A quickwrite is a short writing assignment, in which students respond to a prompt quickly and concisely. These are often used as formative assessments, such as Exit Tickets, bellringer activities, or transition activities. 

Sample Prompts for Quickwrites:

• In three sentences, summarize what you learned about (reading, event, person, place, etc.).

• From the reading we did for homework, generate three level 2 or 3 questions for a class discussion.

• Create an illustration, symbol or drawing about the reading and explain its meaning.

• Examine the graph (picture, map, timeline) on page ___ and write a summary of its meaning.

• Develop “what if?” statements from the reading (picture, data). 

• What questions would you ask (historical figure)? 

• This is a controversial issue – how would you support your position on it? 

• Write a dialogue of a conversation between yourself and (historical figure). 

• Create a political or editorial cartoon about the reading.

• Create a thesis statement over the reading (or video).

• If this event were to happen today, what would be different?

• Would you like to have witnessed this event? Why/why not?

• Which person from this unit would you most like to have dinner with? Why? 

• Which technological innovation from this period is most important and why? 

• Looking at the picture on page ___, identify one person and explain their perspective on the events. 

• Describe (an event) from a particular point of view. 

• Take a position on (an issue) and defend it.

This cooperative activity provides opportunities for students to read, write, speak, and listen about specific topics before studying an historical event. This helps build background knowledge and interest about topics to be studied.

1. Select four short high-interest texts about one topic. The text should be no more than two pages in length. For example, if teaching the Civil War, you might include a reading about the Lincoln Presidency, military strategy, Andersonville Prison Camp, and the life of a Confederate Soldier 

2. Arrange students in groups of three or four. Assign each student a different topic to read. Students then read their assigned text. 

3. After reading, students return to the text and create a list of important and/or interesting facts to be discussed at the table. 

4. Each student should be given 3 – 5 minutes to explain their notes about their reading, while the others in the group take careful notes. 

5. Each group is given one piece of paper to construct their writing. Begin the writing process with the first reader’s topic.

   1. • Reader #1 writes a topic sentence about their reading 

      • Student #2 adds one sentence about the SAME reading to the paragraph 

      • Student #3 adds another sentence 

      • Student #4 adds another sentence 

6. Continue rotating until time is called or ideas are exhausted. 

7. The writing process continues with student #2 constructing a topic sentence for the second reading. Continue until all four readings have a paragraph.

Speculation-Prediction Writing

Speculation-prediction writing allows students to interact with a text, document, visual, internet site, etc. Students consider the events and material and predict the possible effects. This strategy helps to develop students’ understanding of the complexity of cause-and-effect relationships as well as to recognize recurring themes over time. 

Have students divide their paper in half. On the left side, they will record “What Happened”; on the right, they will record “What Might/Should Happen as a Result.” Students should be encouraged to think about the “what ifs” and speculate about the consequences.

Elaboration

(from Cult of Pedagogy)

Explain and describe ideas with many details.

This method asks students to go beyond simple recall of information and start making connections within the content. Students should ask themselves open-ended questions about the material, answer in as much detail as possible, then check the materials to make sure their understanding is correct.

Teachers can apply this strategy by having brief class discussions where these kinds of questions are explored and asking students to work elaboration into their own study plans.

Here’s how Smith and Weinstein explain elaboration:

This activity offers an informal writing opportunity for students to identify, question, and complicate ideas they do and do not understand about the content of the course. 

1. At the beginning of class, provide students with a bright-colored sheet of paper. 

2. Direct every student to write a note to another student in the class asking about some aspect of the course content about which they are unclear. 

3. Have students pass their notes to someone sitting near them so that each student has one note that is not their own.

4. Run class as normal but allow students to continue passing these notes back and forth to each other as class continues. 

5. Explain that the notes will be collected at the end, so they must be on topic. 

6. Near the end of the period, ask students what issues came up as they were writing and if anyone was able to respond to their questions satisfactorily. 

7. As a group, you may be able to resolve some of their concerns. 

8. Alternatively, read over the notes later during your prep time so that you can integrate their concerns into later course content.

