Strategies

Tic-Tac-Toe Choice Board

A Tic-Tac-Toe or Choice Board is used to provide learners options for an assignment or culminating project. It's one of the best ways to provide a Universal Design for Learning and increase engagement and ownership in the classroom. For this strategy, the teacher creates multiple options for students (in the case of a tic-tac-toe, the teacher needs 9 options, but this can be modified based on the teacher's discretion and the needs of the students) to fulfill the expectations and meet the success criteria for a lesson or unit. The options are arranged in a grid such as a tic-tac-toe arrangement, and learners may have the option to complete any one of the options, may be tasked with completed a certain number of options, or may be asked to make a tic-tac-toe.

Although a little more complex, the teacher can strategically organize the options and require students to get a tic-tac-toe. This provides choice but also ensures all students complete certain kinds of work. For example, a teacher may include visual forms of expression in the top row, include written forms of expression in the middle row, and include verbal forms of expression in the last row. Then the teacher can require students to make a tic-tac-toe vertically or diagonally (note: with this example, a horizontal tic-tac-toe would not be allowed because it would not fulfill the goals of the assignment). This provides students freedom within form (ie: they have an element of choice, but the teacher has strategically structured it to provide form and ensure the expectations of the standards will be met).

3-2-1 Exit Ticket

August 24-30, 2020

A great form of self and formative assessment, the 3-2-1 exit ticket provides an opportunity for students to reflect on and synthesize their learning. Students are asked to consider the following:

  • 3 - 3 Things you learned today

  • 2 - 2 Things you found interesting

  • 1 - 1 Question you still have

Here's a template to use with students: 3-2-1 Exit Ticket

Of course, this exit ticket can be easily modified by changing the descriptions associated with each of the numbers. For example, if students are conducting research, it could be revised as:

  • 3 - 3 Most important takeaways from your research

  • 2 - 2 Sources you will include in your research paper

  • 1 - 1 Idea you want to explore next

Challenge-Change-Confirm

This reading strategy asks learners to critically consider the text and how their thinking is evolving as they read. Students ask themselves the following three questions and highlight or write notes in the margins of the text to tackle each of the 3Cs while they read:

  • Confirm: What in this text confirms your thinking?

  • Challenge: What in this text challenges your thinking?

  • Change: What in this text changes your thinking?

Opinionaire

Opinionaries are similar to Anticipation Guides and ask students to consider their opinions on statements related to the topic being studied. Use the opinionaire as a frontload to get students excited about the content of a lesson or unit. Students will respond to each of the statements with their opinion and are also encouraged to annotate the text with their thinking, so that when they discuss these statements later on, they can answer the question, "What makes you say so?" The opinionaire should be followed with a partner, small group, and/or whole group discussion that asks students to articulate/defend their opinions and consider alternative perspectives. Students can also return to an opininonaire later in a lesson or unit to reflect on how their thinking and opinions have evolved over the course of the learning.

For an example of what this can look like, check out this Mindset Opinionaire created by former ICN coach Rachel Bear.

#Iwishmyteacherknew

This simple strategy is a great way to build individual relationships and the feeling of safety and security in the classroom. It can be used at the beginning or middle of the year to offer students the opportunity to share their thoughts with their teacher. Simply ask students to write one thing they wish their teacher knew. Students can share a really personal thought or need, something random that's on their mind, a joke, or really anything. For fun, have students add the hashtag #iwishmyteacherknew.

Students really embrace this opportunity and teachers often learn really valuable, new, and needed information about their students to better support and connect with them in the future.

RAFT

The RAFT strategy (Santa,1988) is a writing strategy that asks students to deeply consider their role and audience as well as the format that will best communicate their ideas and accomplish their purpose. It also encourages creative (and critical) thinking as learners have the opportunity to share their understandings/ideas in a different format than the traditional essay. This strategy supports Writing Anchor Standard W.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. RAFT is an acronym that stands for :

  • Role: What is the author's role?

  • Audience: Who will be reading the writing?

  • Format: What is the best way to present this writing to this particular audience?

  • Topic: Who or what is the subject of the writing?

Students may be given each of these (this is often the case in a performance task and is a valuable way to prepare for state testing) or may be given a variety of options for each of these components in the form of a matrix, allowing students options for their creative writing. This strategy forced students to process the information and not simply regurgitate it or follow a template. However, this kind of writing also requires more scaffolding and coaching to support students to independent success. It's definitely worth it though, for both the students and those grading these delicious pieces.

For more information about the RAFT strategy, click here.

Reflection Starters

Reflection is one of the most powerful moves we can make as learners. It's important for us to reflect as teachers as well as to provide many opportunities for our learners to reflect throughout the learning process: Learners may consider metacognitive prompts such as the following:

  • One way this strategy helped me…

  • This strategy was challenging for me because…

  • What’s interesting about this is that…

  • This helps…

  • One of the most important parts is…

  • One challenge that I see is…

  • Now I understand that…

  • As a reader, I’m struggling with…

  • A question raised in my mind is…

  • I want to…

  • I will use this when I…

  • I wonder how others…

  • A question I have for others is...

Modified from AVID The Write Path English Language Arts: Exploring Texts with Strategic Reading

This reflection may occur verbally or in writing (such as with an exit ticket) and serve as formative or self-assessment.

Carousel

The carousel is a discussion strategy in which learners sit or stand in two concentric circles. The inside circle faces outward, and the outer circle faces inward. Each student has a partner. This strategy can be used as an opportunity for students to discuss ideas or questions with multiple rotating partners or as a way for students to share and receive feedback on something they have created. In the first option, the teacher provides a stimulus for the students to consider. This might be a question students answer. In the second option, students come to the circle with something they want to share with one another, and each partner has the opportunity to share their thinking or creation with an audience. After a designated time frame talking with one partner, the carousel shifts by having either the inner or outer circle (or both) move one person clockwise or counterclockwise, so each person has a new partner. Students can rotate as many times as time allots or the teacher or students deem necessary.

Pro-Tip: Due to space, it's usually easier to have the outer circle shift.

Inquiry Box

An inquiry box is a great way to promote curiosity and get students thinking about a topic of inquiry or essential question. Place a concrete item that will prompt thinking about the topic of inquiry inside a closed box called the "Inquiry Box." Have students play 20 questions to try to determine what is inside the box. Students may only ask yes/no questions, so this gives you an opportunity to help students think about the best kinds of questions they could ask to make educated guesses about the item inside the box. Once students guess the item, reveal it and discuss and record any additional questions students have about the item that will promote critical thinking about the inquiry topic.

Panel Discussion

A panel discussion occurs when a few select people (experts) sit on a panel and answer audience questions about a topic(s). One options is to have students sit on the panel and act as experts on various subjects, speaking from the perspective of the role they have assumed. Other students in the class will ask them questions regarding the topic/s being discussed.

Alternatively, ask experts from the community to come in at sit on an expert panel and share their perspectives and insights. Students should be prompted and supported in writing questions prior to the panel that they may want to ask the experts when they visit.

Tableau

A tableau is a drama strategy in which students create one or more frozen pictures with their bodies to represent a particular concept/idea. The frozen picture(s) should look like a camera shot or paused movie screen. If students are demonstrating a complex process, a sequence, or cause and effect type of relationship, students may be asked to create a series of pictures that they can show one at a time. To add an additional element of fun, the audience can be asked to interpret or guess what is happening in each scene (like charades).

