Embedded Files
Scaffolds and Strategies You Can Use Today
The following handouts are curated from the work of several respected researchers and authors such as Dr. Steve Graham, Doug Fisher, Nancy Fry, Joan Sedita, Linda Diamond, Judith Hochman, Natalie Wexler, and others. Citations are provided on each handout to identify the original source and provide educators a pathway to the research and evidence-based resources behind each strategy. You can also find links to the sources and books under the Reading and Writing tabs of the newsletter. As more research and evidence-based strategies become available, more will be added to the list.
Please continue to check back for the resources you can use in your classroom to help move students forward in their learning.
Reading and Writing Scaffolds and Strategies:
Discussion Roundtable: Discussion roundtables provide a structured format for collaborative talk that supports student engagement, accountability, and higher-level thinking over a text. By rotating speaking turns, students practice academic discourse, justify their thinking, and build meaning together.
5 Word Summary: A 5-word summary is a strategy in which students condense key ideas from a text or lesson into just five carefully chosen words. This activity requires collaboration, compromise, and synthesis helping students identify and prioritize the most important information from a chunk of text.
GIST Statements: Gist statements are brief summaries in which students capture the central idea of a text or section using their own words. This strategy supports comprehension by helping students identify key information, monitor understanding, and distill complex ideas into clear, concise statements.
Hexagonal Thinking: Hexagonal thinking is a collaborative strategy in which students use hexagon-shaped cards to connect ideas, concepts, and evidence, explaining how and why each piece relates to others. This approach promotes deeper understanding by encouraging critical thinking, discussion, and flexible problem-solving as students build and revise conceptual connections.
Question Answer Relationship: Question-Answer Relationship is a research-based method for language framework for enhancing students’ ability to talk about and answer comprehension questions. This strategy is applicable for both literary and informational text and can easily be adapted for all grade levels.
Jigsaw Method: A Jigsaw Classroom or a jigsaw activity is not a loose, “anything goes” situation. It is highly structured and easily adaptable for all grade levels and content areas.. Interdependence is required and encourages students to take an active part in their learning.
Text Type Questions and Chunking Text: Breaking text into manageable segments, or “chunks,” allows students to process meaning more effectively. Prior to assigning independent or partner reading, divide the text into smaller sections such as a paragraph or a page and incorporate guiding questions at the end of each segment. Then develop text-dependent or text-specific questions require students to return to the text, examine language and structure, and use evidence to support their thinking.
Writing Scaffolds and Strategies:
Dr. Steven Graham Ted Talk: Writing That Works
William VanCleave - Syntax Matters: A workshopr webinar that focuses on parts of speech and sentence parts as they apply to developing student reading and writing skills from the 2020 PaTTAN Literacy Symposium.
William VanCleaveSentence Frames / Mentor Text (p. 21-23): Willam VanCleave From Words To Works. A resource from the WVCed that helps guide practice grammar instruction.
William VanCleave - Morphology Matters: In this interactive, hands-on workshop from the 2020 PaTTAN Literacy Symposium, Van Cleave engages participants in an introduction to morphological awareness.
Sentence Building Activity: This activity can be easily modified and changed to fit any grade, class, or syntax element being taught or reinforced. It can be made as simple or complex as needed and can include any element you have been working on for sentence development. It can be used easily as a Kagan structure, as bell work, a competition, or exit ticket.
Debate Team Carousel: This strategy allows students to see various aspects of an issue and consider what the opposing and supporting arguments for a position might be. Students debate a position from various viewpoints as prompted on a graphic organizer.
Breaking down a writing prompt with a Do-What Chart: Creating a Do/What chart for students helps them break down a question or prompt. This strategy works well for all grade levels and for all curricular areas. Teachers can create the Do/What chart for students before beginning any assignment.
Developing a First Draft: Questions students can ask themselves as they begin writing from a prompt.
Developing Ideas for First Draft (pdf handout)
Graff and Birkenstein The Quote Sandwich: This paragraph outline works for all age levels. The reading content drives the rigor of the paragraph, but the writing strategy and outline can remain the same. This simple and effective body paragraph outline helps students incorporate evdience and explanation or commentary into their writing.
Ratiocination: Revising Strategy: Ratiocination is a revising process for students to break down something they wrote or someone else wrote and look at the passage or text logically. It allows them to look at a passage or text one step at a time and assess each component separately.
Vocabulary Routines and Building Academic Language:
Guidelines for using a three tiered system based on Isabel Beck's three-tier framework
Vocabulary Strategy and Context Clues from the Teaching Reading Sourcebook
Vocabulary Decision Tree: The vocabulary decision tree is a planning tool that helps teachers determine which words should be explicitly taught before, during, and after reading. Its purpose is to ensure instructional time is spent on words that will have the greatest impact on student’s comprehension and long-term vocabulary development (Diamond, Linda).
Concept of a Definition Map: Concept of Definition Map can help students to develop a clear, concrete idea of what “knowing” a word really means. It will include three elements of a good definition.
Vocabulary Game Ideas with direct links to website.
The Teacher Toolkit: Accountable Talk with downloadable discussion cards
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse