The NYS-MEP Comprehension Professional Learning Community met on March 10, 2022 for the sixth meeting in the series of seven. Please see the outline below of content discussed. The meeting's PowerPoint, additional reading resources and content references are available as well.
A. Selecting Concepts
What do students need to know? Examples of concepts and related resources
1. Science Standards
- Physical Science (PS): Force and motion; Light and sound; Structures and properties of matter; Energy; Forces and interactions; waves;
- Life Science (LS): Animals, plants and their environment; Ecosystems; Environmental impact on organisms; Life cycles and traits (inheritance)
- Earth and Space Science (ES): Weather and climate; Processes that shape the earth; Star and the solar system;
- Engineering, Technology, and Application of Science
For more information about Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), please see Topic Arrangements of the NGSS
Resources: Key Science Authors/Books (trade books, magazines, reference books)
Franklyn Branley
Gail Gibbons
Simon Seymour
National Geographic
Steve Jenkins
Let’s Read and Find Out series
2. Social Studies
- Concepts in History Instruction:
- Conflict: WAR and REBELLION
- Movement: IMMIGRATION and MIGRATION
- Discovery: EXPLORATION AND INVENTION
- Concepts in Civics Instruction:
- Citizenship: RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITY
- Governance: ELECTORAL PROCESS and BALANCE OF POWER
Resources: Rebellion and Rights: Texts, Children's Literature and Poem titles:
Children’s Literature
Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
Harvesting Freedom: The Story of Caser Chavez by Kathleen Krull
Heart on Fire: Susan B. Anthony Votes for President by Anne Malaspina
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai
Children’s Poetry
My Rights Go Hand in Hand with My Responsibilities by Young Church
I Look at the World by Langston Hughes
Textbooks/informational trade books
Together We Stand Against Racism: Black Lives Matter by Sonya Smith
Rosa Parks: National Geographic Readers
Abraham Lincoln: National Geographic Readers
I Know My Rights: A Children's Guide to the Bill of Rights and Individual Liberty by Rory Margraf.
Other resources and activities
- Video: Greta Thunberg
- Magazine: Youth in Action by Time for Kids
- Library of Congress: Photographs, artwork, first person accounts and other primary documents
- Visitors: Activists in the community
- Field Trip (or virtual field trip): Museum that honors an activist
- iCivics
- Classroom debates/simulations: Debate whether 4th grade students should have voter rights
B. Essential Questions
1. Questions guide research/learning:
- How can humans safely explore Mars?
- Why do we need laws?
- Why do volcanoes erupt?
2. Students generate questions based on viewing photos/videos, listening to stories, and looking at artifacts (rocks, feather, leaves, etc.)
3. Idea: Maintain an ongoing concept-question board (personal folder; chart paper, etc.)
Resource: The My PBL Works website provides a library of project ideas that are standards-aligned and cover a range of grade levels and subject areas. It is particularly useful when setting up a unit.
C. Establishing a Purpose/Public Product
- Brochures (more about) - Area highlights for tourists, plant/tree identification in an area, more about animals, public health information
- Interviews - Activist, someone who immigrated, climate specialist,
- Debates - Explore and debate two sides of on issue: zoos, human rights
- Video or news articles - Share the project with others
- Making a Difference - Accessibility, climate
- Project Based Learning: Real-World Applications of Classroom Learning
D. Searching For Information/Conducting Research
1. Show students how to use Text Features (help locate information)
- Table of contents/Index
- Headings and subheadings
- Glossary (and others)
Resources:
On demand professional development video and resources, developed by Kathleen M. Lord, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Literacy Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, SUNY New Paltz: READING COMPREHENSION OF INFORMATIONAL TEXT: TEXT FEATURES
Text Features Scavenger Hunt Handout
Research Roundup Student activity from the Florida Center for Reading Research
2. Graphical Features helps students understand the running text.
Resource: Graphical Feature Scavenger Hunt
References
Boss, S. (2017). Real-world applications of classroom learning. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/real-world-applications-classroom-learning
Kintsch, W. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Lord, K.M. & Noel, A.M. (under review). Civic concepts: Opportunities to deepen elementary students’ knowledge of democratic governance and citizenship.
Lord, K.M., Noel, A.M., & Slevin, B. (2016). Social studies concepts: An analysis of the NAEP and states’ standards. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 30, 389-405.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018). How people learn II: Learners, contexts, and cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24783.
Project Based Learning for all. Retrieved from https://www.pblworks.org/
Sweller, J. (1994). Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learning and Instruction, 4, 295 – 312.