Are there times when you aren't sure if your students are truly understanding the information you've covered? Even if you've taken pains to make it clear, there are still blank looks on some faces. Or students seem to be nodding so you'll go on and maybe they can catch up.
Here's a trick you might want to try.....
Take one note card and have students color one side green, leaving the back of the card blank. Take the second note card and use red, following the same instructions.
Students will use the two cards as signals to you. When they are understanding what you are saying, they will be holding up the green card. If there's something that confuses them--even a little bit--they are to hold up the red card.
Students may be too shy or too embarrassed to interrupt your instruction. Have slips of paper (recycled backs of old tests, etc.) for students to write down questions. As you walk around the room, pick up these questions and during your review, try to answer students' questions.
This is a good exercise to check on understanding for all ages.
There's a website-- http://www.jupiterscientific.org/sciinfo/gusp.html-- that has several areas of scientific inquiry. I am taking a sample of one area--Biology--and demonstrating how you can use comprehension strategies in order to help students understand a concept.
In Biology: How the Basic Processes of Life Are Carried Out by DNA and Proteins
What is DNA?
DNA encodes biological molecules (such as proteins) that either control fundamental biological processes or make up basic structures of life. What Is the Challenge?
Sometime in the early 21st century, the DNA sequences of many life forms including humans will be determined. See the Jupiter Scientific report on the genome project. (The text for this is provided for you below.) The great problem is to determine what all the proteins do and how one can reproduce life from this knowledge. How Important Is It to Understand DNA?
To understand DNA is to understand life at a fundamental level. How Will This Knowledge Affect Our Lives?
If biologists learn to manipulate the DNA sequences at will, then they will be able to change and create life. The technological benefits will be staggering. The potential abuses could be horrific.
______________________________________________________________________________
Here's the awful truth about why many students don't do well in academic classes: Many students do not read at a high school level and so when they are handed a text and are told to read, they cannot succeed.
Now we can point our fingers at previous teachers and at parents--even at the students themselves. But the point is that we have no control over what has happened in the past. All we can do is work with what we have and with who we have and try our best.
So let's take a look at the information on DNA listed above. Let's assume that the only connection your students have with DNA is through television crime shows such as Law and Order. How do we make the information interesting to students?
Do I know of someone who may benefit in the new advances of DNA research?
How will this new information change my life?
How should we regulate this new technology?
What are some abuses we may see in the very near future?
These are all discussion questions that will start students' thinking. Go back over the DNA information again. Have students paraphrase the information--put it into their own words. This is a pre-reading activity that helps to prepare students' minds for more complex information. (When we are overwhelmed by the introduction of something, we are less likely to be able to process the actual materials.)
So now that students are comfortable with the general information on DNA, let's take a look at the article on the genome project.
______________________________________________________________________________
Following is the article on the genome project. How can we use comprehension strategies so that students will understand the information provided?
Vocabulary: Are there words within this article that students may find difficult to comprehend?
Hint: Do a spell-check to discover words that may be uncommon to most students.
Do you want to define the terms for them?
Do you want to see if they can select the meaning from a list (such as a), b), c) choices)?
Concepts: Are there concepts that students may struggle with?
Do you want to define these concepts in advance?
Do you want to see if students can figure them out on their own?
Textual Segments: Will students understand the subtitles and boxes of information?
Can students read and understand the table?
RAP Strategy: Have students read a portion, ask themselves (or a partner) questions about the selection, and paraphrase the information for that segment.
The Greatest Biological Development in Science History
Scientists have cracked the code, the longest, tiniest imaginable, most important, oldest code: the code of human life, the DNA sequence of humanity. The numerics are staggering: written in just a four-letter alphabet (A, T, C, G), the human genome is around 3 billion letters long (or about one billion "words" in length since each word (a codon) is three letters long), and there are around 600 billion-trillion copies of it on Earth (6 billion people times 100 trillion cells per person). It took about 3 billion years to create (the age of life on Earth) and only 15 years to decipher if one starts at the beginning of the Human Genome Project. Alternatively, it might be argued that it has taken several 100,000 years (the age of Homo sapiens) for humans to look inside themselves and figure out their vital essence.
