Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Word Maps

from http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/word_maps/

A word map is a visual organizer that promotes vocabulary development. Using a graphic organizer, students think about terms or concepts in several ways. Most word map organizers engage students in developing a definition, synonyms, antonyms, and a picture for a given vocabulary word or concept. Enhancing students' vocabulary is important to developing their reading comprehension.

Share your examples!

Why use word maps?

They're useful for helping students develop their understanding of a word.
They help students think about new terms or concepts in several ways by asking the following questions:
"What is it?"
"What is it like?" and
"What are some examples?"
They help student build upon prior knowledge and visually represent new information.

When to use:	Before reading	During reading	After reading
How to use:	Individually	With small groups	Whole class setting

How to use word maps

Introduce the vocabulary word and the map to the students.
Teach them how to use the map by putting the target word in the central box.
Ask students to suggest words or phrases to put in the other boxes which answer the following questions: "What is it?" "What is it like?" and "What are some examples?"
Encourage students to use synonyms, antonyms, and a picture to help illustrate the new target word or concept.
Model how to write a definition using the information on the word map.

Download blank templates

Template 1 (52K PDF)*
Template 2 (64K PDF)*
Template 3 (28K PDF)*

Examples

Language Arts

See example of a completed word map for the vocabulary word "harbor" and examples of using synonyms, antonyms and the student's description.

See example > (76K PDF)*

Math

See how teachers can use word maps to teach new and unfamiliar terms in various math units.

See example > (52K PDF)*

Science

See how teachers can use this strategy to teach unfamiliar vocabulary terms in science units.

See example > (688K PDF)*

Social Studies

See how word maps can be integrated within a geography lesson to teach new concepts and terms.

See example > (8K PDF)*

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Five Senses

Observation -- Five Senses

1. Five Senses. What do you see? What objects, plants, or animals are in the place? What colors do you see? What do you hear? What would a hidden microphone record in the place you're describing? What does the air smell like? Is it annoying? pleasant? What does it remind you of? Where does the smell come from -- are there blooming flowers? cooking food? cans of oil? What do you taste? Are you touching anything? (Skip any questions that don't make sense for the place you're describing.)

2. Different Angles. Consider the object you're describing from different angles. What does the object look like from the top? What if you were underneath the object? What would you see or notice if you were looking at the object from the right side? What does it look like from the left side? Make the object the Earth. You become the moon, and orbit the object. What do you notice as you travel around it?

3. Focus on the Iceberg. Only one-eighth of an iceberg is above the surface of the water. The majority of the iceberg is underwater, yet most people think only about the part that appears above the surface. There are two options for you to consider: choose the one that fits your object best. (1) Look only at the top eighth or so of the object. If you saw only the upper eighth, if the rest were submerged, what would you think about the object? What would you see? What would you make of the part that you couldn't see? (2) Think about your object creatively. What you see, there on the surface, is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. What is hidden below the surface? What might you think of the object based only on the surface appearance, and what is the significance of the parts of the object that cannot be seen?

4. Tiny Ants. When you're in a tall building looking down at the ground, the people and objects moving around can look like tiny ants. Take a bird's-eye view of your object. Put it in the world of tiny ants. From far above, what would you see? What would seem important? What features would be noticeable?

5. Technicalities. Write an technical description of your object. Look at the object as you might to describe it for a legal document or in a scientific report. Focus on the known facts, rather than opinions or impressions that you have of the object. Focus on an objective view.

6.Create a cartoon version. The cartoon world is a bit different from the real world. If your object were in a cartoon world, what parts would be exaggerated for comic effect? What parts would probably be omitted from the cartoon drawing? What cartoon would the object probably appear in? How does thinking of your object as a cartoon influence what you see?

7. Different days. How does the object or place change from one day to the next? Is it different on weekends? Take me through a week in the life of the object. If you were to peek in on it every day, what would change? What would stay the same?

8. Longshot. Pretend it's twenty years in the future. Take a look at your object or place. What do you notice? How would you describe it twenty years from now? What characteristics would remain the same? What would change? What would you see? hear? smell? How could you tell that time had passed by just by looking at the object or place?

9. 15 Minutes of Fame. According to Andy Warhol, everyone has 15 minutes of fame. What would your object's or place's 15 minutes be? Describe your object in a way that highlights the features that place it in the limelight. Add details that help me understand how your object or place gained its 15 minutes.

10. Opposites. You can learn a great deal about an object or place by defining the things that it is not. Describe the things that your object or place is not. What features and characteristics would never apply to it? How are these characteristics and features important? Why is their absence important?

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Blogger How To List of Tutorials

from http://www.bloggerbuster.com/2008/04/complete-list-of-blogger-tutorials.html

Blogger News and Issues

This section features important news and tutorials relating to your use of Blogger.com.

Custom Domains

This section features tutorials in regard to using Blogger's "custom domains" service.

Customizing your Blogger Template

This section features all the articles I have written with regard to customizing your Blogger templates.

I have further divided this category to help you easily find a particular customization for your needs.

Overall Layout/General Customizations

Here you will find links to posts which discuss general/overall aspects of customizing your Blogger template.

Header/Navigation

These tutorials can help you develop the header and navigational areas of your Blogger template.

Posts

Here you can find links to articles which discuss styling of the main posts area, including the comments and post-footer sections.

Sidebar(s)

These articles have particular relevance to designing your sidebar(s)

Create a Cross-Fading, Featured Posts Slideshow

Creating a Label/Tag Cloud in your Sidebar

Footer Section

This section focuses on customizations for the footer section of your blog.

How to Add Three Columns to your Footer Section

Feeds and Syndication

These articles discuss your blog feeds and blog syndication.

General Tutorials

This section features general articles of interest

Images, Icons and Badges

Here you will find articles regarding the use if imagery in your Blogger template and posts.

Labels Categories and Tags

This section contains articles discussing the use of labels, categories and tags in Blogger blogs.

Monetize your Blog

These posts feature information about adding advertisements or using Google Adsense in regard to your Blogger blog.

Resources for Bloggers

Here are posts discussing useful resources for bloggers.

SEO and Blog Traffic

This category features posts which discuss search engine optimization (SEO) and generating blog traffic.

Widgets and Add-Ons

Here are articles featuring widgets and add-ons which you can use to add functionality to your Blogger blogs.

Drawbridge Exercise

exercise 12-2

JOHN HAD A BUSY DAY

QUESTIONS

Mark Each Statement with: T F ?

1. John worked hard at the office that day. ______

2. On his way home from the office, John stopped at a convenience store. _____

3. John stopped at the store around noon. _____

4. John was a smoker. _____

5. John purchased a pack of cigarettes. _____

6. John made a date with the store clerk. ______

7. The store clerk was male. _____

8. A heavy-set man entered the store. _____

9. The heavy-set man brought a large canvas bag into the store. _____

10. The heavy-set man brusquely pushed John aside. _____

11. Although the cash register originally contained money, the story does not say how much.

______

12. The heavy-set man left the store with the bag under his arm. _____

13. A crime was committed at the convenience store. _____

C2 C Thinking

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