Framing Our Reading - Part 3 - Extending Thinking

ED 620 Module 5 

Article: Why metals have a blast in water

	Text Citation or Link	Rationale for Choosing	Text Frame(s)	Strategies Used and Resource
Engagement Example	Why metals have a blast in water	Appropriate for scientific informational text. The strategy forces students to think about what they have read through asking themselves questions from the text. Promotes research because students must find a second source to corroborate the answers to their questions from the original text. Gives students practice with writing and summarizing. Springboard for PowerPoint presentation summarizing the topic.	Cause/Effect Compare/Contrast	Questions Into Paragraphs (QuIP) (McLaughlin, p. 93-95)

My teammate, Amanda, chose the article this week. The article, “Why Metals Have a Blast in Water,” (Ornes, 2015) is a great article for secondary students to read because students like excitement. The article describes and seeks to explain one of the most exciting experiments that teachers can use to ignite student interest in chemistry, because of the explosive nature of the reaction between alkali metals and water. The teacher could easily assign the article as reading after doing a live, in-class demonstration of the experiment referenced in the article. Or the teacher could assign the reading as homework the day before doing the live experiment in class and then have the students read the article again using the extending thinking strategy in class. Either way, the article has lots of possibilities for sparking learning in the classroom. After doing the demonstration and the reading strategy exercise, the teacher could easily assess the students with a three- to five-slide PowerPoint or Prezi presentation. At that point, the presentation should prove easy for the students to create since they will have spent a couple of days getting familiar with the material. The summary paragraph at the end would help them process and organize their thoughts. The topic lends itself to using great visuals, such as images and videos in their presentation. For all of these reasons, the article is an excellent choice to use to model an extended reading strategy with secondary students.

It appears that there are fewer extended reading strategies than the other types of strategies. The rationale for choosing the Questions Into Paragraphs (QuIP) extending reading strategy is that it is one of the few extended reading strategies that are appropriate for scientific informational text. The strategy forces students to think about what they have read by asking themselves questions that can be answered from reading the text. In addition, they must do research and find a second source to compare the answers to their questions from the original text. Lastly, students must combine information found from both sources to confirm their findings and summarize the major points from both texts.

I used a close reading strategy while reading the original article. I quickly and thoroughly read through the article at first. I then re-read the article a second time, making annotations in the margins, signaling ideas that I knew, thought were interesting or that I did not know. I found that while doing so, I also needed to draw illustrations of what the authors described in the article, because of the complex nature of the chemical reactions. (Probably the best extending reading strategy to use for this particular article is the ‘Sketch to Stretch’ strategy, but my teammate, Amanda, had already chosen that strategy.) All of this helped when I reached the end of the article and I needed to use the Questions Into Paragraphs extending reading strategy.

One of the best features about the QuIP strategy is the requirement that the reader selects a second article for comparison. In my case, I chose the second article, “Why Sodium and Potassium Really Explode in Water” from the Chemical & Engineering News online magazine. (Jacoby, 2015) This second article answered a lot of my remaining questions that the first article did not answer or did not explain as clearly.

The text frames for the QuIP extending reading strategy are cause/effect and compare/contrast. Because the strategy requires the reader to ask himself questions about what he read, the reader must determine the relationship between what causes the events mentioned in the text and the effects of those events in the text. This process promotes higher-level critical thinking. Also, by forcing the reader to read from two different sources about the same topic and summarize at the end, the strategy influences the reader to compare and contrast the various points the authors of both texts make. In formulating these comparisons, the reader must familiarize himself with the text even more and again use critical thinking skills. Finally, the part of the strategy where the student takes the major points from the texts and builds them into a summary paragraph for the conclusion supports a solid understanding of the reading.