The human genome is the crown jewel of 20 years of biological research, the most important accomplishment in the field to date. On a scale unmatched in the history of biology, it has been a massive project built on the scientific endeavors of decades of dedicated investigators. In effect, biologists have climbed Mount Sinai and brought back the hitherto secret scriptures of life.
Without this "biological Rosetta Stone,"
Nature's four-letter texts would be as incomprehensible
as a message from an alien civilization.
The first edition of this most sacred sequence in science has been released by two groups: the publicly supported International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, whose principal spokesperson in the United States is Francis Collins; and the privately funded Celera Genomics headed by Craig Venter. The results have appeared in landmark publications. Science published the research of the Celera Genomics, while Nature published that of Human Genome Project.
The genome is composed of chromosomes. In humans, there are 24 four different types, which are labeled chromosome 1, chromosome 2, . . ., chromosome 22, X and Y. Thus, the Great Code is contained in 24 volumes. Humans, like other higher forms of life, are diploid (that is, their chromosomes are duplicated in the nucleus of a cell). There are 23 pairs, 22 of which are matched: There are two copies of chromosomes 1 through 22, and then either an XX pair for females or an XY pair for males. Each chromosome consists of a long DNA molecule wrapped into a compact form around proteins known as histones – roughly like the way thread is wound about a bobbin. DNA is comprised of two long chains of nucleotides bound and twisted about each other to form a helix. The nucleotides are of four types: adenine (symbol A), guanine (symbol G), cytosine (symbol C) and thymine (symbol T). Specifying the nucleotide sequence as a series of "biological letters," such as CTATGAT . . ., determines the DNA molecule.
In effect, biologists have climbed Mount Sinai
and brought back the hitherto secret scriptures of life.
The remarkable scientific accomplishment that has been achieved is to provide nearly complete DNA sequences for the 24 human chromosomes. Within a relatively short period of time, these sequences will be precisely known. Eventually, the genomes of almost every living creature on Earth will be part of the scientific data bank, the sum of which constitutes the Library of Life.
Genes are certain sections of the DNA that code proteins. Messenger ribonucleic acid, abbreviated mRNA, transports the information in the DNA to the protein-producing machinery of a cell. In a given cell, certain genes are turned on, meaning that they are allowed to generate the proteins that they code, while other genes are switched off. The genes that are turned on determine the function of a cell.
The Y chromosome is a junkyard.
The amino acid sequence of a protein coded by a gene is determined from the genetic code. Without this "biological Rosetta stone," Nature's four-letter texts would be as incomprehensible as a message from an alien civilization. Less than 1.5% of the genome encodes proteins; the rest consists of non-coding sequences, a sizeable fraction of which is junk, meaning that it appears to have no present biological purpose. In fact, the human genome is a genetic jungle full of sequences of "freeloaders," "parasites," "hitchhikers," "ancient viral invaders," and "evolutionary fossils" that are all competing for space on the DNA molecule. The "hitchhikers," scientifically known as transposons, have copied themselves and jumped from place to place. It appears that some stretches of sequences date back to the days of unicellular life in the Pre-Cambrian, more than 700 million years ago. It may be humbling to know that bacteria carry much less excessive baggage: their coding regions appear one after another with a minimum amount of junk DNA.
Feminists will be happy to learn that the male-defining Y chromosome is a junkyard, full of repetitive, non-functional nucleotide sequences. Furthermore, there are many copies of sperm-production genes in the Y chromosome; it is as though males are afraid of sterility or trying to defend themselves against female invasion. What is worse is that evolution has reduced it to a little stump in comparison with the other chromosomes and that it will be stuck with these features for a long time: Because the Y chromosome does not recombine (that is, it does not undergo sequence shuffling during reproduction), it is slow to evolve. On the other hand, this renders it useful in molecular anthropology, which uses DNA to deduce various relations among Homo sapiens during the past 200,000 years.
The human genome appears to contain only a third
as many genes as had been previously estimated.
