Text Citation or Link	Rationale for Choosing	Text Frame(s)	Strategies Used and Resource
Engagement Example	Studying how climate affects biodiversity	The article emphasizes the affects that climate and human changes have on biodiversity. The article explains how advanced mathematical calculations provided an understanding of an investigation that could not be measured before.	Cause/effect Compare/contrast Problem/solution	Quick-Writes (Buehl book)

           

Quick-Writes is a reading strategy that allows students to have a certain amount of time to quickly gather their thoughts together regarding some aspect of a course study. It represents informal writing. The advantages of using Quick-Writes is the following: students are encouraged to reflect on their learning, writing is used internalized to help students practice what they are studying, students realize that learning does not happen in one step and must sometimes come back to it using different material, students receive regular prompts in order to express learning through their own words, students receive continued practice to create meaningful summaries based on simplified information of what they have learned, and teachers are provided with direct feedback and insight to help with understand what and how their students have learned the curriculum with the difficulties that are encountered. Quick-Writes meets the standards by performing the following: reading and rereading of the author’s message, discerns main ideas and summarizing, examine interrelationships of details or ideas, interpret word meaning, analyzes text structure, tracks the author’s perspectives and purpose, supports arguments, compares and contrasts using other sources of knowledge, mentors the reading of complex literacy and information texts, and encourages collaboration and conversations to develop expressing and defending thinking. This helps students draw evidence in order to analyze and reflect. With attention to word relationships, vocabulary development occurs. It is a strategy that builds writing fluency.

            Quick-Writes is a strategy that follows some ground rules, which are the following: students are informed about time parameters, students are expected to begin writing immediately and use the time period that is given, students quickly capture thoughts as they respond to the writing prompts, students should not be concerned about their writing form, and students may be asked to share their Quick-Writes with a peer. In order to perform Quick-Writes the first step is to establish a purpose of using Quick-Writes in the curriculum with the students. These can be collected as class learning logs or considered as journal entries, which can become an integral component of interactive notebooks. A timer can be used to help students’ transition into their thinking and help each student understand that extended writing is not an expectation. The time depends on the students and nature of the topic. The next step is to consider using a stimulus in order to introduce the Quick-Writes, which helps encourage students’ thinking regarding an important aspect in a unit of study and to provide some focus. A read-aloud can be an option to encourage student thinking. Sometimes a portion of a class text can encourage Quick-Write for students. As each student listens this helps guides students to rehearse what they are thinking. After this step, teachers should be aware that Quick-Writes could be open ended to allow students to write down their thoughts as they respond to the stimulus. But Quick-Writes can also be constructed based on specific types of thinking. Teachers can use the following to frame their thinking: “This reminds me of,” “I wonder what/if/why/whether,” ” What seems especially important is,” “I was interested in,” “I feel that,” or “I think that.” Next, Quick-Writes can be expanded or applied in order to encourage students to dig deeper into their learning of the content area. Quick-Writes is a great strategy to help students understand and explore new vocabulary. It also helps with summarizing the students’ reading.

There is an extension of Quick-Writes known as Learning Logs, which is a strategy where students record their thoughts and ideas while they explore and evaluate the information they have learned. To perform learning logs a teacher must emphasize that Learning Logs are ideas and thoughts that help evaluate the learning of each student. It is important to establish the role that this strategy plays with their learning. This strategy helps students explore their thinking before they have to present it to their peers. Next, the importance of the Learning Logs needs to be highlighted. Learning Logs should be used as an integral part of the routine within the classroom. Another extension of Quick-Writes is Admit and Exit Slips, which helps students reflect on their learning. Students will write down their thoughts, questions, confusions, or key ideas on index cards or small pieces of paper, which will be collected at the beginning or end of class. Admit Slips can be assigned as homework. Exit Slips are better for at the end of class for students to summarize what they have learned. This strategy is also helpful to the teacher by providing feedback regarding what information needs further clarification or discussion. As for a more structured form of Quick-Writes, students would use Template Frames. Template Frames help guide increase elaboration in student writing to create 5-10 minute response or short essay responses. This helps transition Quick-Writes into well-structured written responses. The first step is to share exemplary models with the students that show them what is expected. Then the students should be provided with a template that provides them with key elements of a paragraph that allows the students to use as an outline for a writing task. This helps organize the written responses. The following words are emphasized: comparison, contrast, concept/definition, problem solution, proposition/support, cause/effect, and goal/action/outcome. It is important that students understand that the Template Frame is not a fill-in-the-blank exercise. Each extension has a great opportunity to encourage student thinking.

