Interactivities+-+PROPOSAL

Interactivities - PROPOSAL

**OK, here is my final draft. A few issues I need help with:**

**1. the listing of the interactivities. Looked it up in the manual, but still don't know if I have done it right:(**

**2. I have highlighted two lines as the begin paragraphs, so they should be indented, but because of the listing above, they all run into eachother and it doesn't look like the start of a new paragraph. Should I leave it this way or change it?**

**3. Danielle, I've highlighted one of your sentences that you added, as it didn't make sense to me. Not sure what you meant there....take a look.**

**4. Regarding the site map, on the last page - does anyone know if we should be formatting it differently for APA? Do we need a title? Do we treat it like a table? Should there be as much space between the last paragraph and the site map? (Sorry, both Tara and Emily don't know)**

The aim of our project is to provide both a teaching and learning resource that will be useful for both teachers and students. Through our WordPress website, we will offer activities that are related to the BC Science 8 Biology unit. The activities will be designed based on the special needs of students that have difficulty with reading comprehension. WordPress is an ideal format for our project as it affords non-linear access to the viewer. Through our site, teachers can have their students complete some or all of the activities, conseidering their strengths and weaknesses. Within each section** (um, chapter or section? According to Tara's map, we are each doing about one activity per chapter.) ** of our site, we will offer four activities or tools that are designed to aid students in the areas of both Biology content and vocabulary comprehension. Our group recognizes that, in addition to the already difficult and sometimes overwhelming transition from elementary to middle or high school, students with low literacy skills find science-based text to be more challenging and daunting than other text types (Teaching Today, 2005 ; Jitendra et al., 2011; Frederick et al., 2011 ). In addition, many teachers lack the expertise required to create effective activities centered on reading practice and support (Teaching Today, 2005; Neufeld, 2005. ). Further, as most BC classes are at capacity, teachers do not often have the opportunity to provide their students with the intensive, small-group size differentiated instruction that has proven valuable in the area of reading comprehension difficulties (Wanzek et. al, 2011). We will design our activities with the aforementioned issues in mind, with the hopes of addressing and alleviating these concerns. Therefore, our site will be a resource that teachers can use in conjunction with their already established lesson plans. More importantly, using the following applications and technologies, we aim to create activities for the learners that are dynamic, relevant and engaging learning experiences. Interventions that engage students interactively with memory devices, graphic images in combination with direct support and clear instruction by the teacher are all best in promoting vocabulary retention and comprehension of text for students with LD (Bryant, D. 2003. Pp. 127).

Vocabulary Comprehension Interactivities
 * Microsoft Word Documents: We will create a template for a Visual Dictionary on Microsoft Word. The student can download the template and add to it on a step-by-step basis, either by hand or with the word processor. Students will add terms, definitions and visuals in each class, as new vocabulary terms are introduced. Depending on student preference, the visuals for the dictionary can take the form of clipart or hand drawings.
 * Wikispace: Students, working as partners, will create a Wikispace in order to continuously log the morphemes (root words, prefixes, suffixes) and related words of their vocabulary terms. Over the course of the unit, students can collaborate when adding to, editing and revising their log.
 * Online Post-it Notes: Using a free online service, such as [|www.en.linoit.com], we will create a page within our website where students will stick online post-it notes. As students are completing our activities, they can use these notes to jot down any questions, (mis)conceptions, or areas of confusion regarding vocabulary terms and related meanings. The teacher and student will read these notes together at the end of each unit, so as to resolve issues as needed.
 * Mind Mapping: Students will create a mind map using free online software such as [|www.mindmeistercom]. After each chapter within the unit, students will add new vocabulary terms to their existing map. This graphic organizer-based activity will provide a framework that students will use to build upon their prior knowledge. The idea is that students will incorporate past knowledge into the map as well as new knowledge. In the process, they'll make connections between the two, which will result in meaningful learning (Ausubel CITATION).
 * Flashcards: We will create flashcards for the vocabulary terms using an online website such as [|www.quizlet.com] or iPad apps such as Peek and Evernote. As part of the activity, teachers will model the creation of flashcards that students can make to further practise with vocabulary words they have already mastered. Wanzek et. al (2011) posit that in order to improve student vocabulary comprehension, teachers must provide guided instruction, modelling and demsonstrations, followed by opportunities for independent practice by the student. This activity is an excellent way to utilize this method of instruction.
 * Charting: Students create free accounts within Creately.com and have access to this website through a link embedded on our site. Through Creately.com, students can either work independently or collaboratively with peers, creating relatio nship  charts which is based on Semantic Feature Analysis; students will participate in a reading, followed by discussion and the creation of the relationship chart. This chart establishes the main concepts of the reading and the corresponding vocabulary. We will provide explicit instructions for each task that utilizes Creately.com. This should fall under Reading comprehension rather than vocabulary. :)