Emoji Poetry/Response

(from Ditch That Textbook)

Brevity is an important skill in writing. Instead of encouraging students to write to a minimum number of words, let’s try constraining them to fewer words — and turn them into emojis! Have students summarize what they’ve been learning using emojis (maybe a maximum of 10). The Google Chrome web browser has several emoji extensions (a favorite of mine is Emoji for Google Chrome). Mobile devices often have them built in. This encourages reflection on what they’ve learned and creativity in expressing themselves.

Thought-Provoking Writing Prompts

Need some new ideas to get students thinking — and then writing? Write About has a treasure trove of creative, thought-provoking writing prompts at writeabout.com/ideas. 

C-SPAN Bellringers

This website is designed to enhance social studies curriculums by providing teachers with brief video clips of C-SPAN programming. You will find the clips separated into categories commonly studied in social studies curriculums. Each clip contains a brief summary, key vocabulary terms, and related discussion questions.

These video clips can be used to start class, as an in-class activity, or as a homework assignment to introduce a new topic. You can further explore a topic by using one of the activities on the C-SPAN Classroom Deliberations page with your students. However you use them, Bell Ringers will connect your students with real world examples of civics in action.

Exit Ticket Ideas

(from Ditch That Textbook)

In an article in the publication Educational Leadership by ASCD, Robert Marzano explains that there are four kinds of prompts teachers often use with exit slips — prompts that …

• Provide formative assessment data (How would you rate your current level of understanding of what we did today?)

• Stimulate student analysis (How hard did you work today? What could you have done to help yourself learn better?)

• Focus on instructional strategies (How did the group work today help you understand the content?)

• Are open communications to the teacher (What could I do differently to help you understand better?)

Exit tickets are also a research-based best practice for several reasons ...

• Students are second-most likely to recall what they learn at the very end of class (most: beginning). Therefore, the end of class is when their brains are primed for learning.

• When students recall what they've learned without textbooks or notes, it produces great long-term memory effects. 

• Reflection on learning -- and the learning process -- can help learning stick and help them become better students.

Exit Ticket Prompts

1. What two things stood out to you most today? Recalling what they've learned helps students store it in long-term memory. Plus, only asking for two isn't too overwhelming.

2. Do you agree or disagree with the topic today? Describe why. If you're studying a topic that has two or more sides, this lets the student decide where he/she stands and why.

3. If you had to describe what you learned today very simply to a young child, how would you describe it? Simplifying a concept into its most basic terms can help students boil it down to its key points.

4. Design a t-shirt that represents something you learned today. This is a fun twist, it's visual, and it lets students get creative.

5. Snap a selfie with your reaction to something you learned. Then, describe why you reacted that way. Then, describe why you reacted that way. This multimedia prompt utilizes the camera option that most devices offer. Plus, it's very personal -- the student's picture is in it!

6. What are you most confused about? This lets students get really honest. Plus, it can be very, very valuable information to guide your instruction.

7. What could you have done today to help yourself learn better? This introspective question helps students look metacognitively at their own learning -- and how they can improve their learning skills.

8. How hard did you work today on a scale of 1 to 4? Then, describe why you feel that way. Effort is important, and it's something we don't help students identify and evaluate. When students self-evaluate, it's a non-confrontational way to help them judge their own effort.

9. What could I, the teacher, do differently to help you learn? This turns the evaluation from student to teacher. It does open the teacher up to criticism, but it can be valuable feedback that can help you improve.

10. How are you doing? Just a simple social-emotional check-in can give the teacher valuable information and help the student to feel seen and heard.

11. The class sketchnote: At the end of class, ask students to draw, doodle, diagram, etc. a part of the lesson they remembered on the whiteboard/chalkboard at the front of class. Seeing everyone’s responses in one place is a fun visual experience. Plus, when you see lots of similar responses — or a lack of certain responses! — it can show you what stuck and what didn’t.

12. The sticky note mosaic: Grab a few pads of sticky notes of different colors. Tell students what each color stands for: something that know for sure, something they’re still unclear on, something they need to tell the teacher, etc. Stick the sticky notes on the board randomly or in groups as they leave. The colors will help you sort them quickly.

