Name: ____Iza Alcorn__________

TCH_LRN 339 Text Analysis

Assignment Description & Directions: For your selected textbook chapter, (1) identify the
text’s key ideas, concepts or events, (2) reflect on experiences or knowledge that would help
students connect these to their lives, (3) identify potential barriers to student understanding
(particularly language use and culture); (4) determine which aspects of text content and structure
are most likely to interfere with comprehension. USE COURSE RESOURCES whenever
possible to answer the questions, and cite or quote those resources in APA when possible.

Reference Citation in APA format (visit the Purdue OWL website or the Resources module on
Canvas for help):

Shubin, N. (2009). Finding your inner fish. In Your Inner Fish (pp. 3-28). New York, NY:
Vintage Books.
_________________________________________________________

Task 1: Key concept identification

A. List major concepts, ideas, and/or events from the text. Briefly explain each bullet point.
Major concepts in this chapter are the discovery of the different kind of fossils, and how descent
with modification is explained. A main idea in this chapter is that we can trace back our heritage
back to many different organisms. Another idea or theme that is important is that we have a lot
of commonalities with different organisms also. Another important topic in this chapter is how
fossils are preserved. There are 3 things that fossil hunters need in order to find the right fossil or
increase their chances: Rocks are the right age, right type of rock to be able to preserve, and
rocks are exposed to surface. Another major theme is that we as humans are considered to be
variation. The major key concept in that is “we are reused, recycled, and remodeled to make new
organisms”. Another key idea in this chapter is that we have common ancestry and is proven in
not only fossils records but also our body but in humans DNA and genetics. Our body also shows
how all organisms are connected by inheritance. Some of the culture that is connected within this
chapter is how the author explained these key ideas were explained so students of American
backgrounds would understand the context. I state this because of how the author writes and uses
different references. This book has made huge contributions to the world because of the
explanation of science and implicating Darwin’s already well-known Evolution Theory. This
book has also had well supported biologists to use Neil Shubins’s book for education. The book
“Your Inner Fish” does not use “standard English”. What I mean by this is that his book tells a
tale of how he discovered certain fossils rather than just facts about nature. This book could be a
great way to accommodate students learning about evolution, because this story is more
personal. In a classroom I would use this to teach about heritage and evolution but explain
chapters in a descriptive way.
B. List supporting concepts, ideas, and/or events. Briefly explain each bullet point.

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A supporting concept is limb in this chapter, and how animals evolved in different ways. The
Tikaalik is another important concept because It represents a transitional form between aquatic
life and tetrapod’s/ terrestrials. In this chapter it also talks about Neil Shubin and his collages
journey of how they found the Tikaalik fossil. They found a lot of fossils in the heart of
Antarctica, or Artic islands. The Tikaalik is an important concept because it was a discovery of a
new fossil and new information. Finding this fossil was an important part of history, because it
helped further explain the natural world, evolution and how animals transitioned. Neil Shubin
talks about how he brought in his fossil to his daughters preschool classroom, and the
preschoolers could recognize that this fossil was not like any other animal or organism seen
before (Shubin, pg. 25). This book could help ELL’s but it would also need a teacher teaching
the book and concepts. Like previously said, since it’s like a personal story this might help
ELL’s education with a basic grasp of these difficult concepts. In this chapter it talks about
Darwin who is very famous for his scientific work.

Task 2: Experience and knowledge

A. List 3 experiences that would help your students connect key concepts to their lives. Explain.
The first experience I will be talking about the importance on hands on experience. When I went
to the zoo, there was an exhibit with different kinds of species were the fossils. I also
experienced and touched fossils and was told that this is human history and how we have to take
care of out history. Another experience I have had with evolution and Darwinism is my tenth
grade classroom. My teacher went into great detail about how evolution is real and that there is
evidence. This was another notable experience because we had hands on labs learning about how
we have evolved over time. The last experience with the natural world is learning about how the
Earth was created by doing different science experiments. This helped me understand how nature
and the Earth developed because we talked about how different plants have adapted because of
the environment that the plants live in. For example, a cactus has adapted over millennia’s in
order to be able to sustain itself in a desert.

B. List 3 pieces of knowledge that would help your students connect key concepts to their lives.
Explain.
Some knowledge I learned from this chapter was there are certain aspects of fossils in
order for them to form. With this concept it can be applied to students lives because it takes
millions of years and the right material for this preservation to occur. You can apply this key
concept to a students live because when they are struggling or having a hard time in class, as a
teacher you can talk about how great and amazing things take time. More knowledge you can
take away from this chapter is how science works. I believe that knowledge can be any key
concept to a students life, and the more knowledge you have of the natural world you will be
able to understand your own life. In life I think it is important to understand science in order to
experience different things in life. One experience I had growing up is I never knew how the
earth became the way it was or how humans arose. So, I experienced and learned about how
archeologists discovered and uncovered facts. Another piece of knowledge that connects to this
book is in elementary school talking about how we are all the same. This chapter is perfect for
this example. I say this because everyone is realistically the same. This is important for students
to know because even if the outside is different we are all the same on the inside. Another thing

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that I have learned is that you can connect to students lives are that we all evolved from the same
place and having an understanding of who you are and where you came from.