Although many proteins have been studied in detail, the DNA sequences will eventually provide a comprehensive list of all the proteins that the body makes. Defects in the proteins, which are caused by sequence errors in the genes, are responsible for much of human disease.
From the viewpoint of the human genome, individuals are 99.9% identical. Yet, the residual 0.1% leads to several million spelling differences, with some such variations leading to dramatically higher risks of certain cancers and other diseases. These differences are known as polymorphisms, of which the most important type are single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (pronounced "snips"). SNPs are a main source of genetic variation.
So what have we already learned from the human genome projects?
Surprise! The human genome appears to contain only a third as many genes as had been previously estimated. Scientists had expected to find as many as 100,000 genes. But the latest results suggest somewhere between 26,000 to 40,000 genes with 30,000 being the favored figure. However, the old rule "one gene – one protein" appears to be wrong. Depending on the circumstances, a single gene may be able to initiate the manufacturing of several proteins, so that the number of distinct proteins in a human body probably numbers around 100,000. This is because a gene consists of exons separated by introns. All the coding for the protein is in the exons. When a protein is made, the introns are removed and the exons are spliced together, but it turns out that there are often several ways in which the splicing can be done.
It also appears that total number of genes is not a leading factor in biological sophistication: The roundworm, for example, has 19,000 genes, while the fruit fly possesses 13,600. These organisms are relatively simple invertebrates. For example, the roundworm has only 960 cells, whereas a human has 100 trillion, and the 100 billion brain cells in a human should be compared to the 300 neurons of the roundworm.
Other results: Initial findings indicate a larger amount of junk DNA. For a long time, biologists have known that much of the genome consists of repeating elements that have copied and inserted themselves into the sequence and whose only purpose appears to be to reproduce themselves, an idea that has been coined "the selfish gene" by Richard Dawkins. Although most junk DNA seems to serve no extant biological purpose, it might play a role in evolution. It should be somewhat humbling that it makes up more that 98.5% of the genome. In other words, less than 1.5% of the genome is used for coding proteins. This small percentage is half of what was thought to be the number before the sequencing projects were done.
The longest gene is dystrophin,
a muscle protein with 2,400,000 base pairs.
Another interesting result is that whole blocks of genes are copied from one chromosome to another. This might have occurred in evolution tens of millions of years ago as a protective mechanism. Chromosome 19 is the biggest culprit, sharing genetic blocks with 16 other chromosomes. It also appears to be the one mostly densely packed (See Table of Human Genome Statistics below). Large-scale block transfers have also been seen in the genome of the mouse. These duplicated fragments of DNA that have gotten inserted back into the chromosomes have shaped the size and architecture of the genome of these mammals.
The human genome also contains vast regions of repeating sequences. Scientists at Celera Genomics estimate that almost 50% of the genome consists of these repeaters. Two, the "freeloaders" called LINE1 and Alu, make up respectively about 17% and 10% of the DNA in human chromosomes.
Here are some interesting statistics that have emerged from the human sequencing projects:
Table of Human Genome Statistics
Topic
Statistic
Total size of the genome:
approximately 3,200,000,000 bp*
Percentage of adenine (A) in the genome:
54%
Percentage of cytosine (C) in the genome:
38%
Percentage of bases not yet determined:
9%
Highest gene-dense chromosome:
chromosome 19 with 23 genes per 1,000,000 bp*
Least gene-dense chromosomes:
chromosome 13 and Y with 5 genes per 1,000,000 bp*
Percentage of DNA spanned by genes:
between 25% and 38%
Percentage of exons:
1.1 to 1.4%
Percentage of introns:
24% to 37%
Percentage of intergenic DNA:
74% to 64%
The average size of a gene:
27,000 bp*
The longest gene:
dystrophin (a muscle protein) with 2,400,000 bp*
Average length of an intron:
3,300 bp*
Most common length of an intron:
87 bp*
Occurrence rate of SNPs:
roughly 1 per 1,500 bp*
Occurrence rate of genes:
about 12 per 1,000,000 bp*
*bp = base pair
Note that the percentage of thymine (T) in the genome is the same as adenine (A) because these two nucleotides appear in complementary positions in the two strands that make up DNA. Likewise, the percentage of guanine (G) is the same as cytosine (C).