A “listicle” is a hybrid of a list and an article. Even before they had a name, these list-articles were used in magazines and online publications as a way to grab readers’ attention and share content in a quick, easy-to-read format. Using listicles with content in our classrooms allows students to practice reinforcing and clarifying knowledge as they create a short article connected to the content they are learning and then turn it into a list format. This instructional practice is an excellent formative assessment opportunity that gives students practice in thinking creatively.

Typically, listicles are numbered or bulleted. Each item in the list is followed by a paragraph or two that elaborates on the topic. For instance, a listicle called “Best New Mysteries for Middle Grade Readers” would list each book by title and author, provide some summary and commentary from the listicle-maker about each book that made the list, and perhaps include a photograph of each.

Preparation for Instruction

• Determine content appropriate for the development of a listicle by students. Conveying themes, ranking ideas, connecting content, or making claims are all good starting points for a listicle. Consider whether the listicle should be something like “Top Ten Causes of the Cold War,” with number one on the list being most important, or a listicle like “How does a virus feel about sugar?” in which the theme matters, rather than the ranking.

• Decide how students will develop the listicle. Will they work with a partner? Will the title of the listicle be provided for students, or will they determine that themselves? Will the listicles be posted around the room and students asked to add to them?

• Pull together a few listicle examples so students will have a model. Listicles are everywhere; finding examples is easy, as they are one of the most common forms of expository writing.

• Identify the time allotted for instruction, the location where students will develop their listicles, and the audience for the listicles. Additional considerations should include whether images or other necessary components will be incorporated into the listicle.

Instructional Strategies

• Poll students on their familiarity with listicles. Display an example of a recent listicle from a website, newspaper, or magazine.

• Analyze the format and components of the listicle:

• Did it bring up any initial wonderings or questions?

• How was it structured?

• How are images used?

• How is the text broken up?

• What is numbered?

• How does the content of the non-bolded text differ from the  bolded text?

• What did you learn?

• As a whole class, brainstorm topics that would make great listicles.

• Take one of the topics and model how to create a listicle for the class, thinking aloud through the decisions being made.

• Have students work with a partner or small group to develop a listicle connected to the course content.    

Found Poetry

Found poetry involves taking key information or language from within a text or across texts and using those “found words” to create a poem that expresses the overall theme of the various pieces.

• In partners or small groups, asks students to determine a major theme

or idea that stands out in the source texts. They should refer back to the

texts to find supporting quotations to justify their choices.

• Then, ask students to reread the source texts and identify key words and

phrases that help support this theme or idea. These will be the source

words for their found poems.

• Next, students should cross out words and phrases that don’t seem to fit

into the overall theme or might be too “dull” for a poem. The goal is to try

to cut the original list in half.

• Then, ask students to reexamine the remaining words to determine the

overall tone of the poem. Students should make sure that the remaining

text contributes to creating that overall tone and theme.

• Next, students should organize the remaining words and phrases in a way

that makes sense according to their theme. They can change the order of

each excerpt, but they can’t change the original words themselves.

(Facing History) 

1. Students Read/View Content
   Have students read the text or view the chosen content.

2. Think, Write, Read, Repeat
   Using a timer, lead students through this series of steps:

1 minute: Quiet thought; no writing.

3 minutes: Write (try not to stop writing the entire time).

1 minute: Read and circle three main ideas (words or phrases) from what you have written. No writing during this time. You can read, reread, and think, but do not start writing again.

2 minutes: Write.

30 seconds: Read and put a square around one word or phrase.

1 minute: Write.

3. Reflect
   After the quiet, reflective time of rapid-fire writing, the resulting clarity of thought can be powerful in conversation. Depending on the size of the group, this could be done in small groups or as a whole class.

(Facing History)

The Evidence Logs strategy provides a place where students can centralize and organize evidence they collect over the course of a unit. Creating these logs is particularly helpful when you introduce a writing prompt that students will be revisiting. Collecting evidence is an important part of essay writing because it allows students to weigh different sides of an argument and eventually craft theses that they are able to defend. By organizing evidence in a central location or structure, students are able to review the information they’ve collected and pick clear and relevant reasons to support their thinking. You might also use this strategy to help students organize evidence they find that is related to a unit or lesson’s essential question.

