READING QUIZZES
You may notice that one of our most recent grades in the gradebook was a Reading Quiz on Section 2.3. As I explained to your students before and after that quiz at the start of class yesterday, when I give a reading quiz, I am not just trying to determine if students read. I know that reading a textbook - let alone a science textbook - is not easy and is not fun. I will never expect students to gain full understanding of a subject by reading it out of the book, but I do want them to get used to using the textbook to build background on a topic before coming to class.
One of our goals in 9th grade is to develop solid textbook reading and note-taking skills before moving on to biology, chemistry, and physics courses. I rarely require students to take notes as they read, and I don't force them to take notes a specific way. I'm an outliner, but that doesn't mean everyone is. Some students really can read and retain information without having to write anything down.
By giving periodic reading quizzes, I am trying to evaluate - and, more importantly, help the students evaluate - if how they read helped them gain some basic understanding about the main ideas presented in the text. These comprehension checks may help a student realize that reading the assigned pages is different than retaining the information presented on the assigned pages. Maybe he or she does need to take notes, or maybe he or she needs to take notes a different way. My hope is that each student can use this year to figure out the reading and studying strategies that work best for him or her individually. I am happy to assist in that learning process!
SPEAKING OF STUDYING
Vocabulary is a huge component of Foundations of Science. By Tuesday, November 24, we will have a total of 43 terms in our growing Foundations of Science Glossary - and we're not even to the halfway point!
Learning science is like learning a new language, and our vocabulary is cumulative. Throughout the year, we're going to continue to build on and look for relationships between "new" and "old" terms in our vocabulary. Just because we learned about atoms and molecules in Section 2.1 doesn't mean we can forget them as we move through chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 . . . you get the idea. For that reason, it is really important that students develop a full understanding of definitions as well as similarities and differences, examples and non-examples, and other connections between vocabulary words.
A very helpful resource may be Quizlet.com - which is also an app! This allows students to enter words and definitions (very important that they type in the definitions correctly!), and then the site (or app) provides them with many options for practicing the terms. Quizlet creates digital flashcards for practice, allows students to play games, and puts together practice quizzes for each word list. I will be sharing this site with all classes next week as we prepare for Wednesday's Section 2.2 and 2.3 Quiz.
QUIZ WEDNESDAY ON SECTIONS 2.2 AND 2.3
On Wednesday, November 25, we will take a 50 point (major) quiz on Sections 2.2 and 2.3. Sections 2.2 and 2.3 are all about identifying, defining, and distinguishing between physical and chemical properties and changes. By Wednesday we will have read, taken notes, done practice questions, updated our glossaries, completed a lab, and played some review Bingo.
I have created a Section 2.2 and 2.3 Review folder on Schoology. It contains links to some helpful review websites as well as some interactive sites and practice quizzes. None of these items are required for students to complete, but they're there if students want to use them for some extra practice prior to Wednesday's quiz or leading up to a Unit 2 Exam in several weeks.
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!
You may notice that one of our most recent grades in the gradebook was a Reading Quiz on Section 2.3. As I explained to your students before and after that quiz at the start of class yesterday, when I give a reading quiz, I am not just trying to determine if students read. I know that reading a textbook - let alone a science textbook - is not easy and is not fun. I will never expect students to gain full understanding of a subject by reading it out of the book, but I do want them to get used to using the textbook to build background on a topic before coming to class.
One of our goals in 9th grade is to develop solid textbook reading and note-taking skills before moving on to biology, chemistry, and physics courses. I rarely require students to take notes as they read, and I don't force them to take notes a specific way. I'm an outliner, but that doesn't mean everyone is. Some students really can read and retain information without having to write anything down.
By giving periodic reading quizzes, I am trying to evaluate - and, more importantly, help the students evaluate - if how they read helped them gain some basic understanding about the main ideas presented in the text. These comprehension checks may help a student realize that reading the assigned pages is different than retaining the information presented on the assigned pages. Maybe he or she does need to take notes, or maybe he or she needs to take notes a different way. My hope is that each student can use this year to figure out the reading and studying strategies that work best for him or her individually. I am happy to assist in that learning process!
SPEAKING OF STUDYING
Vocabulary is a huge component of Foundations of Science. By Tuesday, November 24, we will have a total of 43 terms in our growing Foundations of Science Glossary - and we're not even to the halfway point!
Learning science is like learning a new language, and our vocabulary is cumulative. Throughout the year, we're going to continue to build on and look for relationships between "new" and "old" terms in our vocabulary. Just because we learned about atoms and molecules in Section 2.1 doesn't mean we can forget them as we move through chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 . . . you get the idea. For that reason, it is really important that students develop a full understanding of definitions as well as similarities and differences, examples and non-examples, and other connections between vocabulary words.
A very helpful resource may be Quizlet.com - which is also an app! This allows students to enter words and definitions (very important that they type in the definitions correctly!), and then the site (or app) provides them with many options for practicing the terms. Quizlet creates digital flashcards for practice, allows students to play games, and puts together practice quizzes for each word list. I will be sharing this site with all classes next week as we prepare for Wednesday's Section 2.2 and 2.3 Quiz.
QUIZ WEDNESDAY ON SECTIONS 2.2 AND 2.3
On Wednesday, November 25, we will take a 50 point (major) quiz on Sections 2.2 and 2.3. Sections 2.2 and 2.3 are all about identifying, defining, and distinguishing between physical and chemical properties and changes. By Wednesday we will have read, taken notes, done practice questions, updated our glossaries, completed a lab, and played some review Bingo.
I have created a Section 2.2 and 2.3 Review folder on Schoology. It contains links to some helpful review websites as well as some interactive sites and practice quizzes. None of these items are required for students to complete, but they're there if students want to use them for some extra practice prior to Wednesday's quiz or leading up to a Unit 2 Exam in several weeks.
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!