The day will come when a medical checkup consists of a DNA readout.
With the annotation of the human genome, a lot of progress had been made. What is the next great challenge for genetic biologists?
Imagine that an engineer presents to you the blueprints for a Chevrolet that are full of lines of gibberish letters. Apparently, the design plans are in the form of a code. How are you going to build the car? Fortunately, you have a "GM decoding booklet" which allows you to translate the letters into known words. So you begin the task of reading the blueprints. Soon you uncover car phrases: "assemble spokes into wheel frame and attach hubcap, place bulb into socket of red tinted chamber, cast silver colored cylinder so that it has a unique key hole, . . . " Suddenly you become dispirited. The words are grouped in phrases that allow you to construct small parts but absent are the instructions for putting all the parts together. Locally, you understand; globally you are lost.
This is the current situation in biology. The "GM decoding booklet" is like the genetic code, the words in the automobile blueprints are like codons, and the small car parts are like proteins. Unfortunately, biologists do not presently know how to combine a specific set of proteins to provide a cell with a particular function. Nature miraculously does this automatically. It is like throwing all the small parts that you have constructed from the blueprint manuals into adjacent piles and having a car amazingly emerge. So the next great goal in understanding life is to figure out how proteins collectively interact to carry out cellular processes. At the genetic level, biologists must learn to deduce the biological consequences of having a whole ensemble of genes turned on.
In general terms, life at the elementary level is well understood. Its processes are metabolism, transcription of DNA into RNA, translation of RNA into proteins and DNA replication. As we learn more about genes and proteins, a more detailed understanding of life will be achieved.
Manipulating the genes of humans and living creatures
will allow humankind to do
what has been traditionally attributed to God.
What will all this newly found genome knowledge bring? The answer is a revolution, the genetic revolution. The human nucleotide sequences marks the beginning of a whole new approach to biology.
In the early 20th century, physicists uncovered the dynamics of the atom, which is known as quantum mechanics. That discovery led to the electronics revolution and the technology that we so much enjoy today. Now biologists will lead the way. Coming is the biotechnological revolution. It will last for decades, perhaps even several centuries.
We are already entering the age of genetic-based medicine. The new knowledge of the human nucleotide sequences will accelerate the development of therapeutic drugs that function at the molecular level. More accurate medical diagnoses will be available. Doctors will be able to address the fundamental causes of countless human disorders and will have a better change of predicting the side effects of drugs. On the horizon are cures for cancer and heart disease.
Eventually, scientists will be able to identify all of the genes contributing to a given disease. Individuals will know which sicknesses they are most at risk, giving them the possibility of making health-driven lifestyle changes or of taking preventative medical steps. Doctors will be able to tailor treatment to individuals.
The day will come when a medical checkup consists of a DNA readout and genetic flaws will be corrected soon after or even before birth. Scientists will tell us how our physical abilities, intelligence, external characteristics and personality are affected by the variations in SNPs. Genetic manipulation will provide ways to overcome the limits imposed by our evolutionary past.
The human genome sequence is a powerful tool for gaining insight into our genetic heritage and where we stand in the evolutionary scheme of things. The evolutionary tree can be determined by comparing the genomes of Earth's species.
Eventually, we shall be able to take control of our own biological destiny when scientists learn to manipulate the human genome at will. No longer will we be at the mercy of the forces of natural selection. We shall be able to modify in part our vital essence. This will not be the intention in the beginning. Initially, the goal will be to correct defective genes. But gradually genetic manipulation will expand to allow couples to select features of their offspring. "Pro-choice" will take on a new meaning. At some point, scientists will have almost complete mastery of the genome. Moreover, genetic manipulation will not be only confined to humans. Long before it is used on mankind, it will applied to animals and plants.
