Reading Lesson
Theme: Preparing for Science class by learning about Earthquakes
Goal(s) | Objectives |
To learn words useful to academic writing and reading To read academic-like articles for content | Learn how to read vocabulary based writing for content Learn earthquake vocabulary Apply the vocabulary to a classroom situation. |
Materials needed: All materials needed are included in the lesson plan.
Reviw: Last time we were in class we discussed basic science terminology. Use the powerpoint already assembled from yesterday’s class to quickly review such terms as biology, chemistry, periodic table of the elements, photosynthesis , etc.
If you think there will be enough time in class, have the students use the attached matching game to match science themed words with their definitions. This can be done individually as a way to check the students comprehension and retention of the previous day’s lesson.
(This will take approximately ten minutes)
Overview
Goal: To prepare students for University-level reading while building their vocabulary associated with a science class learning about earthquakes.
· Vocabulary Activity- Understand and use the words associated with earthquakes at a University class-room level
· Catch Phrase- Allow the students to practice vocabulary and comprehension while bonding with students of different backgrounds.
· Picture Activity- Check students’ comprehension ability with an ultimate goal in mind.
· Computer activity- Help students improve their reading rate and comprehension abilities under pressure.
· Listening/Speaking- Allow students the opportunity to check their own comprehension while helping with their reading through speech.
(This will take approximately five minutes)
Present
Assumptions
· The students have a good foundation in English and are capable of saying what they want to say for the most part.
· Students have read the article before class and understood what they are meant to learn.
· Students have a reading foundation and are capable of reading at an almost university level.
Topic | Time | Activities | Materials | Rationale (Why am I doing this?) |
Vocabulary | Ten minutes Twenty minutes | Use the attached list of words vocabulary that is useful in a context with the article that students were given to read before class Using the vocabulary that the students were introduced to at the beginning of class, students will be divided into small groups and will play Catch Phrase with the provided templates for the game. | List of vocabulary, Pictures of vocabulary to use as visual aids. Catch Phrase templates and game, vocabulary lists. | Students will need to know these words in context when moving on to the University level classes. As most of them aspire to attending a fully accredited American University, it will most likely be required of them to take and pass a basic science class. Therefore, this vocabulary will be easily applicable in University Life. |
Reading | Ten minutes Fifteen minutes | Use the attached simple story to help the students with their reading. Each student will be expected to read the article, then draw a picture summarizing the topic and upon completion explain the picture and article to their neighbor. Using the computers, have the students work on their reading abilities. Send them to the website provided by the university to read an excerpt from the article that they were assigned for homework. This will be timed in under 5 minutes or less, after which they will have to answer a few questions on a short quiz. Have the students repeat this multiple times with the same article, each time allowing the student less time to read. | Article, crayons, paper. Computers | Reading will play a major part in the student’s ability to succeed at a University level. This allows them to practice their comprehension of academic phrases in a fun, non-stressful way. |
Listening/Speaking | Fifteen Minutes | Read the attached story aloud to the students, telling them to listen for the general ideas. Make sure you read the story two or three times to make sure that the students truly understand it. Then, have the students break off into small groups and summarize the story. Upon completion of the summary, have the students take turns reading the story aloud in their groups, checking that they understood the story while helping with pronunciation. | Story, small groups. | Listening is another comprehension skill when it comes to University. Not only will the students be required to read, they will also have to listen as professors read to them and be capable of understanding and taking good notes. |
Evaluate
Evaluation will be done the next day of class, when students will report back on their homework that was to read another short article about earthquakes. Students will be required to briefly summarize for the class what they have learned about earthquakes, showing that they have effectively gained new knowledge.
(This will take approximately five minutes to explain)
Summarize:
We will quickly go over what we learned in class and address any questions that they students may have.
(This will take approximately five minutes)
Review Activity
Chemistry
Biology
Photosynthesis
Periodic Table of the Elements
Catalyst
Science
Physics
Equation
The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water.
The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment
a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.
a symbolic representation of the changes that occur in a chemical reaction
the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed
a table of the chemical elements arranged in order of atomic number
the branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy.
The study of living organisms
1.Vocabulary
a. For the vocabulary activity, the teacher will show a picture and/or demonstration that helps explain each vocab word. The class will then repeat the word for the teacher, and ask questions as needed.
i. List of vocab words
1. plate tectonics
2. crust
3. earthquake
4. microquake
5. tremblor
6. boundary
7. fault
8. strike-slip fault
9. dip-slip fault
10. aseismic creep
11. seismic
12. body wave
13. surface wave
14. Rechter magnitude scale
15. seismology
16. epicenter
17. liquefaction
2. Reading
a. Use the attached simple story to help the students with their reading. Each student will be expected to read the article, then draw a picture summarizing the topic and upon completion explain the picture and article to their neighbor.
i. Article
The 1692 Jamaica earthquake struck Port Royal, Jamaica on June 7, at exactly 11:43 a.m., according to a stopped pocket watch found in the harbour in the 1950s.[2] Port Royal was then the unofficial capital of Jamaica, and one of the busiest and wealthiest ports in the West Indies. It was known both as the "storehouse and treasury of the West Indies" and "one of the wickedest places on earth". The earthquake caused most of the city to sink below sea level and about 2,000 people died as a result of the earthquake and the following tsunami. About 3000 people died in the days following the earthquakes due to injuries and disease.
Two-thirds of the town, amounting to 33 acres (13 ha), sank into the sea immediately after the main shock. There were many landslides throughout the island. The largest, the Judgement Cliff landslide, displaced the land surface by up to 800 m and killed 19 people.
There were three separate shocks, each with increasing intensity, culminating in the main shock.[2] The estimated size of the event was 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale.
This article taken in part from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1692_Jamaica_earthquake
3. Listening/Speaking
a. Read the attached story aloud to the students, telling them to listen for the general ideas. Make sure you read the story two or three times to make sure that the students truly understand it. Then, have the students break off into small groups and summarize the story.
Upon completion of the summary, have the students take turns reading the story aloud in their groups, checking that they understood the story while helping with pronunciation.
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is amoment magnitude (Mw) of 7.9; however, other values have been proposed, from 7.7 to as high as 8.25. The main shock epicenter occurred offshore about 2 miles (3 km) from the city, near Mussel Rock. It ruptured along the San Andreas Fault both northward and southward for a total of 296 miles (477 km). The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire, estimated to be above 3,00, is the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history. The economic impact has been compared with the more recent Hurricane Katrina
