During Strategies

Purposes:  (1) make connections while reading; (2) actively engage in reading 

Procedure: 

1. Using a think aloud (verbalizing your thoughts as you read), model for the students examples of making connections. These may include text-self, text-text, or text-world connections. 

2. While reading aloud, demonstrate how to code a section of text that elicits a connection by using a sticky note, a code (T-S = text-self, T-T = text-text, T-W = text-world), and a few words to describe the connection. 

3. Have the students work in small groups to read a short text and code the text. Have them share their ideas with the class. 

4. Encourage the students to code the text using sticky notes to record their ideas and use these as a basis of small and large group discussions. 

Source: Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2000). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension to enhance understanding. York, ME: Stenhouse. 

Purpose:  This keeps all students engaged in the conversation as anyone could be called on at any time.

 Equity sticks can be Popsicle sticks, index cards, bookmarks, etc. On each stick, you write the name of a student in your class. When you ask a question, you simply choose a stick and that student will answer. After turn and talk, choose a stick and let that child answer. This way, you are assuring equity during discussions." 

Purpose: respond to text through discussion  

This is a strategy in which a small group of students holds a discussion while the remainder of the class observes.  It tends to be most successful when students are well prepared and the subjects they discuss invite controversy or multiple interpretations (Dutt, 1997; Priles, 1993; see also Young, 2007).  It has been shown to have a positive effect on collaboration (Miller & Benz, 2008). 

To prepare for a fishbowl, assign a discussion-worthy reading.  After students read it—several times, if possible—ask them to write higher-order questions that move beyond simple knowledge-based or comprehension questions.  Then, students should set criteria to guide the discussion they will have.  For example, Priles (1993) expected her students to support what they said with evidence, be actively involved in the discussion, use appropriate language for the discussion, and speak clearly and appropriately (p. 50).  

Make space in the center of the classroom for a group of four or five to sit in the fishbowl.  The rest of the class should sit in a ring around them.  The small group in the center then begins to discuss the subject at hand, trying to meet the criteria set for the discussion.  Students in the outer circle observe the discussion, listening to the arguments presented, taking notes, and paying close attention to the discussants’ adherence to the criteria.  After the students in the fishbowl have wrapped up their discussion, the entire class reconvenes to debrief, reviewing the process of the discussion and acknowledging good ideas and strong points (Baloche, Willis, Filinuk, & Michalskiy, 1993; Dutt, 1997; White, 1974).  

Variants on the fishbowl often aim to invite greater participation from students sitting outside the fishbowl.  Setting two empty chairs with the group in the fishbowl could allow any student or the teacher to join the discussion, interjecting to make a point or to move from the inner circle to the outer after contributing something to the conversation.  All students should expect to be inside the fishbowl at some point.  20  

Student-centered discussions like the fishbowl take time to master.  Debriefings of early discussions will necessarily emphasize process as students learn what is expected of them.  With time and guidance, students will become comfortable, even enthusiastic, about participating in the fishbowl.

Purposes:(1) provide a visual model of the concept students are learning; (2) show evidence of understanding through calculations or connections; (3) promote student writing about content ICE is a math strategy that stands for Illustrate-Calculate-Explain. It can apply to all contents by being adapted to Illustrate-CONNECT-Explain. The teacher may choose the format in which students complete this strategy.  

Purposes: (1) engage with text; (2) self-monitor comprehension; (3) integrate new information with prior knowledge; (4) respond to text through discussion

 Procedure:  

• Divide the class into 4-6 member groups; each member becomes an expert on a different topic/concept assigned by the teacher.  

• Members of the teams with the same topic meet together in an expert group with a variety of resource materials and texts available to explore their topic. Also, a single reading from the textbook or another source could be used to complete the assignment.  

• The students prepare how they will teach the information to others.  

• Everyone returns to their jigsaw (home) teams to teach what they learned to the other members. It may be helpful to supply each student with a  graphic organizer for note-taking purposes.  

• Team members listen and take notes as their classmate teaches them. 

Purposes: (1) engage with text; (2) self-monitor comprehension  

Procedure:

 1. Create a Jot Chart on the chalkboard or on an overhead transparency or produce a print copy for each student. The chart/matrix should be structured as follows:  

• Main ideas/items for description or analysis are listed across the top of the chart.  