                                                                                                                             

QuIP – Questions Into Paragraphs
Question	Source A “Why metals have a blast in water” - Science News for Students (Ornes, 2015) https://student.societyforscience.org/article/why-metals-have-blast-water?mode=topic&context=6	Source B “Why Sodium and Potassium Really Explode in Water” – Chemical & Engineering News (Jacoby, 2015) http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/web/2015/01/Sodium-Potassium-Really-Explode-Water.html
What causes metals to explode when they interact with water? (original textbook answer)	When water hits the metal, the metal releases electrons which generate heat when they leave the metal. In the process, the electrons break apart the water molecule releasing hydrogen atoms, which are explosive. The presence of heat causes the loud eruption.	Science used to think that tossing a piece of an alkali metal in water causes an explosion because the metal dissolves, generating an extreme amount of heat and transferring electrons to the water. The dissolution step also generates steam and forms hydroxide ions and hydrogen, which can be ignited, making the process even more energetic.
Do all metals explode in the presence of water?	Only elements that are alkali metals and have a +1 charge provide such an explosive reaction in the presence of water.	Science enthusiasts have long marveled over the famously energetic way sodium and potassium explode on contact with water. (alludes to the fact that not all metals react this way)
What is the new theory that chemists use to explain why metals interact with water so explosively?	When the water hits the metal, it releases electrons. After the electrons flee, positively charges atom remain behind. Because like charges repel, the positive atoms push away from each other, creating metal spikes. The process exposes new electrons to the water. These electrons are from atoms inside the metal. When the electrons escape from the atoms, they leave behind more positively charged atoms and cause more spikes. The process continues until enough heat builds up to ignite the hydrogen.	Within a fraction of a millisecond of making contact with water, the Na/K droplets form numerous spikes that protrude into the water. Molecular dynamics analysis indicated that nearly instantaneous transfer of electrons from the spikes to the water rapidly generates positively charged alkali ions, which vigorously repel and cause a so-called Coulomb explosion. It is the speedy manner in which that process propagates and generates reactive metal surfaces that triggers the overall explosion. The researchers have figured out many of the key aspects that enable this highly exothermic reaction to become explosive, rather than self-quench.
What led chemists to question the old textbook explanation of why metals interact with water?	Chemist Philip Mason did not think the old textbook explanation covered the whole story. He thought that the steam that the electron heat created should have acted like a blanket over the electrons, preventing the hydrogen blast, instead of causing a large explosion like it did.	Some researchers have puzzled over how the process can occur so quickly. They recognized that the steam and hydrogen generated early on in the reaction should form a buffer layer over the metal surface and impede water from continuing to react.
What tools did the scientists use to find their new theory?	Scientists set up a reaction with a lithium/ mixture and used a high-speed camera to observe what actually happens in the reaction.	Chemists studied the process with ultrafast photography and computational techniques. A number of factors, including sample surface cleanliness and temperature, can prevent chunks of alkali metals from exploding on contact with water. The team eliminated those variables and others by using a sodium-potassium alloy that remains liquid at room temperature and a droplet delivery system featuring a calibrated syringe.
Summary: Scientists used to think that the reason why alkali metals like sodium and potassium caused a big explosion when they interacted with water was because the metals dissolved in the water, leading to the emission of heat. The buildup of heat fueled the explosion. However, a team of chemists’ insights caused them to question this long-standing explanation. Pavel Jungwirth and Philip Mason believed that if that were truly happening, the steam from the water would create a blanket effect and dampen or prevent the explosion altogether. To look more closely into the reaction at the subatomic level, Jungwirth and his team used high-speed cameras in a set up to monitor the reaction of a drop of a sodium/potassium mixture, which is liquid at room temperature, and water. What they found is that the metal forms spikes immediately prior to the reaction. When the water comes in contact with these spikes, it releases electrons. Upon the electrons’ departure, positively charged atoms stay behind. Since like charges repel, the positive atoms push away from each other creating spikes. As the process repeats itself and more spikes form, enough heat builds up to ignite the hydrogen, before the steam can suppress the explosion. The scientific process that Jungwirth’s team of chemists used to investigate their inquiries proves that one should never stop questioning and thus never stop learning.

