Like, what are we taking for granted?
As we’ve been working with teachers to implement the Common Core Standards, we’ve been helping teachers grapple with how to integrate literacy into the content areas. With the amount of text in social studies, science, and math, this hasn’t been difficult to figure out how to consider literacy during content area instruction. Looking at content through the lens of literacy has given us many new things to think about when it comes to how children process the content we are trying to teach them.
Recently, Kim shared the following word problem with a group of second grade students:
Littletown was little but it was busy with activity! Of the 256 students who attended Littletown Elementary School, 195 of them had activities like soccer, piano, dance, and karate, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday! On Thursday, 203 students participated in after-school activities. On Friday, however, the people of Littletown liked things to slow down. Only 106 students went to after-school activities. All of the other children went home to relax!
Assuming that if students understood the “story” better they would probably be better equipped to tackle the math problems within it, Kim set to work helping children read the text closely and carefully. First, she asked students, What does the author mean by the phrase “busy with activity?”
At first, the second graders were rather vague and said things like, They do stuff after school or It means they’re busy, like they’re doing a lot of stuff. Kim pushed the children to look back in the text to find the words that proved what the author meant by this phrase. Eventually, they honed in on “soccer, piano, dance, and karate” and discussed how “after-school activities” was plural, indicating that there were many things going on in the town of Littletown.
Next, Kim asked them to consider whether soccer, piano, dance, and karate were the only activities in which the children of Littletown participated. The student responses were fascinating. At first, the class seemed split, with half saying, No, the children of LIttletown participated in other activities, too and half saying, Yep, that’s all they offer in Littletown.
When she probed children to find out why they thought this, Kim got an extraordinary glimpse into their meaning making processes. The group that said “yes” cited the list of activities as proof. The word like, which preceded the list of activities, didn’t matter; students just didn’t notice it. They thought they had hard and fast evidence to support their thinking, simply because the specific activities were explicitly stated in the text.
Kim thought that the other faction would hone in on the word like, but when she asked them to share how they knew there were other activities, she was surprised when they said things like, They’re kids. What if they don’t want to do those things? I’m sure they have other things too. I do gymnastics. They probably have that there. They were using their background knowledge and logical reasoning to help them make sense of the text. While they had the right answer, they had the wrong evidence…
Because nobody in the class saw the subtlety of the word like as it was used in this context, Kim asked students to underline the following sentence and reread it carefully: Of the 256 students who attended Littletown Elementary School, 195 of them had activities like soccer, piano, dance, and karate, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday! She directed them again to find the proof that other activities were offered in Littletown.
The children began to go through the sentence word by word. As Kim listened to them talk through the word like, she learned that they didn’t recognize like as a comparative word; they saw it as a word that means “to enjoy.” Their interpretation of this sentence was that children did soccer, piano, dance, and karate because they “liked” it!
This was a fascinating revelation that has caused us to reconsider the Common Core standards that directly address developing and understanding language. There are both reading and language standards that address the “connotative” meanings of words and the ways in which words are used “in context” (RS 4, L3, L6). Realizing that a simple word such as like stood in the way of deeply understanding this text makes us wonder what else are we taking for granted with our students’ language understandings? And more importantly, how are we going to teach children to take note of the subtleties of language?
Why is it important for students to travel?
There are countless benefits to traveling that students can reap. Traveling helps to cultivate an appreciation for other cultures and teaches students how to get along with people from diverse backgrounds. It also helps to build tolerance and understanding, which are essential skills in today’s increasingly globalized society. In addition, traveling encourages students to be more open-minded and innovative. They are exposed to new experiences and new ways of thinking, which can help them to come up with creative solutions to problems. Additionally, traveling can help students to become more independent and confident. They learn how to fend for themselves and how to cope with different challenges. Finally, traveling is a great way to explore the world and to learn about different places and cultures. It provides students with opportunities to learn about history, geography, and other subjects. Traveling is also a great way to meet new people and make friends from all over the world.
Traveling is one of the most important things a student can do. It allows students to learn about new cultures, meet new people, and see the world in a new way. Traveling teaches students about different religions and customs. It also allows students to see how other people live and to learn about their history. Traveling can also help students learn new languages. Meeting new people and learning about their cultures is a great way to learn about different ways of thinking. Seeing the world through different eyes can help students become more open-minded and tolerant. Traveling also helps students learn about their own country and the world in which they live. It helps them understand how the world works and how their own country fits into the larger picture. Traveling is a great way to learn about different places and to see the world in a new way. It is an important part of a student’s education and should be included in every student’s curriculum.
When students have the opportunity to travel, they are able to gain new knowledge and experiences that they would not be able to get any other way. Travelling allows students to open their minds and learn about new cultures, which can help them to become more tolerant and understanding people. In addition, travelling can give students a better understanding of the world and how it works, which can be extremely beneficial when they are planning to pursue a career in a global industry. Travelling can also help students to develop new skills. For example, students who travel may learn to speak new languages, which can be extremely helpful when they are looking for a job in a foreign country. Additionally, travelling can help students to become more independent and resourceful, as they will often have to figure things out on their own when they are in a foreign country. Lastly, travelling is a great way for students to have fun and relax. Travelling can be a great way to escape from the stress of school and work, and it can also be a fun way to learn about new cultures. Overall, travelling provides students with many benefits that can help them to become more well-rounded individuals.