Tap In - Tap Out Discussion

This strategy is a version of a Socratic seminar. Like the fishbowl, the discussion setup is two concentric circles. The teacher serves as the facilitator (or perhaps as a participant if a student facilitator is present) while students in the circle engage in the discussion. Only students in the inner circle may talk. Students in the outer circle observe and listen. If a student in the outer circle wants to enter the discussion, s/he can tap on the shoulder of someone inside the circle who has already spoken which indicates to this person that they would like to switch places. Students continue moving in and out of the circle as prompted by a desire to actively engage (outer circle) or a tap on the shoulder (inner circle). This strategy is similar to the fishbowl but provides more autonomy and ownership to students in facilitating the discussion.

Semantic Feature Analysis

The Semantic Feature Analysis is a powerful activity for activating schema and providing a formative assessment to teachers about what the students already know. It also asks students to consider the similarities and differences between concepts of ideas. To use this strategy, create a grid with topics down the side and characteristics across the top. Ask students to place a + for present or a - for absent in each box of the grid to show if a word/topic has a particular characteristic.

Math Example: Considering the features of polygons

  • List types of quadrilaterals across the top of the grid: square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid, and parallelogram

  • List characteristics of quadrilaterals down the side of the grid: right angles, obtuse angles, acute angles, equal side lengths, 1 set of parallel lines, and 2 sets of paralel lines

  • Complete the inside of the grid by marking the presence (+) or absence (-) of each of the characteristics in each quadrilateral

  • Discuss the similarities and differences between quadrilaterals

Placemarker

The placemarker is like a bookmark: it marks your place. Students use the placemarker like an exit ticket. At the end of a lesson, students write down what they have learned or are thinking and where they want to pick up the next time they come back to this lesson. The following day, students return to their placemarker to review where they have been and where they want to go next before diving in to new learning.

Anticipation Guide

An anticipation guide is a strategy that supports reading comprehension by activating students' background knowledge and building students' curiosity prior to learning. Before reading, students will respond to statements that support or challenge their beliefs about topics in the text. Students will respond by indicating their agreement or disagreement or by noting if a statement is true or false. Students can use a coding system such as agree (A) or disagree (D), yes (Y) or no (N), or true (T) or false (F). After completing the anticipation guide, students should have the opportunity to discuss their answers to learn from one another. Then students will read the text. Students can return to the anticipation guide after the activity and make changes based on newfound evidence.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis is a valuable strategy for having students look at and evaluate an idea or decision from multiple perspectives. Students can use their analysis to weigh the "pros" and "cons" and either reflect on a past experience or set themselves up for success with a future experience. To begin, have students fold their paper into four boxes. In each box, students can write one of the following headings: "Strengths", "Weaknesses", "Opportunities", and "Threats". Then students can reflect on the topic or issue through each of these lenses. Students should be encouraged to discuss their thoughts with their peers to gain valuable insights and feedback from them.

PMI Reflection

A PMI is a reflection strategy that asks students to evaluate the plusses (positives), minuses (negatives), and interesting components of a particular topic, argument, strategy, or platform. Students simply create a three column chart with each of these headings and then evaluate and record their thinking using these categories to organize their thoughts.

Muddy/Marvy Assessment

The Muddy/Marvy is a formative assessment that occurs at the end of a lesson. Following the lesson, students write what is still muddy (confusing) and what is marvy (marvelous) to them. This occurs at the end of a lesson or at a strategic point within the lesson to provide the teacher feedback on students' understanding and to help guide the teacher's next steps.

Baggage Claim

The baggage claim is a helpful strategy to use at the beginning of a lesson or professional development experience in which you think the participants may be bringing some "baggage" (fears, worries, anger, stress, etc.) with them. In this strategy, you invite learners to write down their baggage about the topic being considered and then to "check their baggage" by putting or throwing it away (at least metaphorically) before diving into the new learning or continued thinking and discussion. This honors learners' thoughts and needs while asking them to put their intense feelings aside to be open to new possibilities and ways of thinking.

Give One - Get One

This simple strategy provides a quick way to share ideas with many different members of the classroom community. In this strategy, students share one idea with a peer and then gain one new idea from a peer. Students can give one and get one with multiple students in the class, leading to each student gaining a variety of ideas.

One Sentence Summary

This strategy is simple to explain, but challenges students to think critically. Students create a one sentence summary of a topic, text, or task to highlight the one most important takeaway they want to remember.

Speaking Chips

Speaking chips is a simple strategy for holding students accountable for their contributions in a conversation. Provide students a designated number of "chips". Each time a student contributes to the conversation, s/he will play one of her/his chips. Once all of the chips are gone, that student becomes a listener in the conversation, encouraging those who haven't yet had a chance to contribute to speak. This is a great strategy to help students self-manage their contributions and think strategically about when and how they want to share in the discussion. It also encourages more quiet students to engage in the discussion, so they can play their chips.

Hand Signals: Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

This common hand signal strategy asks students to self-assess their learning / understanding and provides a formative assessment to the teacher. The teacher simply asks students to show their understanding of a specific concept, principle, or process, and students respond with a thumbs up (I understand and can explain it), a thumb sideways (I'm not completely sure or have basic understanding), or a thumbs down (I do not yet understand it). Teachers can ask students to show their thumbs close to their bodies so as to keep the assessment personal and not to influence how their peers respond or feel about their responses.

ABC Summaries

To have students share their understanding of a topic, assign each student in the class a different letter of the alphabet. Students will then select a word or phrase starting with their assigned letter to summarize the topic. The teacher may strategically assign more challenging letters to advanced students to challenge their thinking. Students may then be asked to share out in order of the ABCs or could create an alphabet book showcasing their understanding of the topic.

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

Oral Questioning

One of the most powerful moves we can make as teachers is to question our students. We can also encourage students to ask their own questions and to ask questions of one another. Oral questioning can occur in a whole group setting, in small groups, or in one-on-one questions. The best questions are those that are open ended and require students to go deep. Below are a variety of questions you might use to challenge your students:

  • "How is __________ similar to/different from ________________? "

  • "What are the characteristics/parts of _______________________?"

  • "In what other ways might we show show/illustrate ___________?"

  • "What is the big idea, key concept, moral in _________________? "

  • "How does ________________ relate to ____________________?"

  • "What ideas/details can you add to _________________________?"

  • "Give an example of ____________________________________?"

  • "What is wrong with ____________________________________?"

  • "What might you infer from ______________________________?"

  • "What conclusions might be drawn from ____________________?"

  • "What question are we trying to answer? What problem are we trying to solve?"

  • "What are you assuming about ____________________________?"

  • "What might happen if __________________________________?"

  • "What criteria would you use to judge/evaluate _______________?"

  • "What evidence supports ________________________________?"

  • "How might we prove/confirm ____________________________?"

  • "How might this be viewed from the perspective of ___________?"

  • "What alternatives should be considered ____________________?"

  • "What approach/strategy could you use to ___________________?"

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

Cubing

In this strategy, the teacher presents 6 questions about the lesson or content. In small groups, students roll a die and then answer the question that corresponds to the number rolled. If the same number is rolled more than once, the group may either roll again or elaborate on the response already shared.

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

Philosophical Chairs

In Philosophical Chairs, students make "a stand" to represent their opinion on an issue or topic. Chairs are lined up on two sides of a room and each side represents a different perspective on an issue. Students go to the side that corresponds with their opinion. Then the group shares their thoughts and reasoning, and students are encouraged to switch to the other side of the room if their opinion is changed through the discussion.

