Double Entry Journal #11

Chapter 4: Simulations and Bodies

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."

When students can relate their experiences outside of the classroom towards learning inside the classroom, the material is more effective toward them and they gain more from it.

2. According to the author, what is the best way to acquire a large vocabulary?

The author states that the best way to acquire a large vocabulary is to gain vocabulary knowledge through acting and gaining experiences so that the context of the word is understood.

3. What gives a word a specific meaning?

The author demonstrates the work work in several different contexts such as the action going to work or if something doesn't work. Therefore the context of the word gives a specific meaning.

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.

The sister does not have to buy a wedding present for his sister since she broke her engagement.

b. Them shoes are off the hook dog.

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 cat's actions were really exciting and something else.

4. According to the author what is the"work" of childhood? Do you agree?

According to the work of the author, a child's work consists of playing. I do agree with this some but while a child plays, a child also learns and picks up on things they may not understand prior to the play.

5.Why is NOT reading the instruction for how to play a game before playing a game a wise decision?

Sometimes text regarding rules are rather difficult to understand so it allows the players of the game to be more creative in the experience that they are facing.

6. Does knowing the general or literal meaning of a word lead to strong reading skills?

Literal meaning of a word does lead to strong reading skills as the reader can relate the word to the context and experience.

7. What does the author mean by the terms "identity" and "game". Give an example of 3 "identities" or "games" you play?

Identity refers to someones definition of themselves such as their background or what defines them. Games are situations and the different moves made throughout the situations to determine the outcome.

My three different job roles as a student teacher, a waitress, and a clothing sales associate require me to play completely diverse and different roles and act upon them in extremely different ways.

8. According to the author what is good learning?

According the author, good learning is the things you learn that help you get by in the world and make sense of your life in it.

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?

I feel like a real world experience is the best option for students to fully comprehend what they are learning so that they can apply it to the real world.

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?

Peer interaction is very important as the students must be able to work together to create and learn side by side. On numerous occasions, students are able to help one another understand things that maybe the teacher was not explaining as clearly.