Reading Strategies: Science Lesson

         Steven and Shane taught a lesson on science labs. The lesson started with reflection on the things most memorable to us about science classes from high school. The thing that I remembered which was unique from other students' memories were all of the errors that needed to be accounted for (besides human errors). Steven and Shane had us read through the introduction, objective, materials, and safety procedures of the lab, underlining the words which we had questions about or that we found pertinent for any other reason. We then turned to our table mates to discuss our findings and ask each other questions. I didn't find this strategy to be very helpful for understanding, but perhaps it would have made a difference if my table mates were more familiar with the material and were able to answer questions.
        The teachers went on to answer questions and provide definitions to the objective words from the lesson. This helped clarify what we were going to be doing in the lab. After the clarification, we were shown several images of the materials that we will be using which helped us gain a better understanding of what objects we will use.
       We then read through the procedure.  At this point, I still don't know what reading strategies the teachers were teaching. Again, we are asked to read, underline, and circle key words from the procedure. This made more sense because the procedure was more straight forward. I found myself circling quantities and underlining other information. I found it easier to quickly recall the numbers when they would be needed. We tried to devise 'jobs' within our group, but had difficulty finding 4 different group member roles. I think this step of the lesson needed more direction, otherwise some of the students will be 'following the leader'.
        The third strategy was 'Making Connections' and the moral of this strategy was to simplify the information that was presented. Also, the teachers made connections between the lab procedure and real life experiences which helped remind us as students that while we may never again do this lab or any chemistry lab, we learned skills which will later be beneficial.