English/Language Arts
Explore building schema
It’s no accident that Dorothy Hinshaw Patent has two back-to-back Minutes published this week. If your students did not read yesterday’s Minute, they should definitely do so now! One of the keys to successful reading comprehension is background knowledge, aka schema, and by providing readers with a better understanding of the definitions of weather, global warming and climate change in yesterday’s Minute, Patent has greatly increased the likelihood of students understanding the argument she is making today. Have students look at the two Minutes together and talk with them about schema building. Brainstorm in table conversations a list of strategies students can use to build their schema to increase comprehension skills. Read here for more ideas.
Explore lead sentence - the thesis statement
Take a close look at the lead sentence of this Minute. It sounds big, bold, and like the author is relating a fact. Truth is, Author Patent has constructed a solid thesis statement. Help your students deconstruct her argument and identify the pieces to make an argument “map.” Can they use this to construct their own argument? Have them give it a try!
Social Studies
Explore politicized science
Science and social studies may seem like distant cousins, but throughout history, these two disciplines have periodically battled like siblings! Author Patent states that “no one can honestly deny” climate change, but one has only to glance at the headlines to know that denial has become a hot topic. Ask students to take a closer look at these historical political/science battles. What other science has suffered through politicizing? If you can generate a list, can you find the common factors between the science that is challenged?
STEM
Explore visual representations of science
Have students take a closer look at the graphs included at the end of the Minute. Can they "read" them? Ask them to write a paragraph telling you what the data means, and if they are struggling to do that, stop to deliver a mini lesson on reading and making inferences on graphical data.
Explore biomes - ocean
Use this Minute in your exploration of the ocean biome. What characteristics exist in a healthy ocean environment? What effect do changes in each characteristic have on the local oceanic residents? How does human interaction change the equation?
Explore the weather - the jet stream
Do some in-depth studying of the jet stream using animations , maps and more. CPALMS has a some good lessons with resources, as does PBS. The National Weather Service has multiple lessons plans for all ages that help with all aspects of all aspects of weather, from the water cycle to complex meteorology concepts.
Research Skills
Explore domain specific searching
Most know that the top level domain extension (TLD) contains information about the type of website one is visiting. A .com is a commercial site, and a .edu is reserved for higher level education sites, while .org indicates a nonprofit organization resides within, and .mil tells the user that the site originated with the military. What is less well-known is that you can conduct TLD specific searches by preceding your keyword terms with site:TLD. Have your students check out what the government is saying about climate change. Search for site:gov climate change and see what they find. How do results change if they change their search to look at .edu sites only?
Explore building schema
It’s no accident that Dorothy Hinshaw Patent has two back-to-back Minutes published this week. If your students did not read yesterday’s Minute, they should definitely do so now! One of the keys to successful reading comprehension is background knowledge, aka schema, and by providing readers with a better understanding of the definitions of weather, global warming and climate change in yesterday’s Minute, Patent has greatly increased the likelihood of students understanding the argument she is making today. Have students look at the two Minutes together and talk with them about schema building. Brainstorm in table conversations a list of strategies students can use to build their schema to increase comprehension skills. Read here for more ideas.
Explore lead sentence - the thesis statement
Take a close look at the lead sentence of this Minute. It sounds big, bold, and like the author is relating a fact. Truth is, Author Patent has constructed a solid thesis statement. Help your students deconstruct her argument and identify the pieces to make an argument “map.” Can they use this to construct their own argument? Have them give it a try!
Social Studies
Explore politicized science
Science and social studies may seem like distant cousins, but throughout history, these two disciplines have periodically battled like siblings! Author Patent states that “no one can honestly deny” climate change, but one has only to glance at the headlines to know that denial has become a hot topic. Ask students to take a closer look at these historical political/science battles. What other science has suffered through politicizing? If you can generate a list, can you find the common factors between the science that is challenged?
STEM
Explore visual representations of science
Have students take a closer look at the graphs included at the end of the Minute. Can they "read" them? Ask them to write a paragraph telling you what the data means, and if they are struggling to do that, stop to deliver a mini lesson on reading and making inferences on graphical data.
Explore biomes - ocean
Use this Minute in your exploration of the ocean biome. What characteristics exist in a healthy ocean environment? What effect do changes in each characteristic have on the local oceanic residents? How does human interaction change the equation?
Explore the weather - the jet stream
Do some in-depth studying of the jet stream using animations , maps and more. CPALMS has a some good lessons with resources, as does PBS. The National Weather Service has multiple lessons plans for all ages that help with all aspects of all aspects of weather, from the water cycle to complex meteorology concepts.
Research Skills
Explore domain specific searching
Most know that the top level domain extension (TLD) contains information about the type of website one is visiting. A .com is a commercial site, and a .edu is reserved for higher level education sites, while .org indicates a nonprofit organization resides within, and .mil tells the user that the site originated with the military. What is less well-known is that you can conduct TLD specific searches by preceding your keyword terms with site:TLD. Have your students check out what the government is saying about climate change. Search for site:gov climate change and see what they find. How do results change if they change their search to look at .edu sites only?
© Karen Sterling, 2018 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission