ACTIVITY 1 — UNFAMILIAR VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT
The following piece is adapted from a science magazine.
Unfortunately, I no longer have the title, the author's
name or the magazine name! But the piece illustrates how
we make sense of unfamiliar words and concepts in the
course of reading.
As you read the piece, in the margin try filling in two
or more substitutions for each underlined word. Do this
as quickly as you can. It's all right if you can't think
of two or more substitutions. The point here is to stay
focused on the meaning.
Next, fill in the accompanying chart (after the passage).
What language cues were you using to guide your substitutions?
Were there any items you didn't know beforehand? What
strategies did you use to make sense of them?
What questions did this activity raise for you as a reader,
a teacher?
Activity 2: Heavy Conceptual Load
