Strategies
"The components of the planning pages consist of the following: 1) Focus and motivation, 2) Input, 3) Guided oral practice, 4) Reading/writing activities, 5) Extended activities for integration, and 6) Closure/evaluation" (Brechtel, 2001).
1) Focus and motivation is the initial part of teaching. The goal is to get students to begin thinking about their thinking (meta-cognition) and to focus on using their knowledge of personal and cultural background. The strategies used during the initial phase of teaching are using visual charts like the T-graph chart, Cognitive Content chart, and observation charts. Creating a teacher-made big book about the body system will help students focus on what they will be learning. The plastic parts of the body like the brain, heart, lungs, liver, stomach, pancreas, large and small intestine, and the kidneys are manipulative that will get students to activate prior knowledge. These strategies will involve whole class participation and will light up student's interest and sets the purpose for learning similar to anticipatory set.
T-graph chart
The T-graph chart will have two questions written on two columns. The questions will be written in Dine, "What do I know about the function and structure of the body?" written on one column and "What more do I want to know about the function and structure of the body?" on the other. The teacher will write exactly what each student says in each column. The T-graph chart will inform me of what the students and the whole class knows about the topic like a quick check list assessment. The chart will be reviewed weekly to answer and validate their answers base on their findings on wall charts or classroom interactions.
Cognitive Content Dictionary
The Cognitive Content Dictionary chart will have daily key signal words students need to know like diabetes, pancreas, dialysis, and structure. The chart will be divided into three columns. The first column will include the signal word with a word study like part of speech, other word forms, antonyms, synonyms, and word of origin. The second column is the meta-cognitive because students will need to think about the meaning of the word: where, why, and how did they come up with their prediction? The third column is the meaning and sketch of the word. Then students will create their own vocabulary dictionary and will write and use the words daily.
Observation charts
Five observation poster charts with pictures about the body, pancreas, diabetes, health, and the Dine' philosophy of life will be used as carousel activity. Students will be grouped into teams and will discuss each poster. The writer will write a sentence, a question or a statement about each poster; then the teams will rotate to the next chart when the teacher says the signal word. The teams are allowed one to two minutes to jot down the information. When the team has completed their rotation another student will orally summarize the first poster they initiated.
Teacher made book
A teacher made book about Atsiis (The Body) will have similar topics as the observation posters with written passages and more pictures. The book will be used for read aloud, team task oral reading, and independent reading. Teacher made big books will contain vocabulary and embedded concepts that will help build background knowledge.
Realia
Examples of realia items will be a plastic model of a body with removable brain, organs, intestines, and kidneys. A plastic model of the skeletal system and an animal cell are other samples. Actual sheep organs will be used to show actual examples.
2) The purpose of Input is the direct teaching of skills and information. It activates active participation using graphics organizers. Within the graphic organizers color coding, chunking information and academic concept, topics, and vocabulary are implemented. Two pictorial input and one comparative input charts, a graphic organizer of the food pyramid and super scientist rewards. Input is direct teaching of the content using a chart with pre-drawn pencil picture sketch with bullet information about the components. Pictures and academic word strips will be added to the charts and graphic organizer. The teacher will use color markers to outline and sketch different portions of the chart. The colors are traced in front of the students to imprint information for the brain, and color coding and chunking information helps students see the patterns. While the teacher explains the information for ten minutes students are engaged and attentive. After ten minutes the teacher stops talking and allows students to negotiate meaning and to give comprehensible output. Then the teacher continues with the chart again and repeats the process until the chart is completed.
Pictorial Input and Comparative Input charts
There will be pictorial sketches of the body with the organs (heart, liver, lungs, stomach, large and small intestine, pancreas and kidney) and the brain. The Dine' philosophy and the four sacred mountains will be sketched on another pictorial chart. The comparative pictorial will have a sketch of a normal pancreas and a diabetic pancreas structure and function combined with information about American Indians (Dine) and diabetes. The super scientist awards are small bright color papers with a picture of a vocabulary word on a sheet. Each award will have different information connecting to the unit and will be given to students who are showing respect, make good decisions, and solving a problem while direct teaching is conducted.
3) The purpose of Guided Oral practice is to teach and guide the students with the academic discourse of the topic while students negotiate meaning, interact with text information, and process information using meta-cognition. It builds self-esteem because the affective filter is low when students are supported using their primary language. The poetry/chants, the sentence pattern chart, expert groups, process grid, and home school connections allow students to negotiate for meaning, learning vocabulary word, and specific topics. Poetry and chants are used when students are learning patterning, poetry formats, and use new academic vocabulary. The sentence patterning chart assist students with vocabulary, sentence structure and the part of speech are incorporated. The process grid will include topics learned from expert groups then are shared with their team. The topics will be diet, fitness, hozho, native food, and native herbs. The process grid is effective ways to have students write expository paragraphs. Home school connections will be part of the student's responsibility to complete homework with family involvement.
4) The purpose of reading and writing activity component is for teachers to model to students how to use a print rich language functional environment, use variety of texts, media, and model teach text patterns. Students will be interactive with oral activities, learn in cooperative groups. They will use various literatures, reading skills, mind maps, oral discussion, and social skills. Then, independent practice of reading and writing of all genres using student's native and English language. It is a balance of teamwork and individual practice. The key is when it has been modeled by the teacher the students are able to independently select free choice reading and writing activities.
5) The purpose of extended activities is to integrate multiple knowledge of what students learned as enduring understanding. The activities will include native chants and music, poetry, art map making of the sacred mountains and sketches of the Dine' philosophy, and local field trips to the cultural center, Dine' nation museum, the science museums, and guest speakers like the culture center director, a hataalii (medicine man), individual with careers in the medical field. Students will create a book about topics they learned or a traditional food cook book, learning folders, creating a food pyramid of traditional and modern food. Students will use technology of power point slide or the new program like the Prezi.
6) The purpose of closure and evaluation is for students to show what they have learned using meta-cognition as personal exploration, to family and to their community. It will be their alternative means of assessment like processing all charts and learning's, on-going assessment and alternative assessment strategies
Students will create posters, student made booklets, pamphlets, website, power-point slides, a play or a skit, a song or chant and other ideas. The poster, pamphlets, and learning folders will be posted and presented at various community sites like at the Indian Health Service, Recreation Center, Shopping center, Senior Citizen Center and at the fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King and Sonics. Rubrics will be created to evaluate students' learning as one of their self-assessment. Processing all charts learned, a jeopardy game, and a summative assessment will be students' end product, which will lead to enduring knowledge.
Comments: