“Stress may be silently sabotaging success in
school. Its effects are especially potent for children in poverty.”
By: Clancy Blair
Published: Scientific American Mind, the
September – October 2012 issue
To access the article, copy paste the following:
http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0912-64
Level of Difficulty: ****
To access the article, copy paste the following:
http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0912-64
Level of Difficulty: ****
BEFORE YOU READ
1.
Why
do you think children from more deprived backgrounds do more badly at school?
Make a note of the reasons you come up with so that you can use them in the
writing task at the end.
QUESTIONS
1.
Read
the first paragraph. What does the first sentence have in common with the last
one? Why?
2.
What
does the word insidious mean in your view?
3.
The
writer states that “poverty adversely effects children’s ability to perform
well in school”. This is the case because……………………………………………………………………………… Be
precise.
4.
To
what extent does the writer agree with the current explanation why children
from lower income households do worse at school? How do you know?
5.
What
are the three broad categories of stressors that negatively affect specific
learning abilities in children?
6.
What
effect of stress on the brain specifically impacts future academic success?
7.
The
kind of effect stress has on the brain is closely linked to ……………………………………………..
8.
The
brain’s reaction to stress is a learnt response. True or False? Support your
answer with information from the text.
9.
Read
the experiment conducted at Pen State carefully. What pattern of cortisol
release was observed in children with poor executive function? What further
indication of stress was noted during the study?
10.
According
to the text, the …………………. The cortisol levels, the ……………………………. the executive
function and academic ability.
11.
What
misguided parenting style do poor parents practice? Why?
12.
What
overall conclusion was reached as a result of the first stage of the study
involving 1292 children?
13.
Read
the conclusion to the article. How optimistic is the writer? How do you know?
WRITING TASK
Discuss the process through which
stressors negatively impact learning abilities in children. Use the points
below and any others you feel are relevant.
*The stresses that accompany low
income
* Challenging family circumstances
* Learning Disabilities
*Negative parenting
*Chaotic and poorly run classrooms
* An impoverished learning
environment at home
TREATING A TOXIN TO LEARNING KEY
AND TEACHER’S NOTES
This brilliant text reaches various conclusions concerning learning
ability which I am sure many of you, like myself, have also reached over the
years. I was interested to see that what I instinctively believed, in fact, had
a scientific basis. The writing task is closely linked to the text and will
therefore enable more in depth understanding of the text.
1.
They
both summarize the paragraph. The first is the topic sentence and expresses an
opinion. What follows is the support where the writer proves her point. So
naturally the concluding statement echoes the topic sentence.
2.
Harmful.
3.
Stress,
which affects thinking skills, thrives in difficult situations. Best answer!
Have a little think why. Alternatively, stress thrives in difficult situations
and effects thinking skills.
4.
She
partly agrees. This theory is, at best, half the story.
5.
The
stresses that accompany low income, challenging family circumstances, learning
disabilities.
6.
Its
influences on the neural connections in the prefrontal cortex. Minimum.
7.
The
dose
8.
True.
Overtime, the brain circuits that control stress hormone levels are shaped by
experience…
9.
Sustained
high level or a blunted response; their teachers also rated them as more
aggressive and lacking in self control.
10.
The
higher, the lower.
11.
They
elicit obedience through discipline; due to the realities of their situation
and their own high levels of stress.
12.
Parenting
style shapes the developing stress response pattern.
13.
Quite
optimistic. We are encouraged by the possibility that…
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