Science and Social Studies

Science and Social Studies:

What are some ways you can teach the vocabulary presented within science and social studies: 
For the text books you can conduct a chapter tour. Which is not only a great opportunity to explore the vocabulary for the unit but it is also fantastic to highlight and pre-teach the main subject areas and activities throughout the chapter. Interlanguage is another strategy to help build the language and vocabulary for the unit. With this you have the children explain what it is they are doing or the process you are talking about, and then you discuss it with them and model the correct language and terms for them. You can work on this verbally and in writing. Additionally you can work on vocabulary with true false cards, agree and disagree cards, etc.

How can you prepare to teach both of these subject areas:
I think the most important things you can do involve prepping with the classroom teacher ahead of time to gather materials and understand the concepts being taught. Next I think it is important to make any modifications needed for the student and think of additional strategies to use in the event that the student struggles to grasp the concept.

When addressing similarities and differences we often stay at the basic or simplistic Lebel of this strategy. How will you plan to move students beyond identifying simple same/differences to creating metaphors and creating analogies?
To do this I think it is important to build on the language needed to move on to metaphors and analogies. I think you need to explore the things that you are comparing. Like in an analogy for instance you are saying one thing is connected to another just like something else is connected to something else. The child needs to have the language and understanding of all parts. Using a lot of visuals and making it meaningful for the child is very important also. Lastly, practice and repetition. Those are always the keys when working with our students. Once they understand the function of the task at hand, practice practice practice.