DEI Understanding: Enhancing Learning for Every Student

DEI by Matthew Bamberg

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion DEI is studying protests and so much more. 

 

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Mastering Context Clues: Helping Any Reader Discover the Meaning of Unknown Words

 

This abode found on a sidewalk is a cute house.

 

 

 

Authors like to assist   emerging readers. What they do is give hints to what a complex word is, or help the reader determine the meaning of a word.

 

An author will chose to help by one or more of the following ways:

 

 

 

 

·      Definition: An author sometimes give the definition in his or her own words that corresponds to one of the meanings of the words.

 

For instance: Donald Trump lugubrious tactics for getting attention is ignored by many people because he tells lies that are often ridiculous and makes some people sad for the state of American politics.  

 

·      Inference--The author gives the reader reasoning about the word after it's mentioned.

 

For instance: A Wifi signal has become ubiquitous in so many coffee shops that customers are surprised when they don't have it.  

 

·      Compare/Contrast--The author will create a comparison or contrast of a word that he/she thinks might help you to determine the word: 

 

For instance: Clouds are amorphous unlike skyscrapers on a city skyline that form distinctive human-made shapes made by engineers.

 

·      Logic: The writer uses logical information about what is already known about a word so the reader can guess the meaning.

 

For instance: Large birds like eagles and hawks have large claws so they can grab predators with them.  

 

 Context Cues Takeaway

 

One way for readers from children to seniors can recognize and comprehend challenging words is for  students to learn the different ways authors give clues to them. 

 

Readers can create better comprehension skills by learning about context cues. Additionally, writers who have knowledge about these essential tidbits of information will pen articles about complex subject-discipline topics so that a layperson can understand what they are reading.

Philosophical Pondering--Aligning Common Core Standards to Critically Thinking about Election 2024

                                Rodin’s “The Thinker” Photo by Matthew Bamberg

For most Western philosophers, deep questioning is vital for comprehending many aspects of various communication. 

The Election 2024 season can be aligned to Common Core ELA standards by implementing the following standards: 

• RI.6-12.1: Have students analyze primary sources such as candidate speeches, policy proposals, and news articles to support their analysis with textual evidence.
• RI.6-12.8: Evaluate arguments in candidates’ speeches, including the validity of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

An example of one of the most important issues today is climate change. The following standard relates to how Election 2024 can relate to the science of global warming.

• RI.6-12.8: Evaluate arguments in candidates’ speeches, including the validity of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
  

While I attempt to take ample spoonfuls of logic and reason before I utter a word, it doesn’t always happen. If I fail, I’ll try and try again. Interpreting philosophers is a challenging critical thinking task.

Although Western philosophers were wise and contributed significantly to the development of logic and reason, they always didn’t practice what they preached. Their suggestions for education are nonetheless valuable and worth considering.

My take on their ideas stems from many years of teaching students how to think critically in each discipline they learn. Each can be applied to the Common Core Standards above.

SOCRATES C. 470–399 B.C

Socrates believed that leaders can be confused and irrational. 

Consider a situation where you question common beliefs. For example, some people have the idea that the weather causes earthquakes.

PLATO C. 427–347 B.C.

Reasoning that education included teaching about individual and social justice, Plato mused that every human soul wants to reach spiritual and higher truths to transform the world.

What activities can adults engage young people in to ensure that each develops to the best of his/her ability?

ARISTOTLE 384–322 B.C.

Concerned that education must include reasoning and ethics, Aristotle created the syllogism to ensure logic. 

A syllogism includes a universal statement and an example, which leads to a conclusion to illustrate a logical argument. 

For example, all humans are mortal. The writer of this article is human (as far as he knows). Therefore, the writer is mortal. 

What syllogism would be valid about Election 2024?

THOMAS AQUINAS 1225–1274

Developing ideas, including analyzing criticism of them, was one of many ideas from Aquinas.

What are some ways adults can discuss ideas with each other and with children that teach that criticism can be constructive?