Dialogue Journal

(Thoughtful Learning)

In a dialogue journal, partners engage in a written conversation. This type of writing can help students think deeply about a topic, consider someone else's ideas, and get to know a partner better. They might work through a problem, reflect on something they know or learned, or discuss a serious or complex topic. Here's a sample dialogue journal between two students. 

Anthony: The presidential election is happening soon, and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I'm not 18 so I can't vote. I want to get involved, but I don't feel like I have much of a say in the matter. How do you feel about the election? Do you have any ideas about how kids our age might get involved?

Chahna: My mom and dad talk about it a lot. They say it can be tricky to decide which candidate to trust, because so much of what they say is only a little bit true or a straight up lie. That's crazy, right? I want my president to be honest. If I can't trust a person to tell the truth, I don't want them to lead the country. That makes me think about your second question. Is there something we could do to let people know how truthful a candidate is being? 

Anthony: Maybe we could start a class blog that tracks important things each candidate says. Then we could research to see how truthful the statement is. That way we could inform people about it. 

Chahna: Great idea! We could use a star system to rate truthfulness. Five stars means the statement is true. Zero stars means it's a lie. Two or three stars means only half true. We should present this idea to Ms. Langdon.

To help students get started, consider one of these prompts:

• Something I've always wondered about is . . .

• I have a real problem with . . .

• Something I wish I could change is . . .

• Something that really interests me right now is . . .

• Have you noticed that . . .

• I wish I knew more about . . .

Virtual Big Paper Activity

From Facing History

A virtual Big Paper can be used to help students explore a topic in-depth, slow down their thinking, and focus on the views of others. In a virtual Big Paper discussion, students respond to a stimulus, such as an interview audio clip or historical document, using a collaborative digital-tool (such as a GoogleDoc, Google Jamboard, Padlet, or VoiceThread).

Students can complete a virtual Big Paper discussion asynchronously during a defined time period, though you may choose to complete the final debrief of the activity during a synchronous session.

The following questions can help you plan to use a virtual Big Paper:

1. What collaborative digital tool(s) do I want to use to create a virtual Big Paper?

2. How am I going to deliver instructions to students about completing the activity?

3. How often am I going to monitor the discussion?

4. If teaching asynchronously, what is the defined time period I want to set for completing the activity?

Procedure

1. Select a Stimulus for Discussion
   Begin by selecting the “stimulus”—the material that students will respond to during the activity. A stimulus might consist of questions, quotations, historical documents, excerpts from novels, poetry, or images. Audio clips and videos also make great stimuli in an online environment. This activity is best done when students work asynchronously for a defined period of time (1-2 days) in small groups. Each group can either be given the same stimulus or a different stimulus related to the same theme.

2. Create the Virtual Big Paper
   Create a virtual Big Paper for each group using a collaborative digital tool (such as a GoogleDoc, Google Jamboard, Padlet, or VoiceThread). On each Big Paper, type, embed, or link the stimulus that will be used to spark the students’ discussion.

3. Prepare Students
   Determine how you want to introduce your students to the activity (for example, through video or written instructions or during a synchronous meeting). You can adapt and share the Instructions for Students. Assign students to small groups.

4. Students Comment on Their Group’s Big Paper
   Share the virtual Big Papers with each group. Ask students to post questions and comments on their Big Paper during a defined time period. If a student poses a question on the Big Paper, another should respond. The conversation must start around the text but can stray wherever the students take it. Depending on the tools you use, students can connect a comment to a particular question by drawing lines or including “@” tags.

5. Students Comment on Other Groups’ Big Papers
   Share each group’s virtual Big Paper with the full class. Still working asynchronously, students read other Big Papers, leaving comments or further questions for thought.

6. Students Return to Their Group’s Big Paper
   Have students return to their group’s Big Paper and look at any new comments left by others. 

7. Debrief
   Finally, debrief the process with students. To debrief asynchronously, create a new virtual discussion space for the whole class. Begin the conversation with a simple prompt such as, “What did you learn from doing this activity?” Use students’ ideas from the Big Papers to draw out students' thoughts and delve deeper into the content.
   You can also debrief the activity during your next synchronous full class meeting.

