iSearch Unhaunted

A team of collaborators - English Language teacher, her assistant, and Media and Information Literacy specialist - once again has proved that collaboration is a powerful strategy to deepen student learning and reach an effective understanding of academic material. Ms. Salem, Ms. Cannon and Ms. Bee support 9 Grade students in their research skills acquisition on iSearch project.

Students create essential questions, identify primary and secondary sources to find evidence in reliable sources, conduct interviews, provide proper citations and  organize information into a research paper.
 

In groups, students reflect what skills they have learned, practiced and mastered, and discuss how these skills are necessary not only for their academic success but for being effective in day-to-day operations.

[Ms. Cannon and Ms. Bee demonstrate what personal interviews should NOT be]

[Ms. Salem and Ms. Bee address students' questions about their First Drafts]

Writing with John Coy

This week,  a writer John Coy is paying WBAIS a visit.

His workshops inspire Middle and High School students and teachers to write short stories and express their opinions.

Don't start with Introduction and hooks.

Once started, don't stop writing.

Don't think about writing reports. Instead, provide details and add dialogs.

The word 'revise' means to go back and look again. Revise, revise and revise again. Authors re-examine their texts without limits.

Perseverance and  patience are best author's friends.

Authors are used to be rejected. Don't give up, keep revising and improving your text.

Publishers don't provide detailed feedback as Language Arts teachers do. Authors follow their knowledge and intuition to address their imperfect writing. 

Five Features That Make Facts on File Today's Science My Favorite Sources

1. It's not very easy to find science sources that meet needs of Middle and High School and ELL students. Facts On File, Today's Science is a database of science news and encyclopedia articles written on the level that students can understand.

2. Today's Science connects the content that students learn in class with present-day discoveries in
Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Environment, Medicine and Health, Psychology, and other areas of science.

3. Conversations with Scientists, Cartoons and Puzzles enrich and make reading engaging.

4. Visuals and the Read Aloud feature help students understand the text. Students can hear and repeat the correct pronunciation of difficult terminology. When needed, articles can be translated into students' native languages with a build-in the Google Translate function.

5.  The "Resources for Educators" section includes ideas and suggestions for assignments,  discussions, hands-on activities, and research.

Motivate and Engage by Teaching Citing Sources

21st century learners are motivated by exposing their academic skills. They use digital tools to organize knowledge and present results of their research in a scholarly way. They are motivated by showing their erudition and take pride when the list of cited sources comprises books and articles published by leading academic institutions.

This week, 10th Grade students learn how to find peer reviewed scholarly articles in databases and Google Scholar, how to make note cards and cite materials in NoodleTools.
They realize that searching the "Hidden" Internet saves time and efforts and provides them with copyrighted information published by academic journals. NoodleTools allows them to quickly link note cards to the sources and keep Bibliography in order. It's such a boon!