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

Semantic or Likert Scales

Semantic scales are similar to an opinionaire in that the teacher provides 3-5 debatable statements, and students reflect on their level of agreement with each of these statements based on their prior knowledge and texts they have read/are currently reading. It's important that there are no clear-cut answers, as the goal here is to help students make a claim and then support their claim with evidence. This strategy helps students to analyze and evaluate information.

Ex: "The character ______________ should not have done ________________."

_______________________________________________________________________ strongly disagree disagree agree strongly agree

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

I have the question..., Who has the answer?

"The teacher makes two sets of cards. One set contains questions related to the unit of study. The second set contains the answers to the questions. Distribute the answer cards to the students and either you or a student will read the question cards to the class. All students check their answer cards to see if they have the correct answer. A variation is to make cards into a chain activity: The student chosen to begin the chain will read the given card aloud and then wait for the next participant to read the only card that would correctly follow the progression. Play continues until all of the cards are read and the initial student is ready to read his card for the second time."

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

Whip Around

This is a simple and quick share out strategy in which each person shares his/her thinking. Oftentimes, students prepare multiple thoughts/responses. Then, all students stand and begin sharing out ideas. The first student shares one idea, then another student shares an idea, and the sharing continues winding around the room. As students share, if another student has the same idea, they can cross it off and share a different idea. Once all of one student's ideas are shared, the student sits down. Once all of the students are seated, the teacher knows all of the ideas have been shared.

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

Numbered Heads

Students in small groups are numbered off 1, 2, 3, 4... The teacher then poses a question and all of the students discuss the question. Then the teacher calls a number, and that student is responsible for representing the ideas of the small group to the class as a whole.

Variation: The teacher can pose a question to the class. Then each small group can roll a die and the designated student can be the first person to share his/her thoughts on the question.

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

Comfort Zones

This strategy can be used to have students reflect on and summarize their learning thus far as well as to consider goals that will stretch them moving forward. To do this, create two circles: one labeled "Comfort Zone," the other labeled "Stretch Zone." The "Stretch Zone" is the optimal performance zone where the magic happens. When students can articulate what's in their comfort zone and then identify next steps, they can challenge themselves from their current zone of development to a new and heightened zone of development. It's just important to make sure to avoid the danger zone in which students are being stretched too far and experience frustration.

One Word Summary

Not too much to explain here...it's as simple as it sounds (yet challenges students to think critically and creatively). Students create a one-word summary of a lesson or topic to show their understanding. Students should also be asked to share their word and why they chose it with the group.

Idea Spinner

For this strategy, "the teacher creates a spinner marked into 4 quadrants and labeled 'Predict, Explain, Summarize, Evaluate.' After new material is presented, the teacher spins the spinner and asks students to answer a question based on the location of the spinner. For example, if the spinner lands in the 'Summarize' quadrant, the teacher might say, 'List the key concepts just presented.'"

From "60 Formative Assessments," compiled by K Lambert, OCPS Curriculum Services, 2012

Bumper Sticker

Bumper stickers are a great way to celebrate or synthesize learning. Students simply create a headline, catchy phrase, or important note and capture it on a bumper sticker with an images that brings those words to life. We ask Returning Teachers to celebrate their journey in the Idaho Coaching Network earlier in the year, and the bumper sticker to the right shows one example.

Socratic Seminar

Socratic Seminars are one of the most powerful discussion strategies for students, and with intentional thought and appropriate supports, they can be done at any grade level. In short, students engage in cooperative dialogue and inquiry. This usually begins by asking students to read a text(s), do some pre-thinking, and take some notes. Then students meet together in a circle to discuss questions of interest (these can be determined in advance by the teacher or students may ask their own questions to open or further a discussion). Although there are many different approaches to the Socratic Seminar, a popular one is to have students sit in inside and outside circles. Those in the inside circle actively participates in the dialogue, while those in the outside circle take notes, provide feedback, or engage in back channeling. Check out this blog for Rachel Lynette's pro-tips for creating a successful Socratic Seminar. For a look at Socratic Seminars in the primary grades as well as some strategies to support young learners, we encourage you to watch this video.

Get To Know You Cards

As you begin this new school year and work to develop community in your classroom, you may enjoy using these Get To Know You Cards to support your students in inquiring about one another. We like these cards because they are light-hearted and fun and also provide interesting insights into those you are questioning. They also include two questions per card allowing the inquirer or responder to select the question they would like to ask or answer. We hope you will find great potential for using these in the first few weeks of school!

Compass Points

The Compass Points strategy serves as a great check-in and formative assessment. It could be used as an entrance ticket, exit ticket, or as a conversation starter for small groups or conferences. Each cardinal direction represents a different idea/emotion:

  • N : Needs or New Ideas (select one of these depending on your goals)

    • What else do you need to know or find out? What new ideas do you have?

  • E : Excitements

    • What are you excited about?

  • S : Suggestions or Stances (select one of these depending on your goals)

    • What suggestions do you have at this point? What is your current stance?

  • W : Worries

    • What do you find worrisome?

Adapted From Making Thinking Visible

Save the Last Word

In this strategy, a participant shares an idea (oftentimes a quote or takeaway from a text) and his / her reflection on the idea. Then each person in the group responds to the first person sharing an update, question, alternative opinion, etc. Participants respond in a clockwise fashion and do not delve into a deeper conversation. After all participants have had a chance to share, the first person has the opportunity to "have the last word" and share a final thought to wrap up the conversation. Following this, another person in the group starts a new conversation around a different idea from the text, and the discussion continues in this same fashion.

List - Sort - Label

For a great critical thinking challenge, have learners create a list of ideas (LIST), sort these ideas into categories of their choice (SORT), and name the categories in a way that makes sense to them (LABEL). You can also skip the "list" phase by giving learners a list of ideas or pieces of paper with one topic or idea on each. Once learners have sorted and labeled their categories, have them compare their organization with that of another team and have a discussion about what is similar or different. You can also challenge learners to sort the ideas in a different way, forming and naming new categories. This provides a great way to extend and deepen their thinking.

Lift a Line

In this simple strategy, learners "lift a line" (a quote) from a text that they found to be particularly enlightening, interesting, or important. Learners then write about this quote, reflecting on what it means to them, extending on the idea, or responding to the original author's thinking. After having time to write in reflection, learners share their quote and thinking with one another.

Dance Card

The Dance Card is a very simple strategy for meeting and sharing ideas with diverse partners. Students begin with a stimulus, question, or creation to share. Play some music and encourage learners to "get their groove on." When the music stops, learners find the closest partner and share their thinking or creation or answer the guiding question. As the music starts again, learners will move to the music and find a new partner to share again. Learners share with as many partners as time permits or as is designed by the facilitator. Click here for a dance card template you could easily tweak and use with your learners.

Connect - Extend - Challenge

For this strategy, learners consider what they have just read, seen, or heard. Then they ask themselves the following questions:

  • Connect: What connections are you making between these new ideas and what you already knew?

  • Extend: What new ideas are extending your thinking in new directions?

  • Challenge: What challenges have these new ideas presented for you?

From Making Thinking Visible

Concept Maps

Concept maps are a type of graphic organizer that support students in making sense of information and organizing their knowledge around that subject. They typically start with a main idea, and then supporting concepts or details branch off from the main idea. These can be created from scratch or begin with a template. As students construct their knowledge, they can create the concept map in the way that makes the most sense for them. Using a combination of words and images is a great way to bring in the principles of Universal Design for Learning (multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement).

Word Cloud

Word Clouds are a great way visual represent text data. Learners can submit key words to show their learning or thinking, and the words that are more important/submitted more frequently are emphasized by font color and size. There are many digital platforms that allow you to submit words and will create a word cloud to represent your data. We really like www.menti.com for this. Mentimeter also has a variety of other tools that allow you take quizzes, vote, and more.

Sentence Stems

Sentence stems are one of the most powerful language scaffolds you can provide students. Such scaffolds support students in both their speaking and writing. If you're interested in some sentence stems for discussion, check out this Discussion Stems Flipbook which can be printed and used as a resource by students.

Sentence - Phrase - Word

Sentence-Phrase-Word, a strategy from Making Thinking Visible is a powerful strategy for synthesizing ideas and looking for themes.

Individuals begin by reviewing a text, discussion, etc. and recording a:

  • Sentence that was meaningful or captures an important idea

  • Phrase that engaged or provoked you

  • Word that captured your attention/experience

Then, as a group, learners discuss their choices beginning with the word, then the phrase, then the sentence. After each learner shares, the group tries to name the themes that emerged and consider implications or predictions for the future.

Speed Dating

As the name suggests, speed dating provides the opportunity for learners to talk with many different people in a short period of time. This is a great strategy for building community because learners engage in many diverse partnerships. It can also be used in a variety of contexts from sharing out projects to answering different questions. One example of this might be to have students speed date sharing the books they are currently independently reading in order to receive several recommendations from their peers. In the example in the picture, learners are speed dating in a cafeteria line (two lines standing face to face). After a 2 minute time frame (1 minute for each partner to share), one line rotates, giving each person a new partner. The line continues to rotate until individuals have talked with a certain number of partners or the time allotted has expired.

Document-Based Inquiry (DBI)

A Document Based Inquiry (DBI) requires students to apply literacy skills to activate schema and build knowledge on a topic. Furthermore, DBIs adapt easily to content in many disciplines, ensuring that all students read, think, and contribute to discussions and solutions to problems. DBIs use a multi-phase approach, revealing new information in small mystery-like puzzle pieces, through the integration of variety of text types (visuals, videos, informational texts, primary source documents, etc.), which builds curiosity and engages students. DBI follows the principles of scaffolding, moving students from simple to more complex texts. As students move through these phases, they gain new knowledge (puzzle pieces) and assemble a grander picture; all of the phases work together to tell the whole story. Ideally, each phase will answer questions from previous phases as well as lead students to a deeper understanding of the topic. Finally, students will synthesize the knowledge they have learned through each of the phases and demonstrate their understanding through written or oral language.

To access a variety of DBIs created by Idaho teachers and appropriate for different grade levels, we encourage you to visited our Idaho Coaching Network Google Site.

Pair - Square

A strategy that takes the typical think-pair-share to the next level is pair-square. In this activity, learners first meet to share and discuss ideas in partnerships. Then two sets of partners meet up to form a square and engage in a larger discussion. When doing pair square, we recommend partners stand and find another set of partners around the room to have the opportunity for movement and to bring oxygen to the brain. The two sets of partners may have originally discuss the same ideas, texts, etc. or may have discussed different ideas, texts, etc. If pairs discussed the same stimuli, "squares" may deepen their discussion by considering themese. If pairs discussed different stimuli, "squares" may look for similarities and difference in their understanding.

Concentric Circles

Concentric circles provide a great graphic organizer for addressing the essential question of a unit or recording ideas about the topic of inquiry as well as for seeing how thinking evolves and changes over time. Learners begin recording their thoughts in regards to a prompt in the inner most circle at the beginning of the learning (completing the sentence stem "First, I was thinking...), and then return to this graphic organizer several times over the course of the learning to record their new thoughts in the growing circles (completing the sentence stem, "Now, I'm thinking...). We suggest this occurs over the course of several days or weeks, and that learners have the opportunity to experience new insight and input before responding again. Learners should also always reread their previous response and try to build on their preceding ideas. After completing the final circle, learners should read over their entire graphic organizer and name/reflect on the ways their learning has evolved over time. This is a powerful assessment and way to build student self-efficacy around a topic.

Phone a Friend

Just like on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, sometimes humans need the opportunity to "phone a friend". This can occur naturally by encouraging learners to "phone a friend" when they get stuck by asking them to help them answer a question or explain something to others. Another way to do this is to provide helpful resources or scaffolds in an "Ideas" envelope and letting learners know they can always use this "phone a friend" option if they're not sure what to do next.

Depth of Complexity Icons

Depth and Complexity Icons are critical thinking tools that visually prompt learners to go deeper in their understanding of a concept. Although originally designed for Gifted and Talented learners, they are valuable for all learners. The 12 Tools are:

  • Language of the Discipline (Keywords, Phrases, Symbols)

  • Details (Details that support the main idea or big concept)

  • Patterns (Recurring elements in ideas, stories, or events)

  • Rules (Structure, Organization, Hierarchy)

  • Trends (General direction of change)

  • Unanswered Questions (Questions about anything that is unsolved or unclear)

  • Ethics (Moral Issues)

  • Big Ideas (Main Idea, Generalization, or Principle)

  • Relate Over Time (Past-Present-Future)

  • Multiple Perspectives (Different points of view on ideas, events, people, and issues)

  • Across Disciplines (Connections between and across subject areas)

For the icons themselves as well as more information about these 12 tools, check out this website.

Text-Coding

Text-coding or annotating the text is a powerful strategy to use in close reading. It helps learners attend to specific aspects of or ideas about the text. There are many different text-coding strategies available (an example is shown to the right). You can also creating your own text-coding system as a teacher and students can be taught to create their own as readers. When doing this, it's important to consider the most important information you are hoping to take away from the text as well as to include a key that shows the meaning of each of the symbols (to help others - and your future self - to understand the markings).

Most Valuable Point (MVP)

MVP stands for Most Valuable Point and is a strategy for naming what's most important and helping with synthesis of a larger section of reading or discussion.

One variation of the MVP strategy is to chunk the text or learning, and have learners identify one MVP for each section. These can then be combined to form a summary for the information as a whole.

Another way to think about MVPs is:

  • M: Relates to the Main Idea of a text

  • V: Provides a Vivid image

  • P: Signifies a "Phrase that Stays" with the reader

In this version, learners can either come up with one idea for each letter or look for ideas that meet multiple of these criteria.

Backyard BBQ

Backyard BBQs are known for great opportunities to meet and talk with a variety of people in the real world. As the name suggests, when learners engage in a Backyard BBQ in the classroom, they mingle around the space, talking briefly with different partnerships and giving and getting ideas from one another (just as if the BBQ were a potluck). Use this strategy to promote the exchange of ideas, engage learners in conversations with diverse partnerships, and build community.

Self-Assessment

In her book Assessment As Learning Lorna Earl suggests that self-asesssment is the most important type of assessment we can do to support student learning and achievement. A simple assessment like this checklist shown to the right allows learners to consider and reflect on their level of understanding on a topic. In addition to these check boxes, you can extend the reflection by asking learners to justify their rating by answering the question, "What makes you say so?" This can either by done in writing or as you confer with individuals or small groups.

In the primary grades, a similar self-assessment may be done aloud, having learners show you a thumbs up, thumbs sideways, or thumbs down.

If the teacher collect this assessment or has students complete it aloud, s/he can also gain a formative assessment of the class as a whole.

Reciprocal Teaching

Reciprocal Teaching, developed by Palinscar and Brown, brings together four of the most powerful moves for reaching and teaching one another. According to Hattie's research, it has an effect size of d = .74, meaning it's extremely effective in improving student achieving. In this strategy students play four roles: the predictor, the questioner, the clarifier, and the summarizer.

  • Predictor: Predicts what would happen if coaching scenarios were applied to your context/situation

  • Questioner: Pose questions on unclear parts, puzzling information, connections to other concepts

  • Clarifier: Helps to clarify confusing sections of the text, clarifies vocabulary, and answers questions from the group.

  • Summarizer: Highlights key ideas in the text

Modification: Although these are the 4 basic roles, a teacher can choose to add or modify the roles, including roles such as a connector, critiquer, etc.

For more information and helpful tools to use in the classroom, check out this Reciprocal Teaching Resource from the National Beahviour Support Service.

Fishbowl

In a fishbowl, students sit in two concentric circles, with the participants on the inside and observers on the outside. This structure can be used for a Socratic seminar in which the inner circle engages in the dialogue, while the outer circle silently observes and/or provides feedback. The fishbowl can also be used as a way to model a particular concept or strategy. In this case, experts (or students who have been apprenticed) in the inside circle provide a quality model (such as a demonstration of how to engage in collaborative problem solving) while observers take notes and determine the moves they will emulate once asked to engage themselves.

Where Do I Stand?

In Where Do You Stand?, students place themselves on a physical continuum representing their point of view. A simple version of this is a line representing the level to which a person agrees or disagrees. Students are asked to consider a statement or idea and then stake their claim by moving to the place on the continuum that best represents their beliefs. From here, the teacher may ask specific spokemen at different points on the line to share their opinions.

Variation 1: Another option is to fold the line in half, so that those who most strongly disagree discuss with those who most strongly agree. In this case, the goal may be for one party to persuade the other or for the parties to simply help the other see an alternative perspective.

Variation 2: Still another possibility is to cut the line in half, and half one half of the line move to face the second half of the line. In this, case those who most strongly agree and those who most strongly disagree are partnered with those who are more neutral to discuss their opinions.

Whichever option you choose, it's valuable to ask the students to reconsider the statement and place themselves on the continuum again after discussion has occurred. When students do so, the teacher should attend to those who have made major movement on the line and ask those students to share how their opinion has changed and why.

Zoom In

This strategy provides the opportunity to consider a concept at the micro and macro level. Begin by providing students access to part of a larger image (or perhaps one or four images within a sequence or grouping). Ask students to look closely at the portion of the image that is revealed. Students should consider:

  • What do you notice?

  • What do you wonder?

  • What hypothesis are you making about the larger picture?

One piece at a time, reveal more of the image and ask students the following:

  • What new things do you notice?

  • What wonderings have been answered? What are your new wonderings?

  • How does this change your hypothesis?

  • What new things are you wondering about?

Continue revealing portions of the image until the whole image is shown. (This works well as four parts, but could have more or less.) At the end, ask:

  • What new ideas do you have?

  • Was your hypostheis confirmed or changed? How has your thinking evolved?

  • What lingering questions do you still have about this image?

From Making Thinking Visible

Four Corners

Four corners is a discussion strategy in which students stake a claim about their beliefs. Often following a ranking activity or opinionaire, students vote with their feet by going to one of the four corners of the room to represent their opinion. For example, with a ranking, each corner may represent a different statement or scenario, and students can move to the one that they think is best. With an opinon statement, the four corners may represent four levels of agreement: strongly disagree, disagree, agree, and strongly agree.

Once students move to the corner that represents their claim, they can then talk with likeminded individuals to articulate and develop their arguments before a spokesperson shares the small evidence/rationale with the whole group. During the share out, students are encouraged to move to a different corner of the room if the arguments presented change their opinions. If students move to a new location, ask these students to share how their thinking has changed with the whole group.

CSI: Color-Symbol-Image

After experiencing some new learning, students can synthesize their new or evolving understandings using the CSI strategy. Students should consider the main ideas and important themes in what they have read or experienced and use a color, symbol, and image to demonstrate these.

  • Color: What color represents the essence of the idea?

  • Symbol: What symbol represents the essence of the idea?

  • Image: What image represents the essence of the idea?

Students should be prepared to share their color, symbol, and image and provide an explanation for their choices.

From Making Thinking Visible

4Ws Reading Strategy

Students can use the 4Ws reading strategy in a book club, literature circle, or whole class reading to focus their attention. While reading, students should highlight the text and write notes in the margins to answer the following four questions:

  • Wisdom: What wisdom is shared in the text?

  • Wrestle: What content do you wrestle with in the text?

  • Wonder: What in the text causes you to wonder?

  • Weave: What in the text can you weave into your work?

Circle of Viewpoints

This strategy encourages the learner to consider a text, idea, or experience from multiple perspectives. To do so, learners should take on different roles or points of view and articulate what that role thinks about a particular issue. To do so, you may consider the following prompts from Making Thinking Visible:

  1. "I am thinking of [name the event/issue] from the point of view of..."

  2. "I think...[describe the topic from your viewpoint. Be an actor--take on the character of your viewpoint]. Because...[explain your reasoning]."

  3. "A question/concern I have from this viewpoint is..."

From Making Thinking Visible

Book-Head-Heart

The Book-Head-Heart strategy from Beers and Probst focuses on the transaction that occurs between a reader and a book. While reading, readers consider what the text says explicitly and implicitly as well as how the reader is engaging mentally and emotionally with it. Readers could consider questions such as the following:

Book: What does the text say?

    • What’s this about?

    • Whose perspective is this from? Who is telling the story?

    • What does the author want me to know?

Head: What does it make me think, wonder, or question?

    • What surprised you?

    • What did the author think your already knew?

    • What changed, challenged, or confirmed your thinking?

Heart: How do I feel about it?

    • What did this text help me learn about myself?

    • What did this text help me learn about others?

    • How has this text changed my thinking about the world?

    • How will my actions or feelings change as a result of reading this text?

    • Does this text offer me any of my own “aha” moments? Any tough questions?

Tug Of War

This strategy helps learners consider both sides of an issue and can also help with decision making. Learners begin by creating a lawn across the middle of a piece of paper, their desk, or the classroom (if you are doing this whole group). One side of the line represents one stance on an issue, and the other side of the line represents the opposite stance on an issue.

  1. Learners label each end of the tug-of-war rope, framing the two opposing sides.

  2. Learners consider the reasons that pull them toward one or the other ends of the rope. These are thought of as "tugs" on the rope. Learners write these on sticky notes.

  3. Learners then determine the strength of each tug and place the sticky notes somewhere along the continuum, with the strongest tugs being placed closest to the two ends of the rope and the weaker tugs being placed closer to the middle.

  4. Learners conclude by having a small or whole group discussion about their thoughts, making a decision based on their prioritization, or reflecting on their learning.

From Making Thinking Visible

Where are you sailing? Exit Ticket

Exit tickets are simple and easy ways to have students self-assess and provide the teacher formative assessment data. In this specific exit ticket, students are asked to rate their understanding of one or more topics by placing those topics under the category that best represents their level of understanding. The levels of understanding are as follows:

  • Still in Harbor: I don't understand this.