• Questions/characteristics of the main ideas/items are listed down the left side of the chart.  

2. Discuss the purpose of the chart with students before the reading assignment. Give an example of a completed chart to help clarify its functions.  

3. Have students read the selection and complete the Jot Chart. 

 4. Discuss the students’ findings and compile the results into a group Jot Chart. Stress the relationships between the data in the chart.  

Purposes:  (1) organize information; (2) engage with text/lesson; (3) summarize information 

Procedure-These are really the same as margin notes.  Usually bulleted notes, the types of information may include brief notes about the important points in the text, sketches of the images that are constructed, connections to the text, questions about the text, and/or first reactions to the text.

Purposes:  (1) organize information; (2) identify important information; (3) make connections  

•  Make a three-column chart.  

•  Write the term or key idea (K) in the left column, the information (I) that goes along with it in the center column, and draw a picture of the idea, a memory clue, (M) in the right column.  

• The key idea may be a new vocabulary word or a new concept.  The information may be a definition or it may be a more technical explanation of the concept.  The memory clue is a way for students to fully integrate the meaning of the key idea into their memories.  By making a simple sketch that explains the key idea, students synthesize and interpret the new information, making it their own.  Then, students can reference their drawings to easily remember new key ideas.

Purposes: (1) generate questions; (2) identify types of questions

 Overview: The QAR strategy has been used successfully to help students recognize different types of questions and how to locate the answers. In QAR, there are four types of questions, each of which can be answered from a different source. These are divided into two groups—In the Book and In My Head. The answers to In the Book questions are text explicit—“right there”—or text implicit—“think and search.” In My Head questions involve finding the answer using background knowledge and the author’s clues: “Author and You,” or adding the reader’s own experience to background knowledge and author’s clues: “On Your Own.” 

Procedure: 

1. Introduce the two large categories “In the Book” and “In My Head,” using a large chart. Define the four types of questions.

 In the Book QARs:  

• Right There The answer is in the text and usually easy to find. The words used to make up the question and the words used to answer the question are right there in the same sentence.  

• Think and Search (Putting it Together) The answer is in the story, but you need to put together different story parts to find it. Words for the question and words for the answer are not found in the same sentence. They come from different parts of the text. 

In My Head QARs: 

•  Author and You The answer is not in the story. You need to think about what you already know, what the author tells you in the text, and how it fits together.  

• On My Own The answer is not in the story. You can even answer the question without reading the story. You just need to use your own experience. Give examples of each one. A fun example of this strategy is found below. 

2. Assign a short reading passage and list questions on the board, overhead, or chart. Ask students to categorize the questions by where the answers could be found. Discuss the differences.  

3. Continue reading, with the class practicing answering a few questions and clarifying as you go. 

4. Break the students into small groups. Assign a reading passage. Each group will read and design appropriate questions to be posed to the entire class.  

5. A chart can be kept indicating the number of questions that fall into each category. As time goes on, students will be encouraged to ask fewer “In the Book” questions and more higher-level “In My Head” questions.  

Purposes: (1) integrate new information with prior knowledge; (2) respond to text through writing 

• The RAFT strategy is simply a way to think about the four main things that all writers have to consider in ALL content areas: 

• Role of the Writer Who are you as the writer? Are you Abraham Lincoln? A warrior? A homeless person? An auto mechanic? The endangered snail darter?   

• Audience  To whom are you writing? Is your audience the American people? A friend? Your teacher? Readers of a newspaper? A local bank?   

• Format What form will the writing take? Is it a letter? A classified ad? A speech? A poem?  

• Topic What’s the subject or the point of this piece? Is it to persuade a goddess to spare your life? To plead for a re-test? To call for stricter regulations on logging? 

Purpose:  Generate and answer questions 

Overview: ReQuest, or reciprocal questioning, gives the teacher and students opportunities to ask each other their own questions following the reading of a selection. The ReQuest strategy can be used with most novels or expository material. It is important that the strategy be modeled by the teacher using each genre.  Higher-order thinking questions (as identified in Bloom’s Taxonomy Revised) are encouraged. 