In her book, Maureen McLaughlin describes the QuIP strategy as a tiered approach in the classroom: explain, demonstrate, guide, practice, and reflect. She suggests that the teacher emphasize with the students the importance of summarizing after reading to extend thinking about the text. Then she recommends explaining QuIP as a format for questioning, researching, and summarizing that centers on creating three questions and responding to those questions from two distinct sources. (McLaughlin, 2015) Following this, the teacher will show the students how the process works by sharing the graphic organizer with them and modeling the procedure for generating higher-level questions. Upon completing their graphic organizers, the students will pair up and work together while the teacher guides them to create two additional questions. The students will then work independently to draft their summary paragraphs, which gives them practice with technical writing. Finally, the teacher will encourage the students to reflect on how the QuIP extending reading strategy helped them to gain a more solid understanding of the texts and how they could apply the same strategy in other ways. (McLaughlin, 2015)

References

Buehl, D. (2014). Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (4th ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Jacoby, M. (2015, January 17). Why Sodium And Potassium Really Explode In Water. Retrieved from Chemical & Engineering News: http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/web/2015/01/Sodium-Potassium-Really-Explode-Water.html

McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading: Teaching and Learning for College and Career Readiness. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

Ornes, S. (2015, February 18). Why metals have a blast in water. Retrieved from Society for Science & the Public - Student Science: https://student.societyforscience.org/article/why-metals-have-blast-water?mode=topic&context=6

San Bernadino City Unified School District. (2014, September 16). Close Reading of Informational Science Text. Retrieved from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_7MY8khBag

                                                                                                                                       

My teammate Amanda Slonaker read the same article using the "Sketch to Stretch" Technique. http://amandasteachingjourney.blogspot.com/. While my other teammate, Christine Betley, read the same article using the "Magnet Summaries" strategy. http://chesapeaceful.com/

Framing Our Reading - Part 2 (Guiding Thinking)

ED 620 Module 4 

Article: Rewritable Paper: Prints with light, not ink

	Text Citation or Link	Rationale for Choosing	Text Frame(s)	Strategies Used and Resource
Guided Thinking Example	Rewritable Paper: Prints with light, not ink	Answers the frequent student question, “When are we ever going to use this?” Shows how chemistry relates to real-world applications. Everyone has used paper before and by reading the article, we can see how science and technology have propelled our world forward. The article would be good to read after doing an experiment on redox reactions to solidify and wrap up the learning or even before starting the redox unit to generate discussion about the topic.	Goal/action/outcome	KWL/KWLS (McLaughlin, p. 78)

The great thing about the articles from the Science News for Students website is that at the end of every article, there is a list of vocabulary words, and their definitions, straight from the article called “Power Words.” One great strategy a teacher can use is frontloading the student learning by giving this “Power Words” vocabulary list before reading the article. Instead of the teacher having to search for the words herself, the website makes it easy by providing the word list already in the dictionary format. There are several ways to present the vocabulary words to the students. My initial thought was to have the students discuss the words and then use a dictionary to find the true definition of the words and compare to the definitions given at the end of the text. (Assuming that some students will know some of the words and other students will not know any of the words, the students will learn from each other through their discussion of the vocabulary, first in small groups and then sharing out to the entire class.) I could hand out note cards and have the students make flash cards for the vocabulary words. By writing them down, the students will reinforce their knowledge of the words. To incorporate technology, the students could enter the words into a website like “Quizlet.com” to create virtual flash cards and complete online activities such as spelling tests or definition/word match-ups. However, after this week’s readings and video watching, I think it is a better idea to try to find visual images of each vocabulary word so that the students can make a clearer connection to the words before they read the meanings, especially helpful for visual learners. Students could also use the Quizlet website to find their own online images to match up to the definitions that they enter into the site.

The particular article that we chose, “Rewritable Paper: Prints with light, not ink” initially seemed like a very interesting and engaging article. The readability score is 6.5 so sixth graders who are on grade level should find the reading comfortable. However, the article is also appropriate for older students who can supplement the article’s low reading level by doing more advanced critical thinking activities such as combining reading strategies. The fact that we all use paper for some reason or another makes the article relatable in a personal way for almost everyone and the article is especially relevant to the chemistry classroom because redox (reduction and oxidation) reactions make up a unit in the chemistry curriculum. I can see how a teacher could either end the unit with this article after having the students conduct a redox experiment in class or even begin the unit with the article to initiate discussion about redox reactions. The current events-nature of the article supports real-world application of chemistry, which students might not always be able to see through typical classroom activities. Students often ask, “When will we actually use the information we are leaning in class?” By reading the article, the students no longer have to ask that question and they can see how chemistry is a valuable tool in our lives which can support growth in the area of technology.                                                                                                                             

