USING JACOBS LADDER NONFICTION MATERIALS TO SERVE THE

USING JACOB’S LADDER NONFICTION MATERIALS TO SERVE THE GIFTED Joyce Van. Tassel-Baska College of William and Mary

Components of the Jacob Ladder Program ◦ Challenging short text ◦ Questions and activities that are higher level, based on the Paul Model of Reasoning ◦ Questions move from the concrete to the abstract

Purposes of the Jacob’s Ladder Reading Program ◦ To move students from lower order to higher level thinking ◦ To enhance both reading comprehension and critical reading ◦ To encourage inquiry and discussion about both literary and nonfiction text

Types of questions ◦ Question probes (deepens thinking) ◦ Interpretive questions (what do I not understand? ) ◦ Levels of questions (lower vs. higher) ◦ Question clusters (4 -6 questions that fit together)

Which questions are effective and why? ◦ Why did you decide to stay out all night? ◦ Who were you with? ◦ What if you ran out of gas? What would have happened? ◦ What will be the effects of your behavior on your performance today? ◦ Which is worse—to miss out on some fun or not be able to do your best each day? Why?

Questioning models ◦ Bloom and other taxonomic models ◦ Paul’s elements of reasoning ◦ Need to Know model ◦ 4 -Question strategy ◦ Metacognitive questions

Paul Questioning Model for Current Event Articles

Research on the use of questions ◦Promotes higher level thinking (Asami et al, 2008) ◦Encourages active inquiry in students (Alexander et al. , 2014) ◦Deepens thinking (Gardner, 2004)

The role of nonfiction texts ◦ Address standards in math, science and social studies through the use of such text materials ◦ Provide reading variety ◦ Employ genres like essays, biography, and nonverbal images and maps

Jacob’s Skill Ladders Jacob’s Ladder A A 3 Consequences and Implications What were the short term and long term consequences of the action on others? On the natural order? A 2 Cause and Effect What caused the event to occur? What impact did his action have? A 1 Sequencing Cite the events of the article in order. Prioritize the list.

Jacob’s Skill Ladders Jacob’s Ladder B B 3 Create two generalizations, based on the examples. Category/Classification B 2 Generalization Classify the examples you have identified. B 1 Details/Examples Cite examples from the article to support an idea.

Jacob’s Skill Ladders Jacob’s Ladder C C 3 What is theme of the article, do you think? Cite evidence to support your ideas. Evidence/Inference C 2 What inferences do you draw about the concept of conservation from this article? Context/Setting/Characterization C 1 Main Idea/Theme Hoe does geographic setting contribute to the problem?

Jacob’s Skill Ladders Jacob’s Ladder D Create new subtitles f for each paragraph. h Outline the meaning of the article. Use a graphic organizer if you wish. Provide a list of ideas found in the article.

D 3 Find at least three additional paintings or photos that depict the industrial revolution in the United States or England. What do these images have in common with the painting? With each other ? D 2 In your own words, explain why this painting is important in showing the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England. D 1 Why do you think the artist painted the scene at night? What significance does that have on the interpretation?

Your Turn ◦ Peruse the examples of Jacob’s Ladder. Complete at least two ladders (A, B, C, D) for the written piece provided. Include at least three questions and one activity.

Why Own A House When You Can Own an R. V. ? The nineties are so hectic nobody spends any time in their homes with their families. Leisurely evenings at home have given way to hectic evenings on the road. People are always on the go, so why not take the house with you? That’s where the recreational vehicle (R. V. ) comes in. When you have to run errands, or take your kids to soccer or basketball practice, your time could also be spent cleaning your house, doing your laundry or making a meal. We’ve created a world where the goal is to make things faster and to allow us to do two or three things at once. Traditional mail has been replaced by overnight mail, e-mail and faxes, and home cooked meals have been replaced by fast food or microwave meals. We have so many things to make our lives “easier, ” but we never have time to use any of them.

