Double Entry #11

1. What does the author mean when he says, "Learning doesn't work well when learners are forced to check their bodies at the school room door like guns in the old West."  Every student has different learning methods but one thing they have in common is that they learn at a higher rate when they are interested or feel connected to what they are learning about.

2. According to the author, what is the best way to acquire a large vocabulary? Personal experiences are the best way to acquire a larger vocab. It has a way of sticking with the individual because it is learned in a personal manner. Reading is another way for students to gain more word knowledge but I feel that hands on learning is more likely to stick and help grow a more full vocabulary.

3. What gives a word a specific meaning? Experience will give specific situated meanings to language. You need to have experience in that subject or topic to know about the specific meaning for that topic or phrase

4. What does the term "off the hook" mean in each of these sentences?

a. My sister broke up with her fiance, so I'm off the hook for buying her a wedding present. No longer responsible for buying a gift

b. Them shoes are off the hook dog. Expressing that the shoes are awesome

c. Man that cat was fighting 6 people and he beat them all. Yo, it was "off the hook", you should have seen it!! The fight was spectacular and highly entertaining.

5.Why is NOT reading the instruction for how to play a game before playing a game a wise decision? (Teacher: Read all the directions before answering the questions.) A game that has never been played before can be very confusing which would make the directions hard to understand. A person would learn better if they could play the game and read the directions as they go so they can you tie the words together with actual evidence from the game. This will help the student understand what the directions mean.

6. Does knowing the general or literal meaning of a word lead to strong reading skills? Knowing both can help the reader successfully read between the lines.

7. What does the author mean by the terms "identity" and "game". Give an example of 3 "identities" or "games" you play?  Identity is what people are seeing you as or what you see yourself as. Game is more of what experience you are going through or experiencing. Games going to class, and going to work, identity is a student and an employee.

8. According to the author what is good learning? The author leads us to the conclusion that good learning is learning that you can relate to for life. It is things you learn from experience that you will remember for a long time.

9. How does understanding that being able to build a mental model and simulations of a real-word experience is closely tied  to comprehending written and oral language support of change the way you think children should learn in school? Real-world experiences help people learn things because the can draw an immediate conclusion from it. Since it becomes a personal learning experience it is easier for someone to gain more from that experience and it will stick with them.

10. Why is peer to peer interaction so important for the language development of young children? How does knowing this support or change the way you think children should learn in school?