Informational Text Comprehension, Common Core Standard.

Objective: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Below are sample paragraphs.

Paragraph 1 should be a summary of the new technology you read about.

Paragraph 2 analyzes the new technology either as a comparison, the technology’s impact now, or the technology’s impact 10 years from now.

Sample paragraph 1:

In medical school, students use cadavers to learn about the body. However, sometimes cadavers are in poor shape, or are missing organs. Last month, students at the New York University School of Medicine tested a virtual body wearing 3D glasses made by Nvidia, which allowed them to explore and operate on a body without using a cadaver. The article, “The Virtual Anatomy, Ready for Dissection,” by Natasha Singer, explains how some doctors are excited about the new 3D technology to supplement the use of cadavers. One doctor said, “It’s like a living digital textbook.”

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For the paragraphs below, Boldface = text evidence

Sample paragraph 2 for a comparison of your technology to something else:

In my opinion, using the Virtual 3D Body is a great improvement compared to how medical students now learn about the human body. One problem with only using cadavers is that not all bodies are in good shape. One student reported that she had a hard time because her cadaver was  missing its appendix, spleen and right lung. That makes it difficult to complete your education! I believe that the Virtual 3D Body ensures a quality education for our medical students.

Sample paragraph 2 for the technology’s impact now: 

The Virtual 3D Body will revolutionize education of medical students. Soon every medical school will use a combination of cadavers and virtual software. One doctor said, “It’s an amazing blend of one of the oldest medical education techniques and the absolute newest.” There will be less need for cadavers, and students will be better prepared for surgery on a real person since the Virtual 3D body simulates a live person. I believe that the Virtual 3D Body is going to completely change and improve education in medical schools.

Sample paragraph 2 for 10 years in the future:

This Virtual 3D Body technology means exciting developments for our future. The developer calls it “…a Google Earth for the human body.” I wonder if ten years from now, this technology could advance even further. I imagine a time when I go to the doctor and tell him or her that my leg is really bothering me. The doctor would scan my leg, then virtually go in and figure out what is wrong, practicing the surgery and running into unforeseen problems before the real surgery. Then the real surgery would be easy and mistake-free! In my opinion, the Virtual 3D Body is exciting, not only for medical students, but for the future of medicine and surgery.

Bibliography (Created at BibMe.com):

SINGER, NATASHA. “The Human Anatomy, Animated With 3-D Technology – NYTimes.com.” The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. New York Times Corporation, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/business/the-human-anatomy-animated-with-3-d-technology.html?_r=1>.

Activity 1: Recent Earthquakes

1) Open Microsoft Word.

2) Put your name at the top, save in your server.

3) Go to this website:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww

4) Read the title so you know what this website is about.

5) Look at the legend below… there may be yellow, orange and red squares on the earthquake map.

First, explore! See where the latest earthquakes have been occurring.

6) I want you to look for an earthquake that happened either in the last day or the last hour, and with the largest magnitude you can find (the bigger the square, the bigger the earthquake).

7) Click on the earthquake’s square and you’ll get the Earthquake Details. Sample:

I want you to write down:

• The Region where it happened
• The Magnitude
• The date and time
• One of the cities it is close to (see Distances).
• Click on “Time of Earthquake in Other Time Zones” and write down for me the Pacific Daylight time (our time zone).

9) Click on the Maps tab.

10) Explore the different maps.

11) Pick the one you understand the best, and drag it into your Microsoft Word document.

12) Save!

13) Great! Now I want you to do it all over again, pick a different spot and record the same data for a second earthquake.

14) Finally, compare and contrast your two earthquakes…

• Location
• Magnitude
• Date/Time

To give me your project, attach it in Gmail.

Make sure you save one final time before you send it to me.

Activity 2: Create a header for our blog

Create a header that I can use on this blog!

It should say something like: LMS Tech, LMS Technology, or Welcome to LMS Tech!

Create a new Fireworks document. Size- Width: 760, Height: 200

Have fun with it; make it colorful. If you use anything from the Internet, it must be “Copyright OK” and have the URL.

You can send it to me via Gmail.