Writing to Learn for College Readiness in the Sciences
Presentation:
http://prezi.com/kcpivvkhiw6k/ncsta-2012-writing-in-the-sciences/
Presented by:
Rodney Schmitz, Science/Math teacher:
Elizabeth Wiggs, English teacher:
Lee Early College
1105 Kelly Drive
Sanford, NC 27330
919-888-4502
Table of contents:
Page 2: Essential Question and Objective
Page 3: TPEQEA Information
Page 4: TPEQEA Practice
Page 5: Sample Writing Activities
Page 8: Sample Lesson Plans
Essential Question:
How do we use writing in the science classroom to get students career and college ready?
Objectives:
1. Provide you with a sample format
2. Provide you with writing lessons to use in your classrooms
3. Answer any questions and alleviate your concerns about writing
Sample Writing Format:
(This format was developed by teachers at Kings Mountain High School and adapted by Janet Rogers from Stanly County Early College)
TPEQEA: (pronounced tuh-pee-kee-uh)
T: Topic: Introduces the topic of the paragraph
P: Point: Makes a clear argument about the topic
E: Example: Provides an example to back up the point
Q: Quotation (optional): Provides research to prove the point
E: Elaboration: Explains how the example and/or quotation prove the point
A: Analysis: Analyzes the importance of the argument and takes the elaboration one step farther
Let’s practice:
In a TPEEA paragraph, explain the best lesson you ever taught.
Topic: What was the topic of your lesson?
Point: What was the point/purpose of your lesson?
Example: What’s an example of what you did during this lesson?
Elaboration: How do you know this helped your kids understand your lesson?
Analysis: Why was this lesson important for your students to understand?
Sample Writing Activities
TPEQEA Round Robin
Write enough prompts for the groups you will have in your class. Assign students into groups of 2-3 students each.
Distribute prompts (one per group). Each group will only write once on each prompt. The groups will write a topic sentence for their prompt, and then switch prompts with another group. They will then write the point sentence and trade.
The groups continue to trade prompts unless they find a problem. For example, if there is an issue with an example sentence, the group only edits and then returns the prompt to the appropriate group for revision.
I usually put a number placard in front of the group so that they can just write their number down next to the sentence they wrote.
TPEQEA Annotated Article
Provide an article to students with a prompt/question for reflection. As students read they should use color or codes to annotate the article for potential examples & quotes. After students read the article, they should respond to the prompt. The elaboration and analysis sentences should not come from the article; these should be original thoughts.
Also, you can have students find their own scholarly article. This would help students with their research skills. Another option is to have students respond to a prompt of their own based on what they determine to be a main idea of the article.
IDSig TPEQEA Paragraph
An IDSig (Identification and Significance) identifies and explains the significance of a term. IDSig paragraphs work well when formatted in TPEQEA.
The topic sentence would answer the questions who, what, when, where, and why. The point sentence would answer the question, why is this term significant? The examples, quote (optional), elaboration, and analysis should prove the student's point.
This works well to focus on essential vocabulary of a unit.
Unit Reports (great for Chemistry!)
College students are held solely accountable for their learning. They will be required to take detailed, accurate notes and be able to correctly analyze and interpret the material they encounter in each class. Having them create detailed, multi-page reports for each unit in Chemistry helps them master this skill.
In order for students to create these unit reports, have them write a TPEQEA-style summary of each lesson at the end of every class using examples from class/lab and quotations from the book/teacher. At the end of the unit, the students will have generated an entire report on the selected topic. (This can also be done in the form of Cornell Notes—students can write their Cornell Notes during class and then write the summary in TPEQEA.)
Word Problem TPEQEA
You can have students write TPEQEA paragraphs to answer word problems. Using the TPEQEA format students can reflect on what they know about the given question and can show the teacher that they truly understand the answer without guessing.
Example:
Park officials need a triangular tarp to cover a field shaped like an equilateral triangle which is 200 feet on a side.
Question 1: Suppose you know that a triangular tarp has two 60 degree angles and the side length between these angles is 200 feet. Will this tarp cover the field? Explain in a TPEEA paragraph.
T: Yes the tarp will cover the field.
P: It can be proven that the tarp and the field are congruent triangles.
E: For example, the angles of the tarp are congruent with the angles of the field. Also, the side of the tarp is congruent with the corresponding side of the field.
