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The best time of day for me to read is early morning and afternoon. In the evening I tend to fall asleep in the middle, no matter how interesting the text is. The location of my reading depends on the type of text. I prefer to read content text in  the dining room with a pencil and notebook. I tend to save short content articles for the times I am waiting at the doctors office or for my kids to finish their swimming lessons. Any location will do for pleasure reading.

Right now its 1:30 in the afternoon, and I am in the dining room with a pencil and notebook. I have selected chapter 12: Ocean Motion from NYC’s middle school’s science text book for this assignment. Before I start reading I skim through the chapter to see how long is it, and what are the headings for an idea about the content. Skimming through the chapter I noticed that it is divided into three sections with some lab activities, which is perfect  for this assignment since it will be completed in three weeks, so for today I will read section 1.

In my notebook I wrote down “Chapter 12 Ocean Motion” and todays date. Next I looked at the picture of someone surfing a big wave and predicted this unit will discuss how waves are formed. I read the start-up activities and from the Foldable activity I made two columns in my notebook labeled ‘Causes of Ocean Motion’  and ‘Effects of Ocean Motion’

As I started reading section 1, Ocean Water I imagined my self walking on the beach with my feet in the water. After I finished reading the page, I studied the pictures and wrote down some notes– the 3 sources found in oceans. I continued to read the next heading Origin of Oceans. After finishing the paragraph I compared the two pictures that were refered in the paragraph and wrote the highlighted vocabulary word basins and its definition in my notebook. I enjoy looking  and examining pictures, visuals appeal to me.

Continuing on to the next heading composition of Oceans, I paused on the word photosynthesis and recalled the by product O2 and the byproduct of respiration is CO2. I continued onto the next paragraph and stopped on the end of the page. Then I reread the passage and drew a concept map about how dissolved gases and minerals enter the ocean. After finishing the concept map I reread section making sure my concept map was accurate. That took more time than I expected.

Continuing on to the next heading Salts,  I found the fact that the proportion and amount of dissolved salts remained constant for millions of years interesting. I made a note of the highlighted vocabulary word salinity and its definition and finished reading the last  two pages of todays section and made notes about them. While reading I visualized the marine organisms mentioned in the text — oysters, algae, and clams. Also the section Removal of Elements reminded me of sea salt sold in stores..

I read each section at a moderate pace the first time. When I reread the sections I read at a  somewhat slower pace so that I could write notes and make sure I did not miss anything.  At the end of the section there is a table named Section Review, with a summary and self check questions. As I was reading through the summary I checked my notes to make sure I included everything. Then I mentally answered the self check questions, and I feel confident about this sections content.

In order to make a connection to the real world I have include three links below that are  about desalination plants and processes. The first link utilizes evaporation and condensation. The second link describes desalination via  a membrane. The third link is a currents events article that makes one wonder what possible effects can huge desalination plants have on the environment.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/g-word-water-desalination.html

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/26731-freshwater-and-saltwater-the-desalination-process-video.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE54D6M420090514?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

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