Journal writing provokes more reflection and encourages students to take charge of their learning and their feelings. Journals help students make connections between what is really important to them, the curriculum, and the world. Fillable templates can be found here so that students can use them online during distance learning.

Graphic organizers are a helpful learning tool for students of all ages to organize, clarify, or simplify complex information—they help students construct understanding through an exploration of the relationships between concepts. Fillable templates can be found here so that students can use them online during distance learning.

The Learning Log is a technique to help students focus on what they are learning in their classes by writing their thoughts, reactions, and responses to class lectures, videos, or discussions. A Learning Log is a  written reflection of the students' perceptions of what is being learned and how they are learning. It also provides a record of students' growth over time. Writing a learning log is an excellent way to help use writing as a process of discovery and to clarify ideas. Fillable templates can be found here so that students can use them online during distance learning.

Taking notes digitally allows students to record, process, and apply their learning in new ways. This resource for students and teachers highlights how digital tools can be used to support greater flexibility, personalization, and curation throughout the focused note-taking process. Fillable templates can be found here so that students can use them online during distance learning.

• Students write a concept or a sentence/short passage from the text across the top of a  sheet of paper.

• Student #1 responds to the passage in the left-hand column

• Students then exchange papers with a second student responding to Student # l’s comments with her own in the left-hand column.

• Continue this several times until students have exhausted their ideas on the subject

S"T"Art is a summarizing strategy helps students use the main or most important ideas within a text that relate to one another and write them into a shorter, coherent w hole. 

• students determine two to four central ideas within the text and write one complete sentence describing each. 

• students use the S"T"Art template to create the topic sentence:

S = Source

T = Title

A = Author

R = Right verb

T = Topic

• students add their previously developed central idea sentences to complete the summary

In ________________ (Source is italicized) article ____________ ("Title" in quotes),  ___________ (author's last name) ___________ (Right verb, e.g. argued, explained, discussed, proposed) __________ (Topic - in a few words describe what the article is about).  Write the two to four central idea sentences in the remaining space.

Language Functions: Compare and Contrast

RAMPS

This strategy (and others) can be found in the Writing with Integrated Reading and Oral Language

The RAMPS strategy provides students with a creative opportunity to express what they know and understand about a topic in a creative way through writing.

EXAMPLE from Social Studies: A young, cold, homesick, starving, frightened drummer boy at Valley Forge during the winter when Washington and his troops quartered there (ROLE) writing a letter (MODE) to his parents (AUDIENCE), describing what he has experienced and asking them to find a way to get him out of the war and back home (PURPOSE and SITUATION).

Language Function Sentence Frames

Highlighting the language functions that underlie writing (or speech or reading) can guide students through the metacognitive process of “thinking about their thinking.” By design, language functions align with specific knowledge, comprehension, and perspectives on specific topics, content, or theories. Language-function templates support students as they organize their understandings while guiding alignment of the expected outcomes and key points expected to be addressed in their written responses.

Templates like these are tailored to specific content and a specific writing task. Given that need, the templates below are simply examples and are not intended to be used directly with students; rather, they are intended to provide a starting point for thinking and discussion to springboard development of language-function templates authentic to the task and to supporting all students, from emerging students (apprentice) to accelerating students (mastery).

During initial learning, students occasionally arrive at misconceptions. Although these initial misconceptions are not inherently harmful, if left uncorrected, they can lead to greater educational struggles in the future. Asking students to reflect on their initial understanding and how their thinking has changed over time supports them in independently identifying their misunderstanding of material.

3-Ways in which my thinking about the topic changed.

2-Things or events that caused these changes in my thinking.

1-Question that I still wonder about.

Visual Vocabulary

Using this strategy for learning new vocabulary terms, students develop a definition for each word, provide an example, and draw a picture to represent the big idea.

This resource can be found in the History/Social Science Manual in Bloomington’s online Secondary AVID Resource Library

This strategy is especially useful when analyzing primary source materials such as photographs, pieces of art, or artifacts. Students use the P.O.S.E.R.S format to record what they observe. More information about P.O.S.E.R.S. can be found in the Tutorology Handbook in the AVID Online Resource Library.

