Double Journal Entry #11

QUICK RESPONSES TO Chapter 4:Simulations and Bodies 1. What does the author mean when he says, "Learning doesn't work well when learners are  forced to check their bodies at the school room door like guns in the old West."  I feel like the author is saying that student's cultural experiences are ignored in the classroom. As a person who is taking guns, a teacher is taking the resources and ammunition from a student and preventing them from using it in their classroom. 2. According to the author, what is the best way to acquire a large vocabulary? A large vocabulary is obtained by a person who has experience with a word in a meaningful way. For example, a student in one of my classrooms will gain a large lab equipment vocabulary by using the equipment while talking about the names and uses of the equipment instead of reading about them in a textbook. 3. What gives a word a specific meaning?  Its specific meaning is based on a model simulation that a person builds about the word and the actions with an object. 4. What does the term "off the hook" mean in each of these sentences? a. My sister broke up with her fiance, so I'm off the hook for buying her a wedding present. Not in pain of doing a difficult task. b. Them shoes are off the hook dog. Extremely attractive or awesome. c. Man that cat was fighting 6 people and he beat them all. Yo, it was "off the hook", you should have seen it!! Unreal or awesome. 4. According to the author what is the"work" of childhood? Do you agree? The work of childhood was described as working toward the ability to read. In this sense, work was used to make reading a skill that takes a lot of effort to master, which is the task of a child. Opposing this view by traditionalist, the author says that the "work of childhood" is playing. I completely agree with this after my experience at WVSTA this weekend. Thankfully, I was reading this chapter of the book while attending many science teacher workshops. During some of these workshops, I was reminded about how students who earn more experiences generally gain a larger scientific vocabulary. I believe that free thought and play are what allow children to become better readers, so I agree with the author. 5.Why is NOT reading the instruction for how to play a game before playing a game a wise decision? A person who reads the instructions is likely to know less words used in the instructions. The trial and error process enables a player to view words as meaningful when they later attempt to read the instructions. 6. Does knowing the general or literal meaning of a word lead to strong reading skills? A small portion of knowing the literal meaning of a word is helpful for reading. It is more important to know ways the word can be used. It leads a person to have a more diverse vocabulary. 7. What does the author mean by the terms "identity" and "game". Give an example of 3 "identities" or "games"  you play? The author is referring to the roles that people take on in order to complete a task effectively. One identity that I have is a teacher in which I act out the role of a teacher. The acting part of this is what I see as the game. Second, at the racetrack, I take on the role as a racecar driver who plays into the mind of the spectators as a different person than the role of a teacher. Although I am the same person, I am acting a different role. A third example is the terms(jargon) I use when taking on the role of a skateboarder. 8. According to the author what is good learning? Good learning is the altering of a perspective that betters life in the future. Sometimes this is done through games that give people virtual experiences but still understanding how a decision could affect the future. 9. How does understanding that being able to build a mental model and simulations of a real-word experience is closely tied to comprehending written and oral language support of change the way you think children should learn in school? It doesn't change it too much. I've believed for a while now that modeling events through hands- on activities is the way to help students learn. 10. Why is peer to peer interaction so important for the language development of young children? How does knowing this support or change the way you think children should learn in school? It is important to let peers interact and communicate with each other because it allows students to say and express what is on their mind without the fear of the teacher correcting their mistakes. It also is powerful that students who are correct can fix misconceptions that students have about a topic. I also am in favor of allowing peer to peer interactions in my classroom because it allows me as a teacher to sit back and pick out the misconceptions that need to be addressed as a class.