KWLS
Topic: Rewritable Paper
K (What I know or think I know)	W (What I want to know)	L (What I learned)	S (What I still want to know)
I have heard of rewritable discs (CD-W), but never of rewritable paper.	How does one print with light on paper?	Areas on the paper change from blue to clear based on whether the molecules of the dye lose or gain electrons.
I have heard of making homemade invisible ink using lemon juice and then applying a heat source to make the writing appear.	How is rewritable paper similar to vanishing/invisible ink? Do they use similar concepts?	The article does not address this, but after doing further research, I learned that acid/base reactions (what causes invisible ink to work) are not the same as redox reactions. Acid/base consist of switching atoms, but no electrons are gained or lost, unlike redox reactions where elections are gained and lost. So no, they do not use similar concepts.	How is rewritable paper similar to vanishing/invisible ink? Do they use similar concepts? (See “L” section to left)
I know that lasers are sometimes used to etch words into strong surfaces.	How long does the rewritable paper last – forever or does it have a finite life span?	One can reuse the rewritable paper for up to 20 times. Each image lasts for two days. However applied heat will speed up the erasure process (5 minutes at the right temperature), if people want to reuse the paper right away.
Redox reactions, also known as reduction and oxidation reactions, are a major part of basic chemistry class.		The chemical in the paper undergoes a color change, which is the reduction and oxidation (redox) reaction. Oxidation steals one or more electrons from a molecule. Reduction, the opposite of oxidation, results in the addition of one or electrons.
	What is the paper made of? Is it wood or some other substance?	The “paper” from the study consisted of a clear plastic, but one could use other material such as glass or traditional paper made from wood pulp. The only condition is that the material contains the redox dyes and other chemical components.
	What tool will the user need to use in order to get the letters that they want to show up on the paper?	To print, scientists use a sort of stencil made of the “paper” atop a clear base attached to the words or image they desire to transfer onto the “paper.” Then they expose the covered surface to ultraviolet (UV) light. The light ignites a reduction reaction on sections of the paper where there is no printing. The light removes color from those sections.
	What ramifications will this concept have on the public?	By using rewritable paper, the world could save a considerable amount money and greatly reduce the amount of waste dumped in landfills. Diminished paper usage could promote forest preservation as well as lower the amount of chemical pollutants.
	When will the rewritable paper be available to the public?	There is still a long way to go before the rewritable paper is available to the public.	Specifically, when will the rewritable paper be available to the public?

As I read the article, using the K-W-L technique (what I know, what I want to know, and what I learned), it still seemed very confusing at times to try and visualize what exactly the scientists did to make the rewritable paper work as well as to understand the actual chemistry behind the concept. In hindsight, I think I would be more likely to assign my students the “Photographs of the Mind” technique (or possibly even combine this technique with KWL) for this particular article. The “Photographs” technique would force the students to really think about the underlying science and how the scientists use it to implement the rewritable paper. The “Photographs of the Mind” strategy requires that readers divide the text into four sections and draw images for each of the four sections of the text. I think creating and seeing the images of how everything fits together would further solidify understanding of the concept of redox reactions, especially for middle school students who might have less prior knowledge about the subject.

I did find some value in using the KWL technique, however. I like that the strategy forces the reader to take time before reading to stop and brainstorm about everything she already knows about the topic (accessing prior knowledge). (McLaughlin, 2015) I found that I knew very little about the topic before reading, but I was able to express that in my KWL chart. The next great aspect of the KWL guided reading strategy is that the reader must consider and ask herself what she might like to know about the topic. This sets up a purpose for the reading and helps to maintain focus throughout a long text. Finally, after the reading, the KWL technique allows the reader to come back and describe the information that she learned from the text, by listing it in the “L” (what I learned) section. In doing so, the reader can glance over the whole chart and analyze how what she thought she knew before the reading compares to what she actually gleaned from the reading.