Procedure:

1. A portion of the text is read silently by both the teacher and the students.  

2. The students may leave their books open, but the teacher’s text is closed. Students then are encouraged to ask the teacher and other students questions about what has been read. The teacher makes every attempt to help students get answers to their questions.  

3. The roles then become reversed. The students close their books, and the teacher asks the students information about the material. 

 4. This procedure continues until the students have enough information to predict logically what is contained in the remainder of the selection.  

5. The students then are assigned to complete the reading.  

Note: Students may have difficulty asking questions other than literal ones. It is suggested that prior to this activity, or in conjunction with it, the teacher spends considerable time instructing students in the  Question/Answer Relationships (QAR) strategy.

Manzo, A. V. (1969). The ReQuest procedure. The Journal of Reading, 13(2), 123-126. Vacca, I. L., & Vacca, R. T. (1993). Reading and learning to read. New York: Harper Collins

Purposes:  (1) provide a structure to discuss the information and ideas in the text and (2) make connections to and evaluations of the information presented in the text

 Procedure: 

1. Students read a designated text.

 2. After reading, students complete index cards with the following information:                                                                         Side 1: Each student selects an idea, phrase, quote, concept, fact, etc., from the text that evokes a response. It can be something new, something that confirms previous 36  ideas, or something with which he/she disagrees.  Each student writes his/her selection on side 1 and indicates the page number where it can be found in the text. Side 2: Each student writes his/her reaction to what he/she wrote on side 1. 

3. Students gather in small groups to discuss their information. 

4. Students discuss using the following procedure: A student reads side 1 of his/her card; each student in the group responds to the information shared. The student who authored the card gets the last word by sharing side 2 of his/her card. The process is repeated until everyone in the group has shared.     

Source: Short, K., Harste, J., & Burke, C. (1996). Creating classrooms for authors and  inquirers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 

Purposes: (1) engage with text; (2) summarize text; (3) integrate new information with prior knowledge; (4) self-monitor comprehension; (5) reflect on the content of the lesson; (6) evaluate text; (7) compare and contrast concepts 

The semantic feature analysis helps students compile and analyze their knowledge about a specific topic of interest in a content area class. It also fosters higher-level critical thinking by asking students to synthesize and generalize about the words/concepts. 

Procedure: 

1. List Category Terms – Knowing the topic that is to be studied, the teacher places the category/concept terms along the left side of the board.  

2. List Features – Across the top of the blackboard, the features/criteria that will be used to describe the terms that are to be explored should be listed. As the teacher you maypreselect the features that you want to have the students explore or  the features may be generated with the students.  

3. If the concept is associated with the feature or characteristic, the student records a Y or a + (plus-sign) in the grid where that column and row intersect; if the feature is not associated with the concept, an N or – (minus-sign) is placed in the corresponding square on the grid.

Purpose: activate and organize knowledge about a specific topic 

Procedure: 

1. Select the main idea or topic of the passage; write it on a chart, overhead, or chalkboard; and put a circle around it. 

2. Have students brainstorm subtopics related to the topic. Use lines to connect to the main topic. 

3. Have students brainstorm specific vocabulary or ideas related to each subtopic. Record these ideas beneath each subtopic. 

4. Read the text and revise the Semantic Map to reflect new knowledge.  

Source: Johnson, D. & Pearson, P. (1984). Teaching reading vocabulary. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. 

Purpose: This strategy can be used to predict, summarize, justify, and think critically 

Procedure:  

1. The teacher poses a topic or question 

2. Each student responds on a white sheet of paper. Once they have completed their responses, they crumble their paper into a “snowball”  

3. When signaled, they make eye contact with someone across the room and toss their snowball to a classmate. 

4. Each participant opens the ‘snowball” and reads the response.  The participant responds to the previous writing or adds to the initial prompt.

