Resource Blog #1

While researching respectable, online resources for science teachers, I stumbled upon National Geographic Education. This website truly exceeded my expectations, and I will be referring back to it when I’m teaching full-time. I initially thought the website would focus more on geology, biology, and other natural sciences, but it addresses dozens of subjects, including 3 of the 4 main content areas. While National Geographic Education doesn’t focus on English, it does have an English as a Second Language category.

On the homepage, there’s an option to filter and find exactly what you’re interested in. There are lesson plans and activities already written up, and the filtering option allows teachers to choose exactly what grade level to pull these lessons from. Along with its professionally written lesson plans and interactive activities, National Geographic Education offers articles, maps, pictures, videos, and other helpful resources within the specific grade levels and subjects. There is also a vocabulary list within each lesson plan to help students learn the basic building blocks of the subject. An “Explore More” option is available if students want to continue their learning which includes more articles, websites, videos, profiles, etc.

I think this website could be extraordinarily helpful. I personally wouldn’t use its lesson plans because I would want to create my own, but I would briefly look over them to get an idea of how to start mine. The activities on National Geographic Education are both fun and educational; I could see myself using them to go along with my lessons. As I previously mentioned, this website offers material for many different subjects, so most teachers can use it!

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Synthesis Blog Post #1

Although I have never been intrigued by the idea of reading books, I was actually quite fascinated by the content in this chapter because humans read so differently. I know for myself I have to reread a passage several times to fully grasp it, whereas others can skim in half the amount of time it takes me and understand the text perfectly. As a teacher, I need to be cognizant that each of my students will be at their own reading levels. Not all of them will have the reading skills and background knowledge to properly decipher certain texts, and it’s my job as an educator to set achievable goals for my students and to help them reach those goals.


(Picture from BW Education)


In chapter 2, we were given samples of random texts with no background knowledge. The passage discussing a game of cricket confused me more than I’d like to admit; I thought it was talking about a video game or some fantasy land. That activity forced me to thoroughly read the text several times, and that reading process all came naturally. I don’t think through my thinking process while I read because I read hundreds of times a day. Chapter 2 has helped instill the importance of reading for myself. Whether I am teaching science or social studies, I need to be intentional about teaching basic reading skills and making sure my students understand key principles. The goal is to get my students to feel comfortable enough with the content to think on their own rather than feeling overwhelmed with completely new material and exceedingly high expectations.

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