroom. Algebra teachers will appreciate the mathematics reinforcement of negative and positive numbers in the social studies classroom. Teachers verbally and visually present statements to the class to assist students with different levels of listening and reading skills. He or she posts one descriptor at a time on an interactive board or PowerPoint slide. Students then move to the number that indicates their level of agreement or disagreement. The teacher can use the following debate prompts.

      ➢ Alexander Hamilton was correct to say that the Federal government should take over the unpaid debts of the states during the American Revolution.

      ➢ Thomas Jefferson was right to believe in the power of individual people, such as farmers, in favor of a strong central

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