Task 3: Barrier identification

Answer these questions as specific as possible:

 Is the material presented in a register that students are familiar with, or is it more or less
formal than they are used to? Give examples.

With how this chapter is written it is not something I am familiar with. The language in the book
is formal but also like a personal journey. However, I am not use to this language because I’ve
only had formal educational textbooks with just context and no personal stories with my
textbooks. For example, on page 79 of Your Inner Fish, it talks about how plastic injections were
the most used thing, from cars to yo-yo’s and this connects to teeth in some way. Personally,
how the material is presented isn’t always helpful. Like with the example just presented, that
does not help me remember how teeth were made or have any connection with decent and
modification.
 With what specific language structures or grammar might students have difficulty? Use
the Andrews’ book to explain.
I think any student would have difficulty with this language because there is information that is
hidden within Neil Shubin’s story. This is because of how Neil Writes his book is more social
than textual. (Andrews, Pg. 77) discusses how students need to be able to produce language
before they can display their knowledge. This connects with how Neil Shubin writes his book
because for an ELL to understand how the text is written they would need to be able to
understand English first, before they can understand this kind of informal writing. In chapter 2,
Andrews also discusses words and culture. For example, on page 27 Andrews explains that
ELL’s will be confused about how words have 100 different meanings. With first person point of
view, this can lead to different social conventions and uses, and cultural references that students
will just be confused by. “ The take home message of any lawyer joke is that lawyers are
especially voracious kind of shark” (Shubin, pg. 90). This kind of phrase would be very
confusing to students because you would have to explain since sharks are vicious creatures and
don’t stop so do lawyers and that’s the “connection” with sharks in the novel. With this kind of
structure of language, it’s hard to understand what the important information is, and what is
meaningless.

 From whose point of view is the material presented? What difference might this make to
comprehension?

The point of view that the information is presented is from first person. This might help
some students feel more compelled to learn the information and read the book. This
might also make a difference on comprehension is that the material could seem more
difficult to students. One problem that I personally have with this book is that since the
material is hidden into a story it is extremely hard to find a straight answer. What I mean
by this is if there was a quiz asking about a certain definition, you wouldn’t necessarily is
able to give just one specific answer.

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  What vocabulary in the materials might ELLs have trouble with? Why?
Any kind of scientific vocabulary is what an ELL will struggle with. I say this because even I
struggle with the vocabulary because the book just says words and doesn’t explain what they are.
In chapter 1 as a student or someone reading this book needs a background on some of the
vocabulary words. For example: genetics, DNA, Limbs, Fossils, Evolution, Theory etc. These
words are all included in this chapter, and I Believe ELL’s would really struggle with these
words, unless they had a background on these words. There are a lot of factors as to what the
ELL might struggle with. I believe that in order to understand this book you would need a
background.
 What cultural aspects of the book might ELLs find challenging? Why?

Like mentioned before, there are certain jokes or sayings that ELL’s might not understand
because it is the culture we are use too and use all the time. Like any culture there are sayings
that native people get and use. Overall, an ELL could be in culture shock, which is when an ELL
is confused or does not totally understand the culture customs that native people are use too.
Being a new student at a school is hard, but imagining being in a new country knowing little to
no language would be a challenge. ELL’s are kind of thrown into a situation and expected to
learn the culture immediately with also dropping what they are use too. With that being said that
book is written in the way is difficult for me to comprehend the true message because of the
social structure (Andrews, Pg. 27).

Task 4: Comprehension demands

A. Based on your answers to the previous tasks, describe what kind of student might succeed
in understanding this material. Why?
A student that would succeed with this material is someone who loves the natural world, and
biology. Also a student that likes story telling as a mechanism for understanding the material.
Also, having a general interest on decent with modification, and inheritance etc. this chapter or
book is really intriguing but also a complicated story to follow.

B. Based on your answers to the previous tasks, describe what kind of student might fail in
understanding this material. Why?
A student that has no interest in science will not do well in this book, or if they don’t study. Even
though I have an exceptional grade in this class, this book and concept is extremely hard for me
to understand. Furthermore, students with little to no background will have hard time with this
concept.

Reflection:

What might you as the teacher do to help students who face challenges with the material you
selected? List at least 3 strategies that might help, who they might be helpful for, and how you
could tell (assess) whether they helped. Be specific.

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 Reading guides/packets-
Even though my Professor has these reading guides in order to understand the concepts, I still
don’t understand the material at hand. So I would change how she writes the packets and make
sure the packets were worded simpler, and had less questions about harder concepts and more
about what we are trying to learn. This strategy is helpful to everyone, because it shows what a
student knows and what he or she doesn’t.

Lectures-
This book is one of the hardest books I’ve had to grasp in college. So if I were a teacher in order
to help my students I would actually help them and make sure they understood what was going
on. This is a good strategy because if students were struggling or had questions we could move at
a different pace depending on the class is doing. I would pick this strategy because you can get
one on one action to see who needs the extra help, and assess the classroom as a whole in order
to move on through the different chapters.

Vocabulary activity. – For this strategy I would have students bring up any vocab they had no
idea on, and give them a definition. I would then assess by making each student use it in a
sentence or tell me how it connects to another idea.