Final Blog Post #4
For this last
blog, I’m going to analyze 3 different possible sources of information for use
in my classroom. Although there are hundreds if not thousands of ways to
present this material, only a few will be helpful, and we as teachers need to
figure out what works and what doesn’t to facilitate learning. I chose one of
my old textbooks, a YouTube video and another music video that is culturally
based for this assignment.
The students that
this would work well for would be a class of 6-9th grade Earth
Science students and combining all 3 types of sources will benefit the students
in such a way that will be fun, engaging, and educational. We’ll start the
analysis with the printed text first.
1)
The printed
text I chose was Evolution of the Earth
by Donald R. Prothero and Robert H. Dott, Jr., Eighth Edition
This text is a complete history of our ever-changing planet. It starts from the formation of our planet and continues through the cause and effect of our presence and carbon footprint on this planet we call home. To me this text qualitatively feels like an upper high school or freshman college level text due to the complex terminology and I feel that some prior knowledge is required to understand the material.
If there is no prior knowledge, then I, as the
teacher need to take this text little by little to ensure my students
understand the concepts and vocabulary presented as well as utilize the
pictures in the text to assist in understanding.
Using “story
toolz” I entered some text into it, and story toolz gave this text an overall
level rating of a sophomore in college at a grade 14.2 with the lowest being a
grade of 12.5, senior in high school. My estimation of this text was right on
and I feel that one of the reasons for the high grade it was given is due to
the vocabulary in the text.
Some of the words related to plate tectonics
in the book are lithosphere, divergent and convergent plate boundaries, subduction
zones, strike-slip, and normal and reverse faults. These terms could
use a visual aid to help students understand the concepts.
The purpose of
this text is to introduce the material as well as to expand on any prior
related topics already given.
I would have to do
some engaging classroom activities to make this subject matter interesting,
because it is kind of dry in this book. This book is probably more complex than
my student’s prior knowledge and I would have to make adjustments accordingly,
so my students are able to grasp the context or suggest a different book to the
school district.
2) YouTube
Video-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmC-vjQGSNM
(With Transcripts)
This you tube video describes in 8 minutes or so the whole
process of plate tectonics from Pangea all the way through today and what
causes the volcanos to erupt around the “Ring of Fire”.
According to StoryToolz, this transcript has an average
grade level rating of 6.7, so 6th or 7th grade Middle
school, but it went as high as grade level 7.5. However, I found this creator
simplistic in his explanations but appropriate for the quantitative grade
level. I might challenge my students here, and possibly use a text rated for 8th
or 9th grade to assist in their vocabulary and critical thinking
growth and understanding. Some of the
words that might be challenging in this transcript will be: Tsunami,
Ring of Fire, Magnetic Polarity, Concept of Magnetic Flipping, and the Concept
of Ocean Crust being heavier than Continental Crust.
The purpose of this video was to try and explain plate
tectonics in a simplistic way and I think the creator achieved that goal.
However, I still think that some prior knowledge is needed here just because of
the vocabulary terms. I think that the matching of prior knowledge and
accessibility is better in this video than in the printed textbook.
(Flo. Rida’s song “Whistle” Parody)
(80’s “Supersonic” Parody)
Even though I found that Culturally
Relevant issues would be the hardest to address, I found these last two music videos
I thought could be used in an urban setting to assist in the Culturally
Relevancy of this topic. One is by a current popular rap artist, Flo. Rida,
with a parody done by Sue Selle, to his song “Whistle”, and the other a parody was
done by 5th grade students to the famous 80’s rap group J.J. Fad’s
song “SuperSonic”. Both parodies are about plate tectonics and what drives
them, as well as what happens when the different plates collide.
Quantitatively,
StoryToolz has both videos with the lowest grade level of 10.4, so a sophomore
in high school, and an upper grade level of 31.3-31.8. I believe the grade
level of possibly 8th-10th grade is a better judge of the
text complexity of the videos. This is due to the fact that some prior knowledge
is needed to understand the material, the videos present the topic in a fun, interesting
and simple way to aid in the learning process. Some of the terms that might be
difficult have been mentioned before, but they are: Convergent and Divergent Plate
Boundaries, Plate Collisions, and the Ring of Fire.
These videos made
the text and the accessibility very easy and the purpose was to make learning
about plate tectonics fun and motivating because they were related to the kind
of music that urban youth might listen to, even though one is outdated by
several decades, it’s still relevant. I think the task matches the complexity
and the accessibility very well, but it definitely would get them engaged and
motivated.
(Thought this was a fun video)
I
put this in because it was a fun way to help students to calm down and destress
before a standardized test. This cover song was
written and performed by teachers in an effort to take some of the stress away
from elementary students undergoing standardized testing. One of the most
popular songs of the school year, "Let It Go," was the perfect song
to use for the parody.
The first two resources look really excellent. I like that you would be willing to trust your 6 - 9th grade students with the text despite the very high quantitative complexity. As long as you break it down, it should be achievable and upon completion, students will feel very accomplished.
ReplyDeleteThe video from Bozeman science is excellent. The man who makes those videos does an excellent job. It can be a bit dense at times, but students always can rewind or re-watch the video with more ease than rereading a dry textbook.
Good stuff.
I have a question regarding your first text choice. It looks like a full book if I am not mistaken. What would you assign to your students? Nice work overall and it seems like you put a lot of thought into your text set!
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