Classroom Vignette
"You Want Me to Do WHAT in Biology Class?!"
by Donna Parker and Melissa Dillon,
Dublin Scioto High School, Dublin, Ohio
When our students realize we are actually serious about using reading comprehension
strategies outside of their language arts class, we typically see the obligatory
eye rolling and then a look of wild fear. After the fear subsides, we hit them with
another shock―"You will be reading a fiction book this year that relates to what
we have studied." You should see the mad dash to the counselors' offices to check
on openings in other biology sections. It amuses us since we are both avid readers
who can't grasp why reading is so scary for our students. However, by the end of
the year, our students have at least one good reading comprehension strategy as
well as a better appreciation for how exciting science can be in the form of a work
of fiction.
We will share with you one of the more successful strategies we use for reading
comprehension and note taking as well as the way we set up our literacy circles.
Reading Comprehension and Note Taking
Most of us rely on a traditional textbook at some time as a mechanism to relay or
review information to students; and as most of us know when we say to students,
"Read this carefully and take good notes," we might as well be talking to ourselves
because students will skim the assigned section and maybe write down the boldface
terms.
The strategy we employ here is to assign each student one section of the reading.
(We try to make sure there are no more than five students reading any one section.)
Students are given Post-it flags or underlining tape (both available at an office
supply store) so that as they read, they can highlight what they feel are the key
points of the reading. The length of the reading determines the number of key points
we let students highlight. However, at a maximum there should not be more than four
key points. This part may take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.
Next, students are put into groups that have read the same section. Students discuss
their key points and decide the three or four key points (again, depending on the
length of the reading). Students list each key point on a separate index card using
a single, complete sentence. This task may take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.
As students discuss their points, we move from group to group to ensure that they
are selecting the most important points and that the points are neatly recorded
on index cards. Next, we provide students with an outline for guided notes, and
students move from station to station, recording the notes the other groups took.
There is a section on the outline for "issues I don't understand or questions I
still have." For homework, students are asked to go home and look over the notes,
recording any uncertainties they may have, which then become grist for the next
day's discussion. However, be forewarned the first time you do this. Students will
most likely not ask a single question because "We understand it all." We remedy
this by giving a quick quiz that includes a question on a tricky concept―one we
know no one understands but everyone is afraid to ask about. You will hear nonstop
complaining about how "We didn't really understand this," etc. We simply tell students
that when given the opportunity to ask about unclear content, they should ask next
time―end of discussion. The next time you do this, be prepared for an abundance
of questions!
Literacy Circles/Book Clubs
Last year we were looking for an organized way to have students read and discuss
a fiction book. After researching literacy circles and talking with our reading
specialist, we developed a plan that we think worked well. To begin, we spent the
summer looking for three suitable books (we ended up choosing Dark Inheritance
by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear, Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson,
and Dust by Charles Pellegrino). By "suitable," we are referring to how strongly
each book correlated to Ohio Graduation Standards and how readable and interesting
the book was. We wanted students to have a choice, and we wanted to keep the literacy
circles small so that students would be responsible for conducting their own discussion,
rather than having one of us drive the discussion. After students were provided
with a synopsis of each book, they selected and obtained the book of their choice.
At this point we also asked students whom they would prefer to work with on this
seven-week project. With this information in mind, we formed the book club groups.
Each group had a director and an artist/illustrator. The director was responsible
for checking to make sure that each group member had completed his or her assignment,
for leading the group in discussion, and for turning in group assignments to the
group notebook. The artist/illustrator was responsible for creating some kind of
picture (cartoon, drawing, collage, etc.) that related to the week's reading and
for writing a caption that explained the picture. Even though the person was the
artist/illustrator, he or she was not exempt from contributing to the group discussion.
All the group members (including the director) were responsible for bringing five
terms with definitions and five discussion questions with suggested answers and
for participating in the group discussion. Each week, students rotated roles within
their group. No student could perform a role twice until every student had the opportunity
to act in that role.
Every Friday during spring quarter, groups decided on the five best terms and definitions,
chose the five best discussion questions and answers, and discussed the illustration.
Groups also discussed changes in plot and other issues that arose during the reading.
Finally, students worked on long-term projects that were due at the end of the book
club. This format worked well, as it allowed us to rotate from group to group to
listen to group discussion and to question student work.
In addition to discussion, students were responsible for ongoing projects that were
due when the book club concluded. Mandatory projects included using the Ohio Academic
Standards: Students had to identify as many standards as they could that were met
by their book and specify which paragraph met which standard. Students were asked
to write a test that included 15 objective questions, 4 short-answer questions,
and an essay question and to provide an answer key for their test.
We also included a "You Pick'em" set of projects, where students selected the project
that best fit their group's interests, abilities, and talents. "You Pick'em" projects
included creating a new book cover, writing a book review, creating a timeline and
character map, making a video to reenact a scene from the book, writing the next
chapter of the book, or rewriting the final chapter.
Definitely Worth the Time and Effort!
We won't lie―it took a lot of time to work out the logistics of what we wanted to
do and how we wanted to do it, but overall we feel the book club is one of the best
things we did all year because we actually heard excitement in students' voices
as they discussed the week's reading. It was wonderful to see the effort and high
quality of work that were reflected in the students' weekly questions and final
projects. Most importantly, it was a great feeling to hear our students suggest
their books to other students outside the class and to know that our students left
the class with a good feeling about reading. (For some responses from students about
the program, see the box below.)
Donna Parker teaches biology and chemistry at Dublin Scioto High School. She has
a master's degree in geology. She is a National Board Certified Teacher/AYA-Science.
Melissa Dillon teaches biology and physics at Dublin Scioto High School. She is
pursuing a master's degree in educational leadership at the University of Dayton.
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