Module 1: Instructional Challenge

Read the following passage:

Hocked gems financing him, our hero defied the scornful laughter. “Think of it as an egg, not a table,” he said. Then three sturdy sisters sought proof, forging over vast calmness, and sometimes over turbulent peaks and valleys, until at last welcome winged creatures appeared, signifying monumental success.

Answer these questions about the passage:

1. What are the hocked gems? The hocked gems refer to the people who are financing the voyage for the hero.

2. What should we think of as an egg and not a table? We should think of the Earth as an egg, which is round, instead of like a table, which is flat.

3. Who are the three sturdy sisters? The three sturdy sisters are ships.

4. What kind of winged creatures appeared? The winged creatures are birds, which would signify to the three ships that land is near.

If you were to use this passage with students, what schema would you need to activate with them first?

If I were using this passage in my classroom I would activate their knowledge about Famous Expeditions and Explorers. Students could recall information from previous lessons and list facts about each voyage (Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, etc.) and compare and contrast the difference in each category to help them determine which one would fit the passage best.

How can you help teach children whose schema and the text’s content don’t match?

In order to help match student’s schema and the text’s context, you could provide students with essential questions and prompts to help them decode and determine that the passage is talking about Christopher Columbus and his expedition.

How much time should children spend in texts that don’t match their interests or schema?

Students should explore other texts that don’t match their interest or schema. It’s important to expand your interests and knowledge into other subjects. Without doing so students may be missing out on topics they are interested in. It is similar to trying new food and expanding your palette. If you never try a new food, you could be missing out on your new favorite food.