  • Leaving Port: I could implement this with some coaching.

  • Approaching Open Waters: I could implement this with team support.

  • Sailing High Seas: I could implement this on my own.

Procedural Feedback

Feedback is one of the most powerful moves teachers can make for their students, and when teachers mentor their students into giving feedback to one another, they give not only give students the gift of feedback but also the gifts of ownership, power, and increased self-efficacy. With an effect size of .70, we know feedback is well worth it. But feedback is also challenging. The best kind of feedback is procedural feedback because it is evidenced based as opposed to being solely opinion based. With procedural feedback, the feedback provider validates the moves a person is making by naming them and describing the effect they will have on others. Another type of feedback is called feedforward, which is feedback that helps a person see potentials and possibilities and consider ways forward. To support students with providing procedural feedback, it's helpful to provide sentence stems such as the ones below:

Feedback Sentence Stem: "You achieved [describe accomplishment] because you [name effort and strategy use]. This had the effect of [explain why it worked]."

Feedforward Sentence Stem: "I wonder what would happen if you [made this specific move/tried this strategy] because [describe the meaning/effect this move could have]."

In addition to these stems, check out this Procedural Feedback Handout for a resource you could use or modify with students.

Ranking Statements/Scenarios

A ranking is just like it sounds: a chance to rank an idea either in comparison to a scale or to other ideas in a list. Students could be offered 3 or more statements or scenarios and be asked to rank them in order of importance, quality, etc. Do you remember this Unit Ranking Activity we did at Orientation when we asked you to consider the essential question, "What makes a quality unit?" This is a great activity to foster deep reading and thinking prior to a discussion in a PLC.'

Of course, this strategy can also be used with students by using scenarios around an essential question or topic of inquiry. To simplify this strategy, use statements instead of scenarios. For example, students may be asked to rank the following ideas/ statements in order of those that demonstrate the most valuable member of a community:

  • The mayor

  • A police officer

  • A doctor

  • A teacher

  • A church leader

  • A city councilmen

  • A volunteer

When conducting the ranking, learners should always be asked to consider the question: "What makes you say so?" It's best if the statements or scenarios don't have a correct answer because ultimately the goal is to encourage deep thinking around an issue or essential question that will promote discussion within small and large groups.

Variation: Students may be asked to rank models (in the best case, prior student examples) of an assignment or culminating project they will do within the unit. This helps orient students to the learning as they name the critical standards/expectations of the work they will create.

Note: Rankings are often used as frontloading activities for lessons or units and followed up by a discussion strategy such as "Where Do I Stand?" or "Four Corners".

See-Think-Wonder

See-Think-Wonder is a simple strategy that is often used for frontloading a unit or lesson. Similar to a KWL, it's accessible for all, activates background knowledge, generates interest and questions to explore, and motivates the students. See-Think-Wonder can be used with many different kinds of stimuli: a text, a visual, demonstration, or experience. Students are asked to consider the stimulus and record:

  • See: What do you see?

  • Think: What does this make you think?

  • Wonder: What do you wonder?

Following this, students can share their thoughts with the group, and the teacher may record these on an anchor chart for future reference or reflection later in the learning. When doing so, the teacher gains a formative assessment of what students already know, learns what students are excited to explore, and may address misconceptions that are shared (or simply note these as ideas that need to be addressed later in the lesson/unit).

Hotseating

The drama strategy of hotseating ask students to take on the role of a person, character, object, or idea and represent this perspective to the audience. Students will first want to consider what that person believes and what questions may be asked of that person prior to taking the physical "hot seat". This helps them get in character and also feel confident and prepared to respond when questioned. When learners move into the "hot seat", the audience asks questions of that person, and s/he answers from his/her designated perspective.

Check out this number hotseating activty Jackie used in her elementary class to help students build number sense.

Three-Level Questioning

Three Level Questions is a reading and questioning technique that asks learners to consider what is "On the Lines", "Between the Lines", and "Beyond the Lines". Learners answer questions at each of these levels, and answering questions at the lower levels scaffolds them to answer questions at higher levels.

  • On the Lines: These are literal level questions that are "right there" on the lines in the text.

  • Between the Lines: These are inferential questions that require learners to read between the lines, connect the dots, and make inferences.

  • Beyond the Lines: These are applicative or critical questions that require learners to go beyon the lines, making connections between their own experiences and the world around them.

For more information about the levels as well as questions stems for each, check out this Three Level Questions Guide.

Gallery Walk

The gallery walk is one of our favorite strategies! It's so easy to use and modify and has many benefits. It engages students in active learning, gets them up and moving around the classroom, contributes to the collaborative culture, and helps build community. In this strategy, students travel to different "exhibits" located around the room, contributing their ideas and/or participating in a discussion (which could be silent or verbal). Sometimes the gallery walk is used as a way to get small groups thinking together around common ideas and then interacting with other groups, but is also a great method for presentation and/or providing feedback.

There are many variations to the gallery walk, but the most simple form is to display exhibits you would like students to consider or interact with around the room and then divide the students equally among the exhibits. When students meet their group at an exhibit, they will complete the designated activity for that station and/or discuss the exhibit. After doing so, students will rotate (either on their own time frame or on designated time cues from the teacher) to interact with the new exhibit. Students continue rotating until they have seen all exhibits at least once. (Note: If each group is adding new ideas to the exhibit, it can be helpful to have students return to the first exhibits they explored to see the new ideas that have been added by other groups.)

Silent Discussion

A silent discussion is just like it sounds: a discussion that occurs silently. Students are asked to consider a question or idea from their own perspective in writing. After a designated time frame for this first response, students silently pass their papers to a peer sitting next to them who will then read the question and the first person's response and then share their own response. Students can agree, disagree, uptake, or add additional ideas. On cue, students will then pass their papers again, and the next person will read the previous responses and respond. Although the discussion may continue as long as the teacher deems helpful, we recommend having the students pass the papers 3 times to get three different responses or 2 times if you would like to the original author to receive their paper back, read the responses, and respond in writing. After students have received a few responses from peers, the papers are returned to the original author for reading and reflection. Pro-tip: We recommend only having students write for 1-2 minutes on each rotation at younger grades, in math and science classes, and when you first implement this strategy. You can always work up to having students write for longer, but it will be important to build their stamina. We also encourage learners to challenge themselves to write for the full time. On each subsequent rotation, you may want to provide a slightly longer time frame as students will need to read the previous responses prior to responding in writing.

Check out this silent discussion template or create your own. Another really simple way to create a template is to have students fold their papers in fourths (see the template example), and then you don't have to make any copies!

Questioning Circles

Questioning Circles (Christenbury and Kelly, 1983) is a more complex questioning technique that can be used by teachers to create questions for their students or by students to generate their own questions about a text. What we love about this strategy is that it asks learners to consider questions as a reader, questions about the text, questions about the world, and questions that require the learner to apply their knowledge of two or more of these aspects simultaneously. Eventually, students are asked to answer a dense question that requires them to apply all of their knowledge to an essential question. The question types in this schema are:

  • Reader: Questions about the reader's knowledge and experiences

  • Text: Literal and inferential questions about the text

  • World: Questions about the world

  • Reader - Text: Questions that ask the reader to apply personal and textual knolwedge

  • Reader - World: Questions that ask the reader to consider their personal knolwedge and how it applies to the world

  • Text - World: Questions that require the reader to consider the text and how it applies to the world

  • Dense Question: This is the question placed where all three circles of the questioning circle overlap. It requires readers to apply their personal knowledge, textual knowledge, and knowledge of the world to answer it.