P = people

O = objects

S = setting

E = engagement (activities depicted)

R = relationships

S = summary

Promoting Rigor Through Higher Level Prompts

This strategy can be found in the following online resources:

The KWLHW Chart can be found in the Elementary Foundations Resource

We are all familiar with the KWL Chart (Know, Want to know, Learned), but have you tried AVID’s variation, the KWLHW Chart?

The DLIQ strategy is a quick way for students to reflect upon their learning.  It can be used in any class as an entrance ticket, exit ticket, formative assessment, quick write, homework... you name it!

Math example (entrance ticket):

D--What did we DO in math class yesterday?

L--What did you LEARN in math class yesterday?

I--What was INTERESTING in math class yesterday?

Q--What QUESTIONS do you have from math class yesterday?

GIST (Generating Interactions between Schemata and Text) is a summarizing strategy.  It can be used after any reading, video, lecture, class activity, etc. and in any content area!  The students create a GIST by writing a summary limited to 20 words that precisely captures main idea(s) in one complete sentence. (Downloadable GIST Template available below.)

Using WICOR with Online Technology

This handbook offers writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading strategies. It provides explanations for how to implement each strategy using both face-to-face and online formats.

This activity can be found in:

English Language Arts: Exploring Texts with Strategic Reading

A one-pager is a strategy for responding to a text through writing and illustration.

Students fill the entire sheet of paper with:

• two or more direct quotes from the text

• one or more drawn pictures/symbols related to the quotes or to the reading as a whole

• a written personal response, including comments, connections, or interpretations, and

• anything else that is relevant to the reading.

• Examples

To better understand the content being presented in their core subject areas, it is essential for students to learn to think critically and to ask higher levels of questions. By asking higher-levels questions, students deepen their knowledge of and create connections to the material being presented. Inquiry is an important aspect of the curriculum. Inquiry-based learning focuses on the student as a learner developing and becoming adept with open-ended questioning skills. Being able to recognize different levels of questions is beneficial for all students and areas of learning. 

  Attached you'll find more information about Costa's Levels of Thinking.

This strategy can be found in the following online resources:

• AVID Elementary Bridges

• English Language Arts: Exploring Texts with Strategic Reading

• History/Social Science 1

A Graphical Abstract is a 1-page report that summarizes information through the use of pictures and/or visuals. These typically include:

1. The name of the article

2. The authors of the study

3. A brief summary of the findings (1-2 sentences maximum)

4. At least 6 visuals could include original images, graphs, figures, and/or data tables

The Guided Writing Procedure (GWP) is a strategy that is based on a three-day process that enhances comprehension by fostering the students' ability to synthesize and retain the content area material they have been learning. 

Steps for the Guided Writing Procedure

Day 1:

1. Students brainstorm what they know about an upcoming topic of study and record their responses, including a list of terms relative to the topic.

2. After students have developed the list, instruct them to identify categories that encompass the brainstormed terms and list details that support their choices of categories.

3. Next, students incorporate the terms and details in an organized form, such as an outline, web, or graphic organizer.

4. Finally, using the outline, web, or graphic organizer as a guide and a rubric for good writing, students write a short paragraph depicting what they know about the topic. This is a first draft.

5. When students have completed their first drafts, collect them and evaluate them on the basis of good writing criteria. Readence et al. (2004) suggest that these criteria are topic, supporting details, logical flow, word choice, grammar, and mechanics. These criteria are best judged through the use of a rubric. Note: During this first phase of the GWP, read the students' drafts, but do not make any discernible marks on the manuscripts.

Day 2:

1. Return the students' first drafts along with a copy of the rubric used to evaluate the drafts.

2. Using the evaluation rubric, students edit or revise their first drafts. The resulting papers become their second drafts.

3. Students turn in their second drafts and the original rubric for a second round of teacher evaluation.

4. At this point, give students a reading assignment related to the topic of study. Tell students that the purpose of the reading is to locate additional ideas, details, and examples to add to their writing.

Day 3:

1. As they did on Day 1, students need to record the new information garnered from their reading and add it to their original outlines, graphic organizers, or webs. (Note: Students may need help in this revision process as they add and delete information.)