Essay cont. One solution for anyone who says “I spend no time in my house, ” is to trade your expensive mortgage for a house you can take with you. After all, with a good hook-up, an R. V. contains all the necessities of life: a bathroom, running water, kitchens, beds, satellite TV, cellular phones, electric lights, and, of course, a moving vehicle. In the near future, our communities will simply be R. V. lots so families can drive from their home lot to temporary lots that provide home-like settings for busy families on the go. Another solution would be to cut back your busy schedules and stay home more often. Do one thing at a time and live for today. Sit back once in a while, relax, and take the time to enjoy your life. ◦

Short Bio of Alice Hamilton ◦ Very early one morning, many years ago, Alice Hamilton, a slightly built, unassuming looking medical doctor with expressive, dark eyes, went to the train station to find some canaries--not the birds, but workers on their way to a factory that manufactured explosives. They were dubbed canaries because their skin had a yellowish-brownish cast from exposure to yellow picric acid, a chemical compound used to make explosives. Workers were routinely told that chemicals used in manufacturing were safe, including lead, arsenic, phosphorus, radium, mercury, and picric acid. But Dr. Alice Hamilton knew that was not true. Determined to gather irrefutable evidence she conducted groundbreaking investigations. ◦

She started by researching the lead industry and the rubber industry. Tirelessly Dr. Hamilton inspected factories; interviewed chemists and pharmacists; talked with factory managers, (who routinely denied any workers were sick); scrutinized hospital records; and got first-hand, candid information from sick workers by visiting in their homes. Dr. Hamilton wrote reports in which she documented the dangers. She listed the symptoms of poisoning, such as convulsions from lead poisoning and recommended safety measure. Then she was asked by the National Research Council to investigate the explosive industries. But World War I had begun and the factories’ locations were secret. That is why Dr. Alice Hamilton was on the look out for canaries, that she could follow to the factory. Other clues she looked for were “great clouds of yellow and orange fumes, nitrous gases which. . rose to the sky from picricacid and nitrocellulose plants. ” She checked out everything she heard, including gossip. Then she wrote another detailed report of her findings and recommendations for safety protections. Once again Dr. Alice Hamilton had fulfilled her mission to do “what could be done to protect” workers.

By the end of the war, Dr. Hamilton said, “industrial medicine had at last become respectable. ” In 1919, the all-male Harvard University appointed her an assistant professor in the new department of industrial medicine. Today Dr. Alice Hamilton is considered a founder of what is known as the field of occupational health and safety Continuing her sleuthing, she investigated many industries, including copper mines in Arizona, where she climbed down eightyfoot ladders and walked a narrow path around the edge of a tank filled with “evil-looking, dark, bubbling acid. ” A prolific writer, Dr. Alice Hamilton wrote articles, reports, and he autobiography, Exploring the Dangerous Trades. She lived to be 101 years old. “For me, ” she once wrote, “the satisfaction is that things are better now, and I had some part of it. ”

Research base ◦ Gifted learners typically are stronger in metacognition than others (Shore et al. , 2000) ◦ Metacognition strengthens learning, especially in math and science (National Research Council, 2002) ◦ Metacognition enhances connected learning needed in research and other project endeavors (Boyce et al. 1997)

Questioning to aid metacognition ◦ What did I learn from my study of _____? ◦ How will I use this new information to deepen my understanding of the concept of systems? ◦ How successful have I been in learning new material on my own? ◦ What research skills do I still need to develop?

Activity on metacognition ◦ Your students have just completed a big research project in your class. How will you find out how the project worked for them in respect to time management, use of resources, and areas of difficulty? ◦ Develop a set of questions that frame your concerns.

Encouraging Thinking in the Classroom ◦ Ask authentic questions (I wonder why that occurred? What do you think? ) ◦ Treat all knowledge as tentative. (Why do you think that is true? ) ◦ Model thinking ◦ Use the 4 -step model

4 -Step Model to Enhance Thinking Write Reflect Read Discuss

When will we also teach them who they are? We should say to them— You are unique – you are a marvel In this whole world there is no one like you and There never will be again. ◦ -- Pablo Casals