The KWL technique is adaptable to the KWDL (D = what I did, L = what I learned) and the KWLS technique which I used. The KWDL technique proves extremely helpful in science classes where students conduct a laboratory experiment. The “what I did” component compels students to think critically about how they carried out their experiment. I preferred to use the KWLS strategy instead of the basic KWL technique for this particular article because I liked the fact that the “S” (what I still want to know) will serve to generate discussion in the classroom. Students may determine that even after reading the article they still have unanswered questions. The discussion can lead the reader to make inferences about what they think are the answers to their questions. Any strategy that leads the students to think critically is good. Students may have different perspectives on the possible answers to the lingering questions and can enlighten each other by sharing these insights. After the discussion, students can take it a step further and do more research to find out the answers that still plague them or see how well their peers’ explanations matched up to actual research in the scientific field.

What I found while completing my KWL chart is that the reading caused me to ask more questions, which also helped solidify understanding.

The text frame for the KWL reading strategy is “goal/action/outcome.” Before they even get to frame the text, students must first determine where they are and assess what they already know. (“K”) Students set a goal by asking themselves what they want to learn (“W”) in the KWL chart. Students then take action by reading the text for the purpose of answering their pre-written questions. The “outcome” aspect of the text frame is when the student discovers what she actually learned and how it relates to what she thought she knew before the reading.

Chapter 5 of our weekly reading from the McLaughlin text explains the KWL strategy as a multiple-pronged approach which commences with teacher modeling of the process with a short, introductory text. Then, revisiting the technique by having the students work in small groups using a different article (as we did for our ED 620 assignment) and guiding the students through discussion after they complete the KWL chart together. Finally, allowing students to work independently on yet a different text to implement the strategy. Upon completing the practice step on their own, they summarize their learning and share their findings with a partner. (McLaughlin, 2015) After the class works through the entire process together, we can all reflect on how the KWL technique has enlightened us in our more thorough comprehension than just reading without a guided reading strategy. We had the chance to ask ourselves questions, check and summarize the text. 

After finishing this exercise as a class, we could guide the class to use the Cornell note-taking strategy on the third text they read, just as Mr. Randy Clyde did in the “Close Reading” video. (San Bernadino City Unified School District, 2014). Students should have an easy time writing Cornell notes since they completed most of the work in their KWL chart. The more times that the students revisit the text, the more familiar they become with the material, making the work easier and increasing their vocabulary and higher-level thinking skills. In addition, they get extra practice with the reading strategies.  All of this makes for a stronger reader because of the self-awareness and self-analysis.

References

Buehl, D. (2014). Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (4th ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Cortright, D. D. (2012). Making Science Relevant with Current Events. Retrieved from The Teaching Channel: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-science-with-current-events#

Kowalski, K. (2015, January 15). Rewritable paper: Prints with light, not ink. Retrieved from Society for Science & the Public- Student Science: https://student.societyforscience.org/article/rewritable-paper-prints-light-not-ink?mode=topic&context=104

McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading: Teaching and Learning for College and Career Readiness. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

San Bernadino City Unified School District. (2014, September 16). Close Reading of Informational Science Text. Retrieved from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_7MY8khBag 

My teammate Amanda Slonaker read the same article using the "Bookmarking" Technique. http://amandasteachingjourney.blogspot.com/2015/02/rewritable-paper-prints-with-light-not.html. While my other teammate, Christine Betley, read the same article using the "Anticipation guide" strategy. http://chesapeaceful.com/2015/02/22/framing-our-reading-part-2-guided-thinking-2/

Artificial Sweeteners: Friends or Foes? - Prereading Plan

First Article: Artificial Sweeteners: Friends or Foes?