I will use this strategy to help build reading and writing skills within my classroom. Quick-Writes will be a routine assignment that students will perform every day in the classroom. Based on the topic I will have students quickly write in a journal an answer to the drill question of “Why do you think climate affects biodiversity?” I will inform the students that they have five minutes to perform this activity. This is a Lesson Log to help students get an idea of what they are about to learn. Once the students have completed the Lesson Logs they will partner up with a peer to share their ideas to the class. The students’ will then read the article with their peer, which I provided called “Studying how climate affects biodiversity.” Students will gain an understanding that there is a debate on whether climate causes an occurrence and distribution of species, which is a hard debate to answer considering there is no information about natural variation of species abundance. There is a human influence towards climate variation causing threats to biodiversity. Today, researchers can provide us with a detailed picture of natural variation. Once the reading has been completed the students will perform a Template Frame individually to provide me with a short essay based on their reflection of what they have learned from the text. Students will be provided with a template to use as an outline. Students will emphasize their learning about biodiversity and the affects climate and humans has on it. They will also example why it is important to understand genetic variation of the genomes. Once their short essay is completed they will get back into their groups to share the new information that was learned. At the end of the class students will write on a piece of paper what they learned from the assigned reading and what they have difficulties with understanding and submit it as an Exit Slip.

I feel like Quick-Writes is a great strategy to help understand the prior knowledge that students have regarding the topic and expand on it by encouraging student thinking. It provides an opportunity to initially help students write what is on their mind in a given time frame through Lesson Logs. Then students have the opportunity to expand on their writing skills by using a template to outline the expectations of the writing assignment. This helps develop well-organized writing fluency. Students also have the opportunity to provide Admit and Exit Slips to discuss what they are going to learn and what they have learned to provide the teacher will feedback and guidelines to incorporate in the curriculum. I believe this is a strong strategy to engage students in the classroom.

Work Cited

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

Uppsala Universitet. (2015, April 16). Studying how climate affects biodiversity. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 20, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150416132038.htm

	Text Citation or Link	Rationale for Choosing	Text Frame(s)	Strategies Used and Resource
Guided Thinking Example	How a bacterial cell recognizes its own DNA	This article describes the process of DNA replication and repair by using bacteria versus viruses as an example. It provides important information to understand how the CRISPR system has an impact on our lives now and will continue into the future. Students will be able to apply the information to current and future real world situations.	Cause/Effect Goal/Action/Outcome	Hands-On Reading (Buehl book)

Hands-On Reading is a technical reading strategy that is used for variety types of daily contexts. Hands-On Reading tends to help students focus on coping with certain demands of complex technical texts. This strategy helps students understand the importance of problem solving while they read instead of being overwhelmed by dense writing. It allows students to draw on questioning for working a text technically through their eyes. The advantages of using Hands-On Reading consists of students practicing independent routines during their learning from complex technical texts instead of over relying on their instructors to provide the information for them. It also allows students to become flexible in their approach with text genres since students begin to realize that some texts should be read and reread in incremental segments. Students understand that they do not have to read straight through the text material. Hands-On Reading is more appropriate for complex technical texts for applied reading in the curriculum in the discipline.

Hands-On Reading meets the standards by helping students read and reread the author’s message in order to discern the main ideas. Students have the ability to examine interrelationships of details or ideas with interpreting word meaning. Hands-On Reading also allows analyzing text structure, tracking the author’s perspective and purpose, integrating ideas with visual representation, and using text-based evidence to support the argument. Students have the ability to mentor the reading of complex literary and informational texts to develop collaborative conversations to express and defend their thinking by using visual displays. By using follow-up writing it can provide practice with using text-based evidence from the texts to emphasize analysis and reflection. It also allows the opportunity to build on vocabulary by determining and clarifying key vocabulary. This allows attention to word relationships and acquiring domain-specific vocabulary in the text. It helps build on the student’s reading skills in every discipline.

In order to use Hands-On Reading an instructor must first introduce technical nonfiction that exhibits the following characteristic: terse texts since there is an assumption that the reader will act on the information, the technical texts follow a goal/action/outcome text organization, the texts is laden with disciplinary specific vocabulary, the texts usually are highly visual to gain meaning and functions of some vocabulary, and the texts usually do not motivate or entertain the reading since they are viewed as a means to an end. The reader will then adopt reading strategies that are tailored towards comprehension of technical material by brainstorming with student’s problems. Sometimes students will negative comments regarding the texts like it is not easy to understand, not clearly written, or the visuals are hard to decipher. Students can often get discouraged on the material. The next step is to outline the Hands-On Reading. It is a “start again, stop again” approach that allows students to set aside materials used to attempt to translate instructions into action with returning to the text in order to confirm their understands or they will try to transition into the next stage of reading. It is really important to emphasize the following students for Hands-On Reading to students: size up the task (survey the text to understand a goal and objective), clarify vocabulary (key terms in the text and which ones are important to the student’s learning), scan the visuals (view the visual information to help understand the information), look out for cautions (if steps are ignored this could lead to error), read and apply (read, clarify the message, and apply information), and collaborate (interact with fellow leaners). Finally students will work with partners in order to read and apply information through collaboration to help with their understanding of the complex text.

The article chosen for this assignment is called “How a bacterial cell recognized its own DNA,” which is about bacteria having their own immune system just in case they needed to fight off invasive viruses known as “phages.” Just like immune systems of a human, the first challenge of the immune system for bacteria is to detect the difference between “foreign” and “self.” The text meets all of the demands of the first step needed for the Hands-On Reading approach. When students first look at the article they might get discouraged on the title since it sounds challenging. The students will begin to skim the information and find it confusing and overwhelming or yet a better description would be boring since scientific information is always serious. Students will develop a reading strategy to help with understanding this technical text by using their mobile phones for a dictionary. The students will review the outline of Hands-On Reading to help with developing their strategies for reading complex texts. Finally the students will work in groups to help with collaboration and comprehension of the reading material. Students will be able to understand that bacteria have their own immune system to fight off viruses, but it firsts needs to determine the difference between “foreign” and “self.” All living things are made of DNA and proteins. Phages, which are a type of virus, require a host cell’s replication machinery in order to for them to make copies of themselves. They are constantly finding ways to do this so bacteria require an active immune system. CRISPR is a type of bacterial adaptive system, which is not just important to bacteria, but also plays a major impact on our daily lives and future. It has the ability to “edit” the human genome. CRISPR remembers an infection by grabbing a short sequence from the invading viral DNA and inserts it into the bacterial genome, which form the immune memory. For subsequent infections it uses these sequences to create short strands of RNA that can fit in the genetic sequence of the phages’ kin so protein complexes can attach to the RNA in order to identify the phage DNA to destroy it. Bacteria can suffer an autoimmune disease when bits of self-DNA are grabbed since it would attack its own DNA. It has more than 100 times of self compared to foreign DNA inside of the cell. By CRISPR using proteins of Cas1 and 2 it identified DNA that replicated rapidly that explained how the tactic of phages proved to be unsuccessful. It helps to understand that during DNA replication there are small breaks that occur in the DNA that call up a DNA repair enzyme that can take small bites from the broken DNA. What is leftover from the repair enzyme that nibbled were seen to be a source of viral DNA to create “Chi site.” These are found throughout the bacterial genome, but not often on the viral one so they serve as a “self” marker. The bacterial cell performs the normal DNA replication and repair process in order to identify phage DNA. Through the activity of Cas1 and Cas2 it allows the bacterial immune system adds foreign DNA to its immune “memory” in order to activate its defenses. Students will be able to decipher the process of DNA replication and repair.

I found the Hands-On Reading strategy quite important for guided thinking because it encourages students to understand the importance of problem solving. After reviewing the text it is clear to point out vocabulary terms of the following: DNA, DNA replication, DNA repair, RNA, enzyme, protein, bacteria, immune system, virus, and phages. The article clearly helps students understand how an immune system deciphers between “self” and “foreign.” It helps students develop comprehension of technical texts and provides an opportunity of collaboration between students to help understand the material. I think this is important to develop critical thinking skills. Students will be challenged in the material and be able to use other resources like their mobile phones to help understand vocabulary terms and processes better. I believe students will build on how they process reading material and how it applies to the real world.