2. Finally, armed with this new information, students develop their final drafts. This final draft now contains an integration of information from the students' prior knowledge as well as what was learned from the text, lectures, videos, etc.

1. Students identify one word or phrase beginning with each letter f the alphabet to represent the text, content, or idea

2. Students then briefly describe why the chosen word/phrase is important in describing the text, content, or idea

Teachers usually set up problems and ask students to provide solutions. Asking students to develop a problem statement will give them practice with both framing and solving problems in connection with your course content.

• After you introduce a new concept, ask students to write out a theoretical or practical problem that the concept might help to solve. 

• Students exchange problems and write out solutions, using conceptual knowledge developed through class activities and readings.

Basic Structure: Give students a broad question or problem that is likely to result in lots of different ideas, such as “What were the impacts of the Great Depresssion?” or “What literary works should every person read?” Have students generate responses by writing ideas on post-it notes (one idea per note) and placing them in no particular arrangement on a wall, whiteboard, or chart paper. Once lots of ideas have been generated, have students begin grouping them into similar categories, then label the categories and discuss why the ideas fit within them, how the categories relate to one another, and so on.

Variations: Some teachers have students do much of this exercise—recording their ideas and arranging them into categories—without talking at first. In other variations, participants are asked to re-combine the ideas into new, different categories after the first round of organization occurs. Often, this activity serves as a good pre-writing exercise, after which students will write some kind of analysis or position paper.

• Students determine the top ten most important components of an idea, concept, or unit.

• These can be listed in order of importance, in sequential order, or the order in which they appear in a text/video.

Answer Garden

Answer Garden, a simple but powerful tool that can help generate discussion in a classroom.  It's also great for formative assessment, brainstorming, and more! Answer Garden is a free tool that does not require a login for teachers or students (no registration required). It allows you to instantaneously create word clouds by gathering student feedback. Answers that are entered more often become larger and bolder. An AnswerGarden can be displayed to students so that they are able to quickly self-evaluate or get a feel for what their classmates are thinking. Once an AnswerGarden is created, it can only be accessed and shared with others using a link.

Challenge the Text helps students ask and answer their own text-dependent questions by taking multiple perspectives and uncovering assumptions and biases within the text. Asking critical questions encourages students to examine the validity of a text and of an author's arguments. By considering and challenging what is said in a text, students enter their voices into the textual discourse and develop agency.

Challenge the Text can be structured in a number of ways, incorporated into other strategies, and implemented during shared or independent reading. This strategy always includes these steps:

1. Choose the text: Challenge the Text works with either literary or informational texts. Consider selecting two or more texts that approach the same topic from different perspectives or through different media. 

2. In order for students to determine what is not included in the text, they must first understand what is found in the text. Begin by asking text-dependent questions that require students to:

   1. determine the text's central ideas;

   2. describe how individuals, events and ideas are portrayed and developed over the course of the text; and

   3. analyze how a particular point of view is reflected in the text.

3. Model generation of critical question types. This strategy uses critical questions to uncover what is not in the text yet is significant for text analysis. Students will likely need prompts and scaffolding to generate questions that reveal these absences. 

4. Have students generate their own questions.

   1. Prior to reading, question generation sets a purpose for engaging the text.

   2. During reading, remind students to pause and ask questions as they encounter perplexing areas, suspicion or contradiction. Although inferential in nature, these questions should point to specific instances in the text, and their answers should rely heavily on textual evidence and reasoning.

   3. During re-reading, ask students to generate more questions and give responses grounded in evidence from the text.

   4. After reading, prompt students to reflect on which of their questions were answered by the text, which ones remain and how they might go about finding answers.

The RAFT strategy can be used across subject areas to help students to understand and focus on four critical aspects of writing: 

• the writer’s Role (Are you a journalist? A solider? A witness? A castle? An engineer? An endangered species? The human heart? - Can be people, objects, etc.); 

• the Audience to whom the writer is speaking (Are you writing to a friend? Readers of a newspaper? A local TD? Your dog? A scientist? A museum? - Can be people, objects, etc.); 

• the varied Formats for writing (Is it a letter? A speech? An obituary? A Blog? An Infographic? A top 10 list?); 

• and the Topic addressed in the writing (What's the subject or the point of this piece). 