Oftentimes, the dense question becomes the essential question for a lesson or unit. If students are developing their own questions, they can use this process to collaboratively develop an essential question they will consider for the unit.

Students will want to answer the questions that require them to only consider one element first; then they can tackle questions that ask them to consider two of the elements. This will scaffold them up to answering the most complex, dense question.

Check out this Questioning Circles Graphic Organizer for more information.

Clock Partners

One of the most powerful ways to build classroom community is to encourage diverse partnerships. There are many, many ways teachers can partner students or help students select appropriate partners for themselves. However, partnering also takes time, and it's nice to have students find their partners quickly and capitalize on the learning time. One strategy to help achieve these goals is to have students complete an appointment clock at the beginning of the year. To do so, students mill around looking for different partners for each clock time on their graphic organizer. Students can then keep their appoitment clocks in a safe place and pull them out whenever the teacher asks them to find a certain partner, such as their 3 o'clock partner.

  • Simple Clock Partners: This appointment clock only includes 3 partnerships and works well with primary students.

  • Appointment Clock: This appointment clock has 12 partners and works well for upper elementary and secondary students.

Frayer Model

The Frayer Model is a graphic organizer used to help students develop their vocabulary knowledge. The vocabulary word is placed in the center of the Frayer Model, and students explore the word in depth by generating examples and non-examples, illustrating the word, and eventually creating a definition for the word. In our opinion, it's easiest to work backward through the model, beginning with examples and non-examples, which can help the students illustrate and define the word.

Variation: Another option is to replace the "illustration" box with a "characteristics" box in which students name criteria of the word/definition. Considering this element can be really helpful in composing the definition.

Note: The Frayer Model can take a great deal of time to complete and should only be used for the most important and complex vocabulary.

For an editable version, make a copy of this Frayer Model Template.

Celebration / Inquiry Cube

Who doesn't like playing with dice? This is a definite win with students because it introduced a gaming aspect to the learning and allows them to have fun rolling the dice while engaging in productive discussion. We used the cube to the left to facilitate a discussion about celebrations; however, you can use any theme you want for the cube. Simply craft six guiding questions around a topic, place these on the sides of a cube, and let the kids roll and discuss away. You can either make your own cubes, use this cube generator, or place 6 questions on the board corresponding to the 6 numbers on a die (in this case, students roll the numbered die and then respond to the question corresponding to the number rolled).

Priority Grid

Do you ever experience challenges in making decisions? If so, consider using a Priority Grid. A Priority Grid is a helpful strategy for prioritizing ideas or tasks that need to be completed. You can label the x and y-axes with whatever labels make the most sense. The visual at the right shows the priority grid Cohort 6 Teachers used to determine the best topic for their PD Toolkits for the Spring Conference. Teachers assessed their topic ideas using two factors: Importance to User (Audience) and Feasibility (How easy or difficult it would be to create). After placing your ideas on the grid, it is helpful to draw arcs to show which elements fall in order to see which ideas are "No Brainers" and which ideas are "Unwise".

Parking Lot

A Parking Lot is a simple strategy for collecting and holding good ideas and insights that need to be addressed but do not need to be addressed in that moment. By having a Parking Lot poster or area of the board, you can capture questions or ideas that are important but will likely take your teaching off track if addressed in that moment. Then, you can schedule a time in the day to address Parking Lot questions and concerns, ensuring these voices are heard and questions are answered while maintaining focus throughout the day.

Continuum

Check out this awesome two-way continuum Brandon is showcasing. A continuum is a great and quick formative assessment strategy to gauge where learners are at in their understanding or feelings about a topic. Continuums can be done on paper or by having students physically stand on a continnum. Learners assess where they are on a scale (typically 1-10), placing a marker at that ranking and providing an explanation of why they chose this number. This allows the student to self-assess as well as the teacher to gain a formative assessment of where individuals are as well as to notes trends for the entire class. We encourage you to have students place their names or initials on the markers, so you have an idea of where each individual is at on the continuum. It can also be highly beneficial to have students complete the continuum again after new learning has taken place, so both the students and the teacher can assess the growth that has occurred.

Note: In the picture to the right, Brandon is showing a two-way continuum in which learners have ranked themselves on two different scales. This is a great way to assess growth on two different elements or to address both a feeling and an academic understanding at the same time.

Acrostic Poetry

Acrostic poems are a creative way to help students share their learning. The simplistic nature of the poem asks learners to choose their words carefully to show the most important learning. In this example, groups read about real-world leaders and were then asked to name the qualities of their leader to share with others in the room.

A Card for your Thoughts

Playing cards can be used for some many things in the classroom. Why not discussion tokens? Have each student choose a playing card. As students share out they will use the suit to determine their reflection question.

Jigsaw Placemat Strategy

Are you looking for an excellent way to turn the ownership of learning over to your learners and allow them to teach one another? A jigsaw is a great strategy for cooperative learning. In this strategy, the teacher chunks a piece of text, having different learners read different sections of the text. The goal of this reading is for each learner to become an expert on his or her excerpt. After completing the reading and noting the Most Valuable Points (MVPs), the experts meet with others who have read the same excerpt to share their MVP and ensure all feel comfortable and confident to share their learning in mixed groups. (Note: This expert group step is an integral part of the process but is sometimes skipped for time. It is particularly important to complete this step with young learners or when learners are reading complex texts.) After meeting in expert groups, learners meet in mixed groups with a representative who read each section of the text and share out their learning. All learners should record their MVPs in some way. The image to the left displays a fun graphic organizer you might use.

Making Meaning Vocabulary Strategy

This is a powerful vocabulary strategy to help learners define complex vocabulary words. By using different colors, learners are able to explore and their understanding of these words. Learner directions for the Making Meaning vocabulary protocol are below:

Step 1 - Color #1 (Purple in the example): Write descriptive words to describe and extend on the meaning of the main vocabulary word.

Step 2 - Color #2 (Blue in the example): Write words to explore the meanings of each of the connected words (Purple). These are often synonyms.

Step 3 - Color #3 (Green in the example): Make connections between the words you have chosen (Purple and Blue), using arrows and descriptive phrases to explain your thinking.

Step 4 - Color #4 (Red in the example): Ask questions you're curious about in regards to the vocabulary word or topic.

Step 5 - Color #5 (Orange in the example): Define the primary vocabulary word, synthesizing your understanding from previous phases.

3 Act Story

The 3 Act Story strategy can be used in a variety of ways. As a reflection tool, students can use the sentence stems "I used to think..." "Now I think..." "In the future I will..." to craft their reflection. It can also be used as a basic plot diagram: exposition, climax, and resolution. The beauty of the 3 Act Story is that it boils down events and can be used to focus thoughts for future writing or discussion. It can also be done through writing or through visuals.

Spider Legs

Looking for a low-tech way to help students revise writing? Spider Legs can be used to help students insert revisions into a piece of writing without trying to cram new ideas or sentences in margins. Cut strips of paper for students to write revisions on, and then these strips are taped to the paper to show where new ideas can be added as the writing is finalized. Teachers in a recent workshop also discussed how these could be used to provide feedback on writing. (Kind of like low-tech comments!)