Prereading Plan (PreP)

by Juanita Burch/ED 620 Module 3

	Text Citation or Link	Rationale for Choosing	Text Frame(s)	Strategies Used and Resource
Engagement Example	Artificial Sweeteners: Friends or Foes?	Allows students to brainstorm around a central idea to trigger memories of prior knowledge, set a purpose for reading, and predict what will happen next based on the reading that they have already done. The article is a springboard for lessons about how science (and a lack of safety in the lab) affects the world in relation to nutrition and ethics among other topics.	problem/solution cause/effect compare/contrast proposition/support	Prereading (McLaughlin, p.59-61)

The idea of creating a prereading plan (PreP) or previewing a topic before having the students read their assigned text centered around the topic is an excellent way to get students thinking about their prior knowledge on the subject. By recalling past perceptions of the topic, students will make stronger connections to the material that they read. They will either confirm their current knowledge or they will change their views completely and learn new information. To go a step further, after having the students brainstorm about their prior knowledge of the subject, a valuable exercise would be to have the students create a vocabulary list from words their peers introduced that they did not already know. If no one introduced any new words, then the teacher could pull words directly from the reading to give the students a preliminary vocabulary list to research and find definitions before doing the reading. This way, in addition to context clues, the students will have the definitions handy to refer back to in their notes. The teacher can address any questions with vocabulary before the reading takes place.

The article that our group read is titled, “Artificial Sweeteners: Friends or Foes?” The central idea of the article is artificial sweeteners. Brainstorming about artificial sweeteners led to several different ideas and explanations for those ideas. The PreP table below lists the brainstormed ideas and their corresponding explanations as modeled on page 61 of McLaughlin's book. (McLaughlin, 2015)

Cue Idea: Artificial Sweeteners
Brainstormed responses	Reasons
Aspartame	Aspartame has been in the news because it breaks down and forms formaldehyde, which is fatal in large quantities.
Equal	Back in the 1980’s a person claimed to have gone partially blind after using Equal.
Splenda	Many people today use Splenda instead of the other artificial sweeteners because they think it is safest.
Extra sweet	Artificial sweeteners taste at least 10 times as sweet as natural sugar.
Funny Aftertaste	Some people do not like the bitter aftertaste that comes from ingesting artificial sweeteners.
Questionable Product Safety	Many people avoid artificial sweeteners because of the ambiguity around the safety of the products.
No Calories	The main draw to artificial sweeteners is that they contain no calories and thus do not contribute to weight gain.
Diet colas	Many people who are trying to lose weight will drink diet colas, which contain artificial sweeteners.
Weight Watchers	Several diet programs have gained success around the use of artificial sweeteners in their plans for members.

There are several different text frames: (1) problem/solution, (2) cause/effect, (3) compare/contrast, (4) proposition/support. The problem is whether artificial sweeteners are good or bad. The student needs to determine what conditions lead to a specific outcomes. In the article, the author compares and contrasts various types of artificial sweeteners. Students need to discern the viewpoint that the author poses and how she supports her views. (Buehl, 2014)

I found that the idea of brainstorming about the topic before doing the actual reading helped to generate a feeling of comfort about the topic because it allowed us to forecast what was coming next in the actual reading. As a student, many times reading assignments can create a small level of anxiety due to the unfamiliarity with the topic and with not knowing how the author is going to lay out the text. By previewing the material ahead of time and going over potentially bothersome vocabulary, this gave a sense of calm because there was an unspoken understanding that the reading contained something about which we already had knowledge. By doing this exercise, I felt enlightened about how students must feel going into a reading assignment “cold” without realizing and acknowledging prior knowledge of the topic or the vocabulary. This, in addition to the understanding that authors assume certain prior knowledge, can really be a detriment to a student. If a student does not have the prior knowledge that the author expects them to have, it will make the reading even more difficult. However, by having discussions prior to reading, students can avoid encountering all of those language-based shortcomings and potential misunderstandings from the reading.

Fortunately, after doing the actual reading, students can review all of the preliminary work and establish the validity of what they knew previously. This helps to make new connections in their brains. With assistance, students can see how they can apply this technique to other aspects of their lives.

References:

Buehl, D. (2014). Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (4th ed., pp. 155-157). Newark,    DE: International Reading Association.

Marr, I. (2012, February 1). Artificial Sweeteners: Friends or Foes? Retrieved fromhttps://learn.thinkcerca.com/student_assignments/1715015/lesson_steps/1

McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading: Teaching and Learning for College and Career  
Readiness. (2nd ed., pp. 63-64). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.