Asking students to write from another point of view requires a deeper understanding of the topic. Rafts can also be differentiated by learner readiness, interest and/or learning profile. Check out this information packet with templates!

Students can use the ACE strategy to help them develop robust responses to questions using text-based evidence.

The TQE Process:

1. Students read the assigned reading prior to the discussion

2. Informal, Small Group Discussions as students entered the room (Options for question stems)

3. Students write their top 2 Thoughts, Lingering Questions, or Epiphanies (TQEs) on the board by the end of 15 minutes

4. Class Discussion of TQEs

Tips:

1. "Good" TQEs typically include the author’s name

2. If possible, groups should also provide their best guess for any question

3. Groups should expect follow-up questions about whatever they write on the board

4. Students should record their own TQEs from the Small Group Discussions in one ink color and the Class Discussion in another, all on the same page

Options:

1. Assign the TQEs a number and give them to different groups for a response

2. Have a student volunteer to lead the discussion

3. Class votes on top TQEs and focus only on those

4. TQEs become thesis statements and students complete an outline

Left and Right Annotation is a way for students to mark their texts. It’s simple, memorable, and transferable. 

• On the LEFT, students write about what the author LEFT for them to find.

• On the RIGHT, students write about the connections they made with the text; the Thoughts, Questions, and Epiphanies which make them wonder if they’re RIGHT.

Text graffiti is an effective way to engage a group of students in talking about a text's theme, plot, or claims while keeping the discussion anchored to the text. Students activate prior knowledge and make predictions about literary elements or content themes. For instance, in an English class they may be asked to comment specifically on figurative language they find in the quotes. In a social studies class, students might be asked to comment on what political party or social class they think the author represents.

Text graffiti eases students into an intensive study of a full text. Once students begin reading the entire text, they see familiar words and phrases.

1. Choose the text.

2. Print and cut out lines from the text. Prepare as many pieces of text as you have students. Tape each text piece to a larger piece of paper; tape the larger piece to student desks. Provide the handout How to Graffiti a Text.

3. Instruct students to read and comment on the text at their own desks. Set the purpose for the lesson first to help students focus their writing. Remind students to comment directly on the text in front of them (i.e., not "I think this is sad," but, "I think this is sad because the author uses words like devastation and chaos to describe her homeland.").

4. Signal students to move to another desk. Provide enough time for students to read and respond to the text (3-5 minutes). Repeat step three. Use music to mark the transitions, pressing play/pause when it's time to switch seats.

5. Remind students to respond to each other's comments (names are optional). Creating this thread makes the transition to group discussion more effective. Depending on class size and the lesson objective, limit the number of quotes students comment on.

6. Ask students to return to their seats and read what others have written.

7. Have students make predictions about the text (subject, characters, plot, purpose, etc.). Ask them to write their predictions on index cards and cite pieces of the text that informed their predictions. Open a class discussion about the most popular predictions. Chart the major points from this discussion.

8. After reading the full text, instruct students to confirm or correct their predictions and comments. Confirmations and corrections should focus on textual evidence. Students should cite the text when explaining what it says and how it relates to their original predictions and comments.

“Annolighting” (annotating and highlighting) shows students how to identify critical information in a text during close reading. Students learn to annotate text, highlight important facts and summarize what they have read to capture main ideas, concepts and details. Annolighting teaches students to target, reduce and distill the most important information while reading, skills that improve comprehension and cut down on study and review time.

1. Select a text.

2. Identify the focus for instructions (e.g., return to vocabulary or introduce ideas or themes critical to understanding the text).

3. Divide the central text into manageable sections. Assign students one section at a time.

4. Prepare an annolighting graphic organizer for each text section.

5. Have students read the text section once without highlighting.

6. Have students read the text a second time and annolight according to the following:

   1. Highlight the facts and key information associated with the theme text's main idea(s) (not the entire sentence).

   2. Underline context clues that help determine definitions for words and phrases.

   3. Identify lists, search tools (key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) or other text features that provide additional information on the text's topic.

7. Use the annolighting graphic organizer to record information from the text.

8. Move on to the next section of the text and repeat steps 5 and 6.

Annolighting Graphic Organizer and Example