Reading Comprehension Interactivities


 * Image Creation: We will direct students to www.slimber.com in order to create and save diagrams based on science-related text that we link to or provide on our website. Each student, working alone or in pairs, will draw several small diagrams at point indicated in the readings, as per the method used by Leopold and Leutner (2011). The student’s images and diagrams will be representations of descriptive passages. By sharing their work and comparing it to that of their classmates, students can discuss and improve their drawings. This revision process would be carried out under the supervision of the teacher to avoid transmitting misconceptions.
 * Self-Monitoring: Through the use of __[|www.icharts.net/]__, students will document their own learning process as he or she advances through each section. We will provide options of behaviours that the teacher can choose from, corresponding to the special needs documented in each student’s IEP. The student will monitor his or her application of the chosen skill by producing a graph and will do so individually, given the nature of the task. The details of each self-monitoring activity will be elaborated one the activities have been completed. Teachers can use the data to document progress in the student’s file and to establish weekly or monthly goals, as recommended by Goupil (1997).
 * Writing Notes: As students read provided text, they will record notes in an application such as Awesome-highlighter. We will embed such an application directly beside the text, affording students the ability to create notes in real time directly on our website.
 * Tooning: Students will use a toning application such as MakeBeliefsComix in order to create simple comics that summarize the main events of a given passage. Students will upload their comics directly to the page in order to provide examples for other students.

As our site will focus on students with reading comprehension learning disabilities, we will take careful steps to ensure that our site is esthetically pleasing, with minimal font and colour use, as to avoid over-stimulating the learner. We will also aim to make our site as user-friendly as possible, as we recognize that within our two audiences, student and teachers, individuals will have varying levels of technological savvy and skill. Because our target group of learners struggle with reading comprehension, we will provide our instructions in a text-based format for the teacher, but also by audio via the movie maker application Xtranormal. Tasks and activities will be supported with clear examples, instructions and justifications of their use. We aim to produce a Teacher’s guide for our site using Word and screen captures in order to offer a straight-forward explanation about our project's websites and applications. Many of our documents will be offered in printable formats, so that in case of technological issues such as server crashes, our activities can still be used. We plan to use such programs as Adobe Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, screen-capture tools, and HTML coding (as necessary) in order to create graphics, videos and documents.

Overall, our plan is to create a resource website for both teachers and their students, which will focusing on creating differentiated instruction tools and activities that address reading comprehension based difficulties.

References

Teaching Today. Improving Reading Skills in the Science Classroom. Reprinted with permission, © Glencoe/McGraw Hill 2005, @http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com. Excerpt from []

Wazanek

Ausubel

Bryant, D. P., Goodwin, M., Bryant, B., & Higgins, K. 2003. //Vocabulary Instruction for students with Learning Disabilities: A Review of the Research.// Learning Disability Quarterly. Effective Instruction for Struggling Secondary Students. Vol. 26, No. 2, Pp. 117-128. Retrieved from: www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1593594

Jitendra (already in reference list)

Frederick (already in reference list)

Neufeld (already in reference list