FRANCIS BACON 1561–1626

The mind works best by observation, yet it can lead to misconceptions by tricking itself, which was an important point made by Bacon. 

How can people think together for better long-term circumstances?

RENÉ DESCARTES 1596–1650

According to my interpretation of Descartes, humans are better off using discipline as a mind exercise. Furthermore, every part of thought requires questioning, doubting, and the creation of logical examples that apply to it.

Should conversations require examination?  

IMMANUEL KANT 1724–1804

Critiques should be devoid of prejudice and false judgments and contain reflection through examples. The categorical imperative necessitates just behavior and understanding of the places science, ethics, and spirituality have in our lives. 

How would you explain that science is based on years of testing and research?

JOHN LOCKE 1632–1704

Rulers must rationally respect citizens' life, liberty, and property rights as part of a government system and respect reasonable criticism about human needs from citizens, or else that government will be replaced. 

How should political leaders react to constructive criticism to ensure it meets the basic needs of the people it serves? 

JOHN DEWEY 1859–1952

Seeking to ensure education for all, Dewey insisted that learning includes hands-on practices and the information needed to participate in a robust democracy. 

How can citizens increase their participation in supporting democracy and advocate for people to have a good life?

THEODOR ADORNO 1903–1969

Realizing human understanding was complex, Adorno mused that humans see concrete and abstract objects and ideas as unique and that categorizing them limits knowledge of their nature. 

How can society move and develop thinking about objects and ideas by respecting their uniqueness and complexity? 

Takeaway

For democracy to work, considerations that outline its existence by the masters of Western political thought throughout the ages must remain fluid and open to the new ideas of a changing demographic to create a good life for all people. 

Matthew Bamberg is a professor who teaches critical thinking courses to graduate university students. 

 Informational Text Reading Selection Lesson Plan Template for Elementary and Middle School Teachers

In this template, you can create a one-period lesson plan in literacy and/or English/Language Arts for any informational reading selection. Simply choose a reading selection from the materials section of the lesson plan template below and apply it to each lesson plan template step.

Standards: 

Grade 2 at https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/2/
Grade 3 at https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/3/
Grade 4 at https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/4/
Grade 5 at https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/5/
Grade 6-8: same URL for each with grade level replaced in the last character. 

 Objectives/Learning Targets: 

Grade 4 Learning Targets Informational Text

Materials: 

You can use a wide variety of reading materials for this template from websites to ebooks to textbooks. The following is a list of Internet informational reading selections for grades 2-5. 

All grades free (sign-up). Current news articles from major publications/organizations  http://newsela.com 

All grades free for a month then $ at http://www.readinga-z.com/commoncore/informational-text/

All grades free at http://teacher.depaul.edu/Nonfiction_Readings_ALL_GRADES.htm

Middle school free Black history at http://www.thehistorymakers.com/

Grade 3-8 free Informational Readings with questions by skill at http://teacher.depaul.edu/Skill-Focused-Readings/Summarize_Nonfiction_Fiction.html

Grade 3-8 free Nonfiction/Fiction paired readings at http://teacher.depaul.edu/Skill-Focused-Readings/PairedNonfictionandFictionReadings.htm

All grades $ from Scholastic at http://cc.bigreddog.org/teachers/books/non-fiction

Grades 1-5 free Reading comprehension passages at http://mrnussbaum.com/readingpassageindex#5

Grades 4-5 free Nonfiction text selections with tests at http://d102.org/blogs/kgow/files/2011/05/Nonfiction-Article-Practice.pdf

Grades 1-8 free Complete grade-by-grade guide of Common Core reading activities and selections at http://www.myboe.org/cognoti/content/file/resources/documents/15/1512c73e/1512c73eea476b925846148640ccda7b5f1e9c0d/downloadedfile_4473188268499712097_NYCDOEG8LiteracyTCRWP_Final.pdf

Grades 3-8 free Flash technology talking books with images at http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/book_details.asp?Category=Non-Fiction&isflash=1

Grades 1-8 free Guttenberg Children's history at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Children%27s_History_(Bookshelf)

Grades 1-8 free Guttenberg Children's biography at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Children%27s_Biography_(Bookshelf)

Grades 1-8 free Children's Instructional books at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Children%27s_Instructional_Books_(Bookshelf)

To test webpages for reading levels copy and paste paragraph from page and paste into 

https://readability-score.com/

Procedure

Introduction: Introduce title and author (if available) of passage. Discuss what you know about the topic, including identifying it as narration, description, argument, poetry, play, subject area and so on. Relate topic to prior reading and set purpose for reading new selection.

1. Teacher reads selection aloud while students follow along (engagement). A list of websites with reading selections is included at the end of this lesson plan.

2. Teacher elicits from students what they think is the first characteristic (length, difficulty, tone, genre, purpose) they note about the passage. Write the words on the white board or note pad under document camera. (I do; we do; you do method)

3. Have students indicate the words they aren't familiar with (circle, highlight, etc...) Look up word in online or table dictionary and discuss with students, associating it with a concept of the unknown word. (I do; we do; you do method)

If selection is from textbook, go over visuals, headings subheadings, words in bold print/italics and so on). Let students know that this is called the selective attention learning strategy. 

For ELLs, type names of each word into Google Images, showing students the best representation of the word. 

4. Share out (Think/pair share) vocabulary words/explain in own words. Discuss punctuation/capitalization in passage. (I do; we do; you do method). For more prereading activities see http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/reading_lit.html

5.Students read selection again silently.

6. Ask critical thinking questions from Bloom's taxonomy at http://www.meade.k12.sd.us/PASS/Pass%20Adobe%20Files/March%202007/BloomsTaxonomyQuestionStems.pdf  Refer back to text when appropriate.

Assessment:

After teaching a few reading selections, create tests on the following skills for the grade level/reading level you teach. 

Main Idea at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Main_Idea

Supporting Details at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Supporting_Details

Cause and Effect at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Cause_and_Effect

Identifying Genre at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Identifying_Genre

Making Inferences at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Making_Inferences_and_Drawing_Conclusions

Summarizing at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Summarizing

Problems and Solutions at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Problem_and_Solutionhttp://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Problem_and_Solution

Text Elements at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Text_Elements

Vocabulary at http://www.helpteaching.com/questions/Vocabulary

Closure: Choose option at https://edc448uri.wikispaces.com/file/view/40_ways_to_leave_a_lesson.pdf

Relating Critical Theory to Classroom Content Areas

Relating critical theory to critical thinking can focus on classroom activities. With so many different cultures living in California, teachers and administrators drive student engagement by relating many content areas to a variety of cultures' "funds of knowledge" 

1. The need to forego identity thinking as described by Theodor Adorno (placing people in groups or categories with predetermined roles) in order to give opportunities to others who are not in the dominant culture.

The unit about creating firebreaks in fire-prone areas of California taught us the importance of indigenous cultures active in scientific processes. Conventional thinking might conclude that firefighters developed these methods. Teaching students who assisted in the development scientific processes helps students to understand that the dominant culture is not responsible for all of the ideas used in technology. Our example from Week One proves that methods of creating firebreaks were first developed by indigenous people. Students can research both methods to write a compare/contrast essay of the methods used by both groups. 

2. Lev Vygotsky's ideas of cooperative learning and the ZPD theory, leading to increased critical thinking.

3. Socrates idea of questioning common beliefs: See lesson at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/2016/10/polling-pitfalls-lesson-plan/

4. Article relating Plato's ideas about social justice applied to science. See https://www.nsta.org/science-teacher/science-teacher-march-2020/social-justice-science-classroom

5. Aristotle's idea that valid syllogistic reasoning can help with research. See video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBUQhkWk9hM

6. Literature and media criticism based upon Aquinas ideas about learning how criticisms is a necessary stage in developing ideas. Using peer reviews to improve critical thinking when writing. See https://ctl.wustl.edu/resources/planning-and-guiding-in-class-peer-review/

7.  Ideas for developing and applying Paulo Friere's social justice theories in the classroom: https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/critical-practices-for-antibias-education/instruction

Integrating social justice into STEM education: https://www.nsta.org/science-teacher/science-teacher-march-2020/social-justice-science-classroom

How to understand, treat and deal with the construct of Whiteness and White Privilege

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is outlawing topics of discussion that he believes would make white people uncomfortable in schools and public institutions. These topics include those associated with past struggles for racial equality and social justice.

The governor is leading a xenophobic movement that misses the point about anti-racist education by ignoring the effects of "white fragility," which is a researched theory about the psychological effects that occur when dominant ethno-racial groups of people learn about historical and current events that have wrecked havoc among the oppressed.  Medical News Today explains that: "White fragility refers to feelings of discomfort a white person experiences when they witness discussions around racial inequality and injustice."

The behaviors and feelings associated with ignorance about social justice among white people are likely to promote racism.  Discussions about race help white people get past their fears and guilt. Researchers quoted in Medical News Today have found that promoting racial stamina through education about oppression, white people may be able to manage racial stressors rather than ignoring or silencing them. Conscious and explicit engagement with people of different races can help break the pattern of fragile behaviors and actions related to race."

It might well be that DeSantis and others are wrong about the assumptions of harm that talking about racism in workplaces and schools might create.

The concept of "white privilege" is tops on the list of "WOKE" education and is being censored by the government in many states. See for yourself two different viewpoints about the term. 

 See the Forbes article, "Anti-Racism 101Clarify 'White Privilege' Once and for All" for more information about how the business community defines the term. 

For a detailed explanation, see Learning for Justice article:
  "What is White Privilege, Really?"

Close Reading Updated Procedure for Including Cognates

 

Updated Procedure for Including Cognates in Close Reading

Courtesy of Stoneybrook University

Introduction: Introduce title and author (if available) of passage. Discuss what you know about the topic, including identifying it as narration, description, argument, poetry, play, subject area and so on. Relate topic to prior reading and set purpose for reading new selection. For free reading selection sources see Close Reading Lesson Plan Template.

1. Teacher reads selection aloud while students follow along (engagement). A list of websites with reading selections is included at the end of this lesson plan.

2. Teacher elicits from students what they think is the first characteristic (length, difficulty, tone, genre, purpose) they note about the passage. Write the words on the white board or note pad under document camera. (I do; we do; you do method)

3. Have students indicate the words they aren't familiar with (circle, highlight, etc...) Look up word in online or table dictionary and discuss with students, associating it with a concept of the unknown word. (I do; we do; you do method)

If selection is from textbook, go over visuals, headings subheadings, words in bold print/italics and so on). Let students know that this is called the selective attention learning strategy. 

For ELLs, type names of each word into Google Images, showing students the best representation of the word. 

Additionally, have ELs read through the selection to find Spanish/English cognates in order for them to become aware of the similarities of their own language and English and to recognize that word meanings are similar in English to those in their own language (Spanish).

4. Share out (Think/pair share) vocabulary words/explain in own words. Discuss punctuation/capitalization in passage. (I do; we do; you do method). For more prereading activities see http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/reading_lit.html

5.Students read selection again silently.

6. Ask critical thinking questions from Bloom's taxonomy at http://www.meade.k12.sd.us/PASS/Pass%20Adobe%20Files/March%202007/BloomsTaxonomyQuestionStems.pdf  Refer back to text when appropriate.

What can you do with a masters in education?

As a masters in education (creative arts education) at SFSU (San Francisco State University),  I've been able to create this online education blog for graduate students majoring in a wide variety of online education disciplines from multicultural education to English Language Learning. 

Please feel free to add your ideas to assist online education students. Links are especially needed for resources in critical thinking and English language learners. 