One can imagine the genetics-dominated world of the late 21st century: There will be fruits, vegetables and meats that are genetically modified for higher nutritional value. Sheep, mink, pigs, cows and other livestock will have their genes adjusted to yield higher output. Zoos will house unusual animals that differ notably from the animals from which they were derived. In place of refineries will be vast vats of swamp-like liquids containing bacteria, who, like domesticated farm animals, will produce high-tech genetically designed products that will provide a wide range of humanity's needs: food, energy, chemicals and medicines.
Manipulating the genes of humans and living creatures will allow mankind to do what has been traditionally attributed to God. Indeed, President Clinton described the human genome as "the language in which God created Man." In response, Sydney Brenner of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego said, "Perhaps now we can view the Bible as the language in which Man created God."
This report was prepared by the staff of Jupiter Scientific, an organization devoted to the promotion of science through books, the Internet and other means of communication.
Now that students have read the information, have them complete a journal entry on the information itself or using the information to answer a question/questions that you pose to them.
______________________________________________________________________________
Remember: Not all students can move quickly from being handed a text to totally comprehending the text. Showing students how to take each bit of information and comprehend it will be slow to begin with--but the benefits will make learning much easier and quicker over time. Taking the time now is preferable to leaving students to fend for themselves.
On this page, there's a block of information on problem solving. Have students read through this block and determine the important bits of information. How can this information help make solving math problems easier?
Only identify what is asked for. Ignore all the ifs, ands and buts.... A problem is understood by solving it not by pondering it.
The goal is to make it possible for you to solve problems that use mathematics in a reliable, confident manner. The problem solving process that you will come to understand is applicable to all subjects that use mathematics for problem solving.
Though our goal is to learn to solve problems which require use of mathematics, it is necessary to understand the properties and solution methods of more general problems. We will start this by exploring some simple routine problems that we encounter in daily life. Doing so will bring out the essential features of problems and their solutions.
Some
perspective.
Problem
Solving
as a
natural
process.
Easily the most important thing to understand about problem solving is that problem solving is a natural, indeed an innate, process. We are born problem solvers.
To appreciate your built-in problem solving abilities you need only to look at the many problems you routinely solve daily. Such problems as brushing your teeth, riding a bicycle, driving a car, going to a store are examples of routine daily problems which serve as informative examples of the problem solving process. Observing and thinking about solving such problems brings out quite basic problem solving principles.
First you will observe that the goal, the problem to be solved, is known. It is the conditions that need to be satisfied, the constraints, that make attaining the goal a problem. These constraints also bring life to the solution process.
Definition
of a
problem
These observations make it possible to have an operational definition of the word problem.
A problem is a request for a result subject to conditions that must simultaneously be satisfied.
To understand the meaning of this definition and the manner in which it specifies how to solve problems, we will explore the rather routine problem of leaving your home and going to the mall.
Respond to
what is
asked for.
Having chosen your trip to the mall as our problem, we first consider the resources available to accomplish the goal. There are choices. You could realize this goal by driving a car, riding a bicycle, walking or a variety of other means. Specifically, we must respond to the request, "how to get to the mall?"
Request
Response
Let's make the likely choice - driving. This response immediately generates a request; "Where are the keys?" With the keys in hand you go to the car, unlock the door, place the key in the ignition, start the car, put it in gear (forward or reverse according to existing constraints) and so forth.
What we see here is an ordered process of Request-Response. Each response is a consequence of the previous request and a precursor to the next request. (We put the key in before turning it, for example.
Request
Response
Result
You complete the trip to the mall by responding to requests as they arise: stopping at red lights, making left turns or right turns as needed, accommodating to an unexpected detour, deciding to pick up your dry cleaning and so forth.
Thus solving the problem of driving to the mall consists of responding to requests in a logically sound sequence to generate the result.
There are usually a number of different solution paths for a given problem, generated by choosing differently at places where options present themselves. The diagram at the left illustrates this idea. At the start of the trip-to-the-mall problem there was a choice of type of transportation. This is illustrated by the different logical paths arising out of the starting point. Conditions may arise that encourage change to a different solution path as depicted in the diagram.
It is seen that solving a problem is a natural process carried out in sensible steps. The steps are dictated by the current state of the solution. Essentially, problems solve themselves. You need to supply knowledge (location of the mall) and skills (how to drive a car).
Knowledge
Resources
Tools
Skills
The trip-to-the-mall problem illustrates that you do not need to figure-out how to solve a problem before you start. How to solve a problm is well defined by the problem. The solution steps themselves will lead you to the result. The difficulty arises in knowing how to respond to a request. This requires knowledge. You may not possess or be able to acquire the knowledge needed to respond to a request. If we limit the problems of interest to types which are within your current knowledge field, the next thing needed is appropriate resources. One resource immediately available is your brain. You can think out the response to a request. Another resource that is widely available is pencil and paper. This is a powerful supplement to the brain. Other resources include dictionaries, encyclopedia, textbooks, reference books, calculators, computers, the world wide web, teachers, friends, parents and many more.
Problems of any kind require various tools to implement the steps of the solution. The basic tools for mathematical problem solving are the tools available in algebra. These consist of such things as translating words to equations, manipulating equations, algebraic substitution, factoring, expanding, graphing functions and so forth. The mathematical tools available are virtually endless and the degree to which you might need more advanced tools, such as those available in the calculus, will depend on your professional objectives. However, algebra is the cornerstone of mathematical problem solving.
Finally, skills are needed in order to use the tools efficiently. Skills are developed through practice
To
summarize
Request
Response
Result
This introduction serves to establish the main idea involved in problem solving. Problem solving consists of a natural step by step process .Each step is a consequence of the previous step and a precursor to the next step.
In the next chapter we will see this idea at work.
We need to first understand the various elements in this message. Are there terms/words wwith which the students are unfamilar? How will be introduce these before asking students to read? How do I help students who find reading too difficult? Is there a way I can break this information into more reasonable units?
One trick I like to use when reading informational texts is to have students complete a 3x5 card with the following information:
1. Title of reading (& page # if appropriate).
2. Three important ideas, facts, concepts.
3. Any words I don't understand completely.
4. One or more questions I have about the reading.
Depending on the levels that your students are reading, you may wish to take a segment such as the example above and break it into managable parts. (The information is alread subdivided into ten parts--you may wish to start with this.) Have students paraphrase the information in each part--this will make the overall information more accessible.
Hold a class discussion on the segment of information. The most common problem for students is that they do not understand what they are being asked to do--and some of this problem is due to comprehension problems. Before you can help a student with math problems, you must make sure they have comprehension skills that will allow them to read the information provided BEFORE you ask them to solve the problem.
So what do you do if you have students in one classroom who are performing on various levels of comprehension?
First, you must subdivide students into groups according to their levels--you may choose two, three, or four different levels per class depending on the group you have. Give students a pre-test to determine what they know. Ask them not to guess--it hurts them when they guess correctly but then are expected to be able to do the work!
Second, you have to prepare plans for each different level of student. For this reason, it is a good idea to start out with only two or three levels in your classroom. One method that usually works well is to divide the class into "Non-Comprehenders" and "Comprehenders."
The "Comprehenders" understand how to read the problems and know how to place the information in order to come up with a solution. (Of course, you may end up with subgroups within this one group, but for simplicity we will not subdivide them at this time.) This group can work in teams of three to four students on practice problems until everyone in the group can easily go up to the board and explain the steps in the solution. The team will work together until everyone can do this.
The "Non-Comprehenders" do not understand how to read and comprehend the information you have given to them. Or perhaps they can comprehend the reading material but do not know how to use the information to solve the problems. While the other group is working in teams to understand how to explain each step in the solution, this group will be instructed by the teacher on ways to better comprehend the information. Such instruction as mentioned above will help students take each piece and fit it together so it makes total sense to them.
During the last fifteen minutes of class, the first group presents problems and shows how to come up with the solutions. Every member of the group should be able to take a new problem from the teacher and to figure out the steps to come up with the correct solution. If this first group is larger than the second group, you can use a timer and give each student 30 seconds to explain a part before turning over the marker to the next student. Every student in the first group should be able to pick up the explanation at any time and continue without interruption.
Here's a neat activity you can use with your class--it doesn't matter if it's English, history, math, or science!
