GMOs, and specifically genetically modified foods, are a hot topic in many biology classrooms. These pre- and post- reading strategies, designed to be used with the Genetic Engineering and Recombinant DNA article, provide multiple options for engaging students at a distance. Each is designed to illicit student responses before, and after reading the passage. This type of engagement validates students' personal opinions while helping them connect to the science behind the content.

Teacher Tip:

Supports AL Biology COS Standards 3. Formulate an evidence-based explanation regarding how the composition of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) determines the structural organization of proteins. 10. Construct an explanation and design a real-world solution to address changing conditions and ecological succession caused by density-dependent and/or density-independent factors.

Designed for utilization with any text passage, Word Storm is a pre-reading strategy that tasks students with thinking about the likely content of a passage before engaging with the text. Given only the title of the article, students record as many words as they can that start with each letter of the alphabet that they believe are likely to appear in the article. Students then engage with the article, highlighting any word from their 'storm' that appears in the text. This promotes close reading of the text as students seek to find 'their' words and encourages multiple readings. Because this is a pre-reading strategy, teachers are reminded to not offer both documents simultaneously. Students should complete the Word Storm for a given passage before being given access to the passage.

This reading strategy, designed for use with any text, scaffolds readers to increase their ability to identify important elements of a text. As students read an article, they identify the ten most important words in the passage, not the most frequently used, but the most important. Pairing with another reader, students compare lists and develop a consensus list of the ten most important words. This activity encourages both critical thinking about the text and close reading of the text.