Simulations and Bodies

1. When the author says " Learning does not work well when learners are forced to check their bodies at the school room door like guns in the old West", I interpret this as him saying that many classrooms expect students to only bring themselves to class. When students enter the room, they should be able to bring not only themselves but their experiences as well. Gee says When people learn something as a cultural process their bodies are involved because cultural learning always involves having experiences that facilitate learning, not just memorizing words" (Gee,____). Lessons should be hands-on and incorporate the "funds of knowledge" that a student has.

2. The best way to acquire a large vocabulary is having experience with words. Reading books and then engaging in conversation opens the door to a world of new experiences.

3. The meaning of a word depends on the context in which it is being used. For example, the author uses : "Joe is really working the system", "Relationships take work", "I managed to work my point in". All three sentences present a different definition of work.

4.

a. My sister broke up with her fiance, so I'm off the hook for buying her a wedding present.

• In this sentence "off the hook" means that the sister no longer has to buy a gift.
  

b. Them shoes are off the hook dog.

• Here, "off the hook"  means that "those 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!!

• In this instance, "off the hook" is standing for crazy/insane/amazing.

5. In the author's opinion, a child's work is play. I agree with Gee because it is through play that children gain experiences that they can bring to the classroom and foster meaningful learning.

6. By not reading the directions, students are gaining a better understanding of the task that is before them. They are able to think at a critical level and refer or relate back to the concept when needed.

 

7. Knowing the literal meaning of a word basically leads to a dead end. By only knowing this meaning students can not relate the information to other concepts.

8. When the author refers to the terms "games" and "identity" he is meaning that there is a role to take on in being noticed as a reader or other "identities".

• Being a teacher requires me to act professional.
• As a finance I am to be loving and supportive.
• As an aunt I am funny, loving, and caring. 

9. Good learning is being able to take on the roles that different identities requires. 

10. This completely supports my view of teaching because I believe that meaningful learning is made by having hands-on, real world experiences.

 

11. Peer to peer interaction is important for children's language experience because they get to interact with each other and engage in conversation to create experiences.