Creation Stations

For those of you who were able to attend our Spring Conference last week, we opened the day with the 5 Kinds of Composing. If you were not able to attend, you likely remember these awesome creation stations from a previous spring conference. Creation Stations are a powerful way to stimulate curiosity and inquiry as well as to give students choice. In addition, such stations encourage your students to solve real world tasks using the 21st Century skills of creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration. If you're interested in trying out any of the specific creation stations from the conference with your own students, you can find the station directions for these here. Otherwise, we encourage you to think about how you can create similar authentic opportunities in your own classrooms or contexts.

Foldables

Foldables are a three-dimensional graphic organizer students can use to organize, process, and retain information. These student-made organizers provide a great opportunity for interactive and kinesthetic learning. It's kind of funny how simply folding a paper or using a different sized paper can make all the difference in student engagement. Of course, there are many many foldable possibilities. In fact, there are even books out there to help you and your students create them. Check out this awesome resource for foldable ideas: http://www.k12.wa.us/IndianEd/TribalSovereignty/High/CWP-HS/Unit4/Level1-Materials/foldables.pdf or simply Google "foldables" to see a great many options. We encourage you to try out a new foldable sometime this week in your classrooms or perhaps even in PD.

Headlines

Create a headline for a text or topic that captures an important aspect of it or synthesizes the major takeaways. This strategy helps students identify and clarify big ideas. It works especially well at the end of a text, discussion or activity. You might remember using "headlines" to synthesize major feedback takeaways from Austin's Butterfly.

Paper Slides

Paper slides are a different way of showing learning. It allows learners to step away from the typical slide show and put their own creative spin on their learning. We used this last year with our Returning Teachers to reflect on their book studies and some Returning Teacher book study groups from this year have used them share their learning and takeaways from their meetings.

Paper Slides.mp4

Square, Circle, Triangle

If you're looking for an exit ticket to gauge what students have learned and what they're still pondering, you might try this approach:

  • Square: What's squared with your thinking? (This could be something that students agree with or that matches with prior knowledge.)

  • Circle: What's something that you're still grappling with? (This is something that is still rolling around in students' minds.)

  • Triangle: What's something you want to change? (This could be something the student wants to shift in her own thinking or something the student would like to revise in future work.)

Vocabulary Mat

Vocabulary Mats are a great vocabulary strategy for capitalizing on the knowledge of peers to create a collaborative definition of a word of phrase. This strategy works particularly well for a short phrase. For example, at this week's Cohort 6 Hub Meeting, we used this strategy to define the term "teacher leader." To do this strategy, each person creates a notecard for the word or words in the vocabulary term (one word per card). Then, you visualize the vocabulary term by writing the term and drawing a quick sketch of the term on your card(s). Then participants meet in groups of 4, placing their cards around a definition placemat. Each person describes his or her images and understanding of the vocabulary term based on their notecards. After everyone has had the opportunity to share, participants look for patterns among the sketches and conversation shared, and then they work together to craft a collaborative definition for the vocabulary term.

Storyboarding

At the Returning Teacher planning meeting, teachers storyboarded ideas to begin sequencing plans for their PD sessions. Using rapid brainstorming, teachers put an idea or drawing on index cards (one idea per index card) and then shared with a partner to talk through their preliminary ideas. Because ideas are on separate cards, they can be moved around or taken out as ideas continue to get fleshed out. Many found that they had too many ideas, and this process helped them winnow down what was feasible and most important.

How could this be used with writing or speech? Or project planning?

Y-Chart

When grappling with defining or understanding an object, person, or role, a Y-Chart can be the perfect graphic organizer. We have used these to help teachers describe teacher leaders or effective professional development by having participants describe what something looks like, feels like, and sounds like. For a template of a Y-chart we're using at the C6 hub meetings, click here. One of the best ways to use this in the classroom is to discuss "community" or effective discussions, allowing students to help determine the norms for the classroom culture. The three categories and the term in the center could easily be swapped out for something else. How might you use a Y-Chart with your students or during PD?

Stoplight Self-Assessment

Teaching students how to self-assess is one of the most impactful and possibly under used forms of assessment. For the teacher, it is an invaluable formative assessment and for students, an opportunity to think about and name their on ZPD. Repeated self-assessment allows students to see their own growth. This is empowering and motivational!

Try it out today...click on the link and make a copy.

Stop Light Self-Assessment

Walk & Talk

This is an amazing strategy for engagement because it allows learners to move and talk as they explore new content. After giving learners a topic, text, question / prompt, etc., learners take their materials with them on a walk and talk. This could occur around the classroom, the playground, or the school in a PD setting with adult learners. This strategy works best with partnerships or groups of 3 and 4, so learners can walk abreast and all members of the group can contribute to the conversation.

Back to Back / Face to Face

This week we encourage you to try a back to back / face to face discussion. In this strategy, learners find a partner and stand back to back. They are then given a prompt / question to consider and short amount of time to think and process. After this time, learners turn face to face to share and discuss their thinking. Upon finishing, learners high five and thank their partner and then find a new partner to stand back to back with before the next prompt / question is provided.

Vocabulary's CODE

A few weeks ago C6 Teachers spent time participating in vocabulary activities from the CODE Matrix. In Vocabulary's CODE, C stands for "Connect", O stands for "Organize", D stands for "Deep Process", and E stands for "Exercise". By planning for each of the components of CODE, we ensure our students are having the opportunity to dig deep with vocabulary. In this picture teachers are participating in Deep Processing using Visualizing Vocabulary by creating images, sketches or icons with brief explanations to demonstrate understanding.

Rotating Trios

Rotating Trios is a super fun discussion strategy that gets learners up and moving and interacting with many diverse partners. This strategy begins with learners standing in triads, and the triads standing in a circle around the room. Learners will first number off 0, 1, and 2 within their triads. Then they will begin the discussion based on a prompt, question, or artifact. After a designated amount of time, the number 0s will stay, the 1s move one group clockwise, and the twos move two groups clockwise. This way when they begin the discussion again, all learners are entirely new groups. At this point the facilitator may share a new prompt or question or have them continue the previous conversation, sharing what the learners learned in their prior groups. This movement continues for as many rounds as desired.

Watercolor Sketches

Looking for a creative way to get students thinking and writing? Use watercolor "oops" pages! Take some watercolors and make random marks and splatters. Then, have students choose a splatter and sketch an image. Only give a couple of minutes for this so that students don't overthink it. Then, students use their sketch to begin a piece of creative writing. Rather than staring at a blank page and saying, "I don't know what to write!" students will have some built in inspiration based on their sketch!

Chalk Talk

The chalk talk is a commonly used strategy for generating and sharing ideas. In small groups, learners rotate to various posters and share their ideas and insights with one another by recording their ideas in graffiti form on posters. As small groups rotate to a new post in gallery walk form, they read (and discuss) ideas shared by prior groups and contribute new ideas to the posters. The teacher may place one or more artifacts on the poster for learners to respond to/annotate or may provide a prompt, question, or other stimuli to encourage learners thinking and "chalk talking".

Makerspace

A Makerspace can look a lot of different ways, depending on your purposes and your classroom needs. For our Region 3 Makerspace, we decided to set up stations where teachers could meet to discuss certain topics they might be interested in planning for in their classrooms. Each station had information about what could be found in our digital folder, as well as any handouts which could be handy when planning. Here is a link to the digital folder if you want have your own Makerspace time.