Work Cited

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

Weizmann Institute of Science. (2015, April 13). How a bacterial cell recognizes its own DNA. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 18, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150413130825.htm

	Text Citation or Link	Rationale for Choosing	Text Frame(s)	Strategies Used and Resource
Extended Thinking Example	How many gold atoms make gold metal?	Explains how the development of technology encourages new information that can be applied in real-world situations. This article examines changes in the electronic properties of nanometer-sized pieces of gold, which can be used in short-term storage of energy or even electric charge so this information is being used to develop bioimaging and sensing. This article discusses how technology proposes a new	Synthesizing Compare/contrast	Discussion Web (McLaughlin & Buehl)

            Discussion web is a great strategy for students use in their education when working with text information online. Discussions have the opportunity to reflect two sides to every question provided. The teacher can incorporate the strategy of discussion web in the classroom in order to allow students to exchange with one another, which allows the students to have an opportunity to refine their thinking, consider different ideas, and respond to ideas that can challenge their own. The advantages of using discussion web include that students are active participants and develop the skill of collaboration. Students also have a framework that allows them to evaluate both sides of an issue or question leading to opposing evidence and information before their viewpoints are asserted. Students learn to write arguments that support their positions. Classroom discussions are considered an important strategy to help students think.

            Discussion web meets the standards by providing students with the opportunity to read and reread an author’s message. This helps students decode the main ideas of the article by examining interrelationships of the details or ideas. Students can also develop an understanding of the author’s perspective and purpose. Students will integrate these ideas into a visual representation with supporting their arguments. Students will research to compare and contrast multiple texts. Discussion web allows the reading of complex literary and informational texts through collaborative conversations. By performing follow-up writing this allows students to practice using text-based evidence in order to support their arguments. Students will be able to develop their vocabulary by maintaining their attention to word relationships.

            There are many different ways to incorporate discussion web into the classroom to meet the communication needs of the students through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The teacher can incorporate different questions into the discussion to active prior knowledge and how the new information changed their views. The teacher can assign the students to work in partners in order to develop different views towards the question(s). The teacher can encourage the students to work together to develop a consensus towards the question(s). The teacher can allow a person from each group to justify their conclusion. Each student can be encouraged to write his or her own personal view statements by reflecting on the discussion web.

This article was the perfect topic to incorporate my teammate, Karen, considering she is going into the mathematics content. The article seems to resemble a relationship between biology and chemistry, but it incorporates mathematics as well. We have had a lot of experience with discussion webs while taking online classes. After discussion the article and how we would approach the topic in our different content areas it provided insight on how this article blends with STEM content areas. It is always important to start with an understanding of the article and why it is important in the assigned tasks that the students will receive. After understanding the article’s main points I took the information and broke it up into questions. This allowed me to introduce the discussion web to the students at the right time so they could brainstorm prior information. The four questions are as followed:

1.     Why do you feel that the number of gold atoms behaved differently with understanding that the smaller cluster of 102 gold atoms behaved more like a giant molecule while the larger cluster with 144 gold atoms behaved more like a macroscopic chunk of metal?

2.     When the laser light was shining onto the solution samples it showed that energy dissipated from the clusters and went to the surrounding solvent so why did this happen? What biological process does this resemble?

3.     After reading this article, how did technology create an opportunity for advancement in understanding biology?

4.     Name future technological advances you believe will occur in biology.

I will have students paired with a teammate to have a discussion and develop different views to the questions. After they have had time to discussion the information the students will be placed in groups of four to develop a conclusion to the questions above. There are no right or wrong answers, but I want students to be able to think of different scenarios and reasoning. Students will write their own personal statement reflecting on the discussion and provide an opportunity to review how they applied their prior knowledge to the new information. The idea of this assignment is to encourage students to build on the article from one topic into a broader opportunity.

            I enjoy this literacy strategy because it allows students to become independent thinkers who can develop a hypothesis and support it by providing evidence. These students are developing multiple hypotheses to each question and finding the best solution through group collaboration and research. Students need to build their skills of defending their view through supporting evidence in order to help them find the best possible solution. This builds their decision-making and critical-thinking skills to become problem solvers. Teachers should encourage students to work in groups to expand their ideas and help guide each other, which helps build each other’s skills. Teachers can benefit from this strategy by having the ability to view group discussions and having the opportunity to see various viewpoints. This is a good way to assess students on their level of thinking. Students can benefit from this strategy by developing their ability to expand their information by supporting it with evidence, incorporating other ideas, and become more engaged in their own education.

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

McLaughlin, M. (2015). Comprehending Content Area Text. In Content area reading: Teaching and learning for college and career readiness (2nd ed., pp. 57-62). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland). (2015, April 10). How many gold atoms make gold metal?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 11, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150410083516.htm