E: Therefore the triangles are congruent by Angle-Side-Angle (ASA).
A: Using the ASA proof, we are able to find out if the tarp will fit without having to create any other measurements.
Question 2: Now suppose you know that a different triangular tarp has three 60 degree angles. Will this tarp cover the field? Explain in a TPEEA paragraph.
TPEQEA Review Book
Students are asked to create a booklet that reviews material from a chapter before a test. Students are asked to come up with a TPEQEA paragraph for each lesson of the chapter. It is the responsibility of the students to write down quotes each day that they think are beneficial and pick the best examples for each paragraph. They will then combine these paragraphs into a booklet that they will be able to study with for the chapter tests and the final at the end of the semester. This is an important college-ready study skill and will help them organize each lesson so they are not bogged down at the end of the semester. This will be especially important in college when students don’t have any homework or quizzes to study from but are responsible to make their own study guides.
Pre-reading Activities
You can use TPEQEA as a pre-reading activity to help students make predictions. Ask them one of the following questions before reading a selection/article/chapter and have them answer in one TPEQEA paragraph:
1. Based on the title, what do you think this is going to be about?
2. What do the pictures seem to indicate?
3. Why do you think this information is important to our understanding?
Then, students can Pair and Share about their predictions.
Annotated Bibliographies
In almost every college class, students will be required to not only complete research efficiently, but also to select what parts of their research are relevant. Annotated bibliographies help students develop this skill. UNC has excellent information on them which can be found here: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/annotated-bibliographies/
Have students use the TPEQEA-style format to write summaries and reviews of all of their research. Students can also use TPEQEA to write paragraphs explaining how they can use this research to support their arguments.
Sample Lesson Plans
Earth Science: Who Killed the Electric Car? (movie) Essay
Students will watch the movie Who Killed the Electric Car? and respond to a prompt in a TPEQEA-style paragraph. This lesson provides students with the important college-ready skill of being able to argue effectively using sound evidence.
Prompt:
Pay attention to the different suspects listed in the movie. You are the Jury. Decide whether the suspect is guilty or innocent. For each of the seven suspects write a paragraph defining your reasoning as to their guilt or innocence. Use the TPEQEA format.
Example:
T- ______is guilty/ innocent of killing the electric car.
P- They are ______because…..
E- (An example from the movie)
Q- (A quote from the movie)
E- Elaborate on the example
A- How does the example/quote show that they are innocent/ guilty?
Sample student response:
I find the batteries of the electric car guilty of killing them. It is this way because the battery only went so far before dying. The battery only went 60 miles without dying and many people need more mileage. With poor mileage, there were not many people who wanted such almost useless technology. Some of the electric car drivers said, “I need to go someplace without worrying if my battery is going to die on me so I won’t have to walk home.” Every car driver needs to know that their car will never quit on them during the day. With the poor battery life that nobody wanted, the battery is yet another cause of the car’s death.
Chemistry: Thomson’s Experiments Website Summary
In college, students are frequently asked to seek out and interpret information on their own. This lesson asks students to visit a website on Thomson’s Experiments and summarize each one of them.
Prompt: Go to the following website and write a TPEQEA paragraph from each of Thomson’s Experiments, explaining the importance of each.
http://www.aip.org/history/electron/jjhome.htm
Energy and Phase Changes Mini-Lab
Procedure:
For this activity, you will simulate sweating by wetting a finger. Be sure your hands are clean and dry. Wet one of your fingers and then wave your hand in the air.
Observations:
Do you feel any difference between the wet finger and the others? If so, what is the difference?
Analysis:
(1) What do you think caused your wet finger to feel different? Do you think energy is involved in this observation? Explain your reasoning.
(2) From what substance does energy leave? What is your proof?
(3) To what substance does energy go? What is your proof?
(4) If the energy change, ΔE, is defined as Efinal – Einitial, what is the sign of the energy change in your skin?
(5) What happened to the water on your skin when you waved your wet finger? (What state was the water in before and after you waved your finger?) Does energy leave the water or enter the water in order for this to happen? How do you know?
(6) What is the sign of ΔE for the water? How do you know?
(7) On this energy diagram, label the line that represents the energy of liquid water. Label the line that represents the energy of water vapor. Explain your choices. Draw an arrow representing ΔE for the evaporation of water from your skin