Determine what you want your students to read--for me this time, its D.H. Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner."
Determine what concepts and words students will probably struggle to understand. For example, one study guide (http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/) on the story tells us:
.......“The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story that incorporates elements of the fable, the fantasy, and the fairy tale. Like a fable, it presents a moral (although it does so subtly, without preachment). Like a fantasy, it presents chimerical events (the boy’s ability to foretell the winners of horse races, the whispering house). Like a fairy tale, it sets the scene with simple words like those in a Mother Goose story: “There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them. . . . There were a boy and two little girls. They lived in a pleasant house, with a garden, and they had discreet servants, and felt themselves superior to anyone in the neighbourhood.”
So I have a few concepts (incorporates, fable, fantasy, fairy tale, and moral) and one vocabulary word (chimerical). I would use this introduction to the story as a "hook" to capture students' interests.
What is a moral? How do we use morals in our lives? What student isn't fascinated by fables, fantasy, and/or fairy tales? These are stories from our childhood. To "incorporate" means to
Put or take in (something) as part of a whole; include.
Contain or include (something) as part of a whole.
What are some things I can use as an example? I could talk about colors--how the color green includes parts of blue and yellow; I could talk about the school population--how we have freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors; or I could talk about a popular movie--such as Twilight incorporating fantasy with love and a bit of adventure. Nearly everything in our lives are part of some kind of incorporation--it makes life more interesting!
Now I ask students to tell me about their favorite fables, fantasy, and fairy tales. Hooking them based on childhood experiences is usually a positive. Allowing students to voice their opinions gives them some "buy-in" to the subject under discussion. Then I would introduce the term "chimerical":
1. Created by or as if by a wildly fanciful imagination; highly improbable.
2. Given to unrealistic fantasies; fanciful.
This word comes from the Greek myth--
Chi·me·ra also Chi·mae·ra(k-mîr, k-)n.
1. Greek Mythology A fire-breathing she-monster usually represented as a composite of a lion, goat, and serpent.
2. An imaginary monster made up of grotesquely disparate parts.
Now I have something that my students will be able to come back to later after reading the story.
Here are some vocabulary words (with definitions) from the story:
1. Lucre: informal terms for money
2. Shilling: an English coin worth one twentieth of a pound
3. Serene: characterized by absence of emotional agitation
4. Iridescent: varying in color when seen in different lights or from different angles
5. Quaint: marked by beauty or elegance
Other information from the study guide:
Setting
.......The action takes place in England in the years just after the First World War. The places include a home in an unidentified locale in or near London; London's Richmond Park; a car traveling to a home in Hampshire County, southwest of London; and Lincoln Racecourse in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The narrator mentions major races in England well known to readers of the story when it first appeared in 1926. Characters Paul: Boy who knows that his mother does not love him or his sisters even though she outwardly shows affection and treats her children kindly. After Paul receives a rocking horse one Christmas, he rides it often and develops a strange intuitive power that enables him to correctly predict the winners of horses races. At racetracks, he wins thousands of pounds that he sets aside to defray his mother’s debts. Hester: Paul’s mother. She becomes dissatisfied with her marriage after her husband fails to make enough money to support the elegant lifestyle that has put the family deep in debt. Paul’s Father: Man who works in town and has promising prospects that never seem to materialize because, as his wife says, he is unlucky. Bassett: The family gardener. He initiates Paul into the world of horse racing, and they becoming betting partners. Oscar Creswell: Paul’s uncle and his mother’s brother. He provides Paul the money that the boy uses to make his first successful bet. Miss Wilmot: The family nurse. Paul’s Siblings: Two younger sisters, one named Joan and the other unidentified by name. Chief Artist: Woman who sketches drawings for newspaper advertisements placed by drapers. Hester works for her to make extra money.
Point of View
.......D. H. Lawrence wrote the story in omniscient third-person point of view, enabling him to reveal the thoughts of the characters. So now I have students read the story.
I hope you will find the strategies in this book helpful. Please post to this blog and let us know how these (or other) strategies are working for you.
What is DNA? 
-mîr
, k
-)