Schemata: Have You Got It? People “construct” meaning in their life based on their store of memories: everything they have ever 1.sensed 2.experienced 3.learned

Schemata: Have You Got It? Schema = HOW people organize and store information in their heads. It reflects 1.experiences 2.attitudes 3.values 4.conceptual understanding 5.skills & strategies that readers bring to a text situation

Schemata: Have You Got It? The knowledge we draw on and continue to revise and build as we read falls into several overlapping categories: 1.World Knowlege 2.Text Knowledge 3.Discipline Knowledge 4.Language Knowledge

Schemata: Have You Got It? Schema provides mental shortcuts to help us absorb the bombardment of stimuli from a complex world.

1.Gives a framework to understand reading and fill in gaps 2.Helps readers organize text information and REMEMBER what’s been read 3.Helps readers elaborate information involving deeper levels of insight, memory judgement and evaluation. Schemata: How it Functions Schema functions in 3 ways:

1. Read the passage and fill in the blanks with words that make sense to you. 2.Answer the questions using sentences. 3.Get in pairs and read passages to each other. 4.Find out if any groups have the exact same wording. 5. Share your responses in pairs. 6.Have a class discussion on what strategies students have when dealing with a science text. Schemata: Have You Got It?

Read & Fill in Missing Words The questions that p ________ face as they raise c______ from in________ to adult life are not easy to a_____. Both f______, and m________ can become concerned when health problems such as co________ arise any time after the e__ stage to later life. Experts recommend that young c_______ should have plenty of s ______ and nutritious food for healthy growth. B______ and g____ should not share the same b ______ or even sleep in the same r____. They may be afraid of the dark. Adapted from Madeline Hunter

The questions that poultrymen face as they raise chickens from incubation to adult life are not easy to answer. Both farmers, and merchants can become concerned when health problems such as coccidiosis arise any time after the egg stage to later life. Experts recommend that young chickens should have plenty of sunshine and nutritious food for healthy growth. Banties and geese should not share the same barnyard or even sleep in the same roost. They may be afraid of the dark. Adapted from Madeline Hunter Read & Fill in Missing Words

Reflecting on Schemata 1. How did you decide what the passage was about? 2. Did the passage make sense to you? 3. Do you think there may be an alternative way to fill in the blanks? 4. Listen carefully to the original passage. 5. What are your thoughts and reactions? 6. When reading your book, what problems do you have with the text? 7. Do you use any reading strategies that help you understand the text? What are they? Answer in complete sentences and get ready to share your work

Effects of Verbal Labels

Implications for Science Comprehension of text increases dramatically if we teach students to address graphics and pictures FIRST before reading. Read the following example and score your comprehension from 1 (I don’t understand ANYTHING to 5 (I understand completely)

The Balloon Passage If the balloons popped, the sound would not be able to carry since everything would be too far away from the correct floor. A closed window would also prevent the sound from carrying since most buildings tend to be well insulated. Since the whole operation depends on a steady flow of electricity, a break in the middle of the wire would also cause problems. Of course the fellow could shout, but the human voice is not loud enough to carry that far. An additional problem is that a string could break on the instrument. Then there could be no accompaniment to the message. It is clear that the best situation would involve less distance. Then there would be fewer potential problems. With face to face contact, the least number of things could go wrong. (From Bransford and Johnson, 1972).

How is your comprehension NOW???

Developed by Developed by Anne F. Maben Science Coach UCLA Science Project © 2003 UCLA All rights reserved