With my masters in education, I've been able to be a professor at UAGC, National University and the University of Phoenix, as well as having 12 how-to photography books published including the book, "Digital Art Photography for Dummies."

Critical Thinking and Social Justice Issues--Please Respond

Educators and trainers can follow steps to deepen critical thinking throughout lessons using Bloom's Taxonomy. Critical thinking and social justice go hand-in-hand in education. Here's a simple way to create a social justice critical thinking lesson based upon an event in history and relating it to a topic today. 

 

Critical Thinking Steps based upon Bloom's Taxonomy:

• Remember
• Interpret and Summarize
• Analysis
• Apply Knowledge
• Evaluation

Consider a topic to which you can apply the above deepening critical thinking process. 

For example:

1. Remember: Recall everything you know about social justice and women's rights.
2. Read/Summarize: Read and summarize an article/book about social justice in order to define one appropriate issue connected to a history curriculum and to students' prior knowledge, For example: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote.
3. Apply Knowledge: Students will select an issue about social justice/women's rights. 
4. Analysis: Arrange students in groups to analyze how Staton helped to solve the women's rights voting issue from the book above.
5. Application: In the groups, apply similar methods to solve current issue by creating a list.
6. Evaluation: Collect lists and redistribute to each group (each group get's their peer groups' list) to evaluate problem solving methods. Each group adds ideas to list. 
7. Repeat process by passing group list to a new group for them to add to the idea list.

Create Master List of all issues to class to discuss vote on the best ideas for each issue. Graph data.
Before doing this week's assignment, think about changing the reading in the example above to another social justice issue connected to history and change website for information about related issues today for students selection in order to create ideas for solving the challenge. 

Template:

1. Remember: Recall everything you know about social justice and women's rights.
2. Read/Summarize: Read and summarize an article/book about social justice in order to define one appropriate issue connected to a history curriculum and to students' prior knowledge, For example: ___________________ (title related to a social justice issue of the past).
3. Apply Knowledge: Students will select an article/teacher-made document   list about the specific social justice issue described in the reading above that is current today. For example, ______________________________.
4. Analysis: Arrange students in groups to analyze how issue can be solved. 
5. Application: In the groups, apply similar methods to solve current issue by creating a list.
6. Evaluation: Collect lists and redistribute to each group (each group get's their peer groups' list) to evaluate problem solving methods. Each group adds ideas to list. 
7. Repeat process by passing group list to a new group for them to add to the idea list.
Create Master List of all issues to class to discuss vote on the best ideas for each issue. Graph data.
Please Add Ideas in Comments: What specific justice issue in history would you select articles for the above lesson template? 

Climate Change Neglect in Education

Much of the curriculum in schools is silent on climate change, as the New York Times reports. The article about addressing the issue in education, especially middle school,  states that there are more articles online that misinform about the topic than cover it accurately. 

Teaching students to search for reliable information on the topic should look for search terms in Google that will lead them to accurate scientific information. While the article states the importance of teaching this topic to the next generation, it sidesteps how teachers can find accurate information about climate change.

Students, parents and teachers can investigate the reputable information about the topic with one simple set of search parameters on Google. The keywords are as follows:

NOAA climate change site:.gov

It's a travesty that The Times' goals don't include informing people about NOAA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration in its article about climate change. The article mentions the dire need for middle schoolers' education include more curriculum on climate change and that the NGSS, which is true, as the parties interested in this topic will find few resources connecting climate change to the NGSS standards. The climate change units that educators can find is useful, but doesn't cover the issue in depth.

It's true that the science standards do not cover the topic directly and The Times is not the first publication to note that. The facts about the lack of sources for climate change are described in detail in the Brock Education Journal article titled The Implementation of NGSS standards and the Tumultuous Fight to Implement Climate Change Awareness in Science Curricula. Even this academic article does not address how students and teachers fan find reputable sources on climate change.

I plea with the mainstream media that if they are going to write about the issue of education and climate change that they include how to access reputable resources where educators and students can find accurate information.