 5. Repeat the process 2-4  times depending on the topic and time.

 6. Teacher collects and reads the responses as a formative assessment of class learning

Purposes:  (1) respond to text through discussion; (2) reflect on discussion/questions and generate questions  

A type of classroom discussion that promotes inquiry with rich questions and student participation, Socratic seminars have been shown to effectively promote metacognition, higtherorder thinking skills, and enhanced understanding of a subject (Chowning, 2009).  They are well suited to explorations of ethics, such as when exploring the consequences of scientific advances (see Chowning, 2009) and complex social issues raised in literature (see Alfonsi, 2008; Tredway, 1995). Bears Habitat woods mountains Arctic Food fish, berries, honey Types grizzly, polar, brown38   

A Socratic seminar takes preparation.  First, to promote evidence-based discussion, a Socratic seminar should be based upon a text (or video or work of art—anything that students can respond to and grapple with intellectually).  The text should be thought-provoking (Chorzempa & Lapidus, 2009); Chowning (2009) recommends primary texts that are open to interpretation.  Second, to set the direction of the discussion, the teacher should prepare questions prior to class.  The questions should address the key objective for the discussion and focus students’ attention on the text at a high level of evaluation or interpretation (Alfonsi, 2008; Chowning, 2009; Tredway, 1995) to help focus students’ thoughts and encourage them to turn to the text for evidence to support their claims.  Other questions that refocus the discussion on the objectives and clarify what had been asked can also be prepared; however, such questions should be held in reserve as much as possible.  Finally, to ensure that students will be prepared for the discussion, they should read the text ahead of time.  For example, Chorzempa and Lapidus  described asking students to read the text three times to generate their own questions ot address in the discussion.  In contrast, Alfonsi discussed no special preparations in the reading stage; instead, her discussion relied upon the strength of the high-level questions she prepared as well as her students’ eagerness to participate.  

When all the preparations are complete, the Socratic seminar can begin.  The following suggestions compiled from Alfonsi (2008), Chorzempa and Lapidus (2009), Chowning (2009), and Tredway (1995) can help make the seminar effective:  

Students’ desks or chairs should be arranged so students face each other.  This promotes interaction between students.  

• Students should be reminded of the rules and expectations for discussion, such as the necessity of supporting claims with evidence, the importance of maintaining a lively and focused conversation, and the avoidance of sarcasm.  

• The teacher should sit with students in the circle or just outside it, on the same level with them.  By lessening the appearance of power in the classroom, this helps ensure the discussion is the students’ own.  

• After asking the initial question, the teacher should refrain from speaking during the discussion.  It should be students’ jobs to speak and to avoid long stretches of silence if they occur.  The teacher should listen and take notes on student participation, keeping track of who contributes positively to the discussion and who does not.  

• Before the end of class, a debriefing should be held.  Students should be asked to reflect on their performances during the discussion, identifying what they did and did not do well.  The teacher can use this opportunity to review the participation notes he/she took and identify students who may need to be reined in (such as those who dominate discussion) and those who need encouragement to participate more. 

 Student-centered discussions like Socratic seminars take time to master.  Debriefings of early discussions will necessarily emphasize the process as students learn what is expected of them.  With time and guidance, students will become comfortable, even enthusiastic, about participating

Purposes: (1) capture thoughts; (2) solidify thinking 

1) Think. The teacher provokes students’ thinking with a question or prompt or observation. The students should take a few moments (probably not minutes) just to THINK about the question. 

2) Write. students capture their thoughts by writing them down 

3) Pair. Using designated partners, nearby neighbors, or a desk mate, students PAIR up to talk about the answer each came up with. They compare their mental or written notes and identify the answers they think are best, most convincing, or most unique. 

4) Share. After students talk in pairs for a few moments (again, usually not minutes), the teacher calls for pairs to SHARE their thinking with the rest of the class. 

Purposes: (1) discuss vocabulary; (2) assess prior knowledge; (3) engage with text; (4) integrate new information with prior knowledge; (5) self-monitor comprehension  

Procedure: 

1. Students begin with a list of vocabulary words and corresponding columns (Never  Heard This Word, Heard Of It, But Don’t Know It, I Know This Word Well). 

2. Before reading, students analyze each word and mark the appropriate column. If the student knows the meaning of the word, a short definition  is written in the appropriate       column. If the student has heard of the word  they should write where they have  seen/heard it or what they know about  it.  

3. Next, students skim the text to locate the words in context. The location of the word is noted for later reference (with highlighters, removable sticky strips, underlining, etc.). It is permissible to have the students highlight a form of the word, if the exact word is not found first.  

4. After reading the text completely, the words are revisited in context, and definitions  are noted for each word. Such active participation in processing vocabulary is necessary to understand the text and to help students construct meaning.  

** As always, teacher should model this strategy first.