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Read and Say Something
Read and Say SOMETHING is exactly what it sounds like! Read a passage and share thoughts, connections, etc. at a designated stopping point. This strategy is used to spur discussion during and/or after reading. Before reading, explain to students that they will be required to “say something” about the reading. Students must make at least one note as they read so they will have at least one thing to contribute. This strategy may be used before or after reading.
Read-and-Say-Something.pdfFast Write
Fast writes can quickly inform you of students’ recall about a topic previously covered or one you think they should have some knowledge of. It’s particularly effective with students who are reluctant to share out loud or with peers, it’s a safe “cognitive warm-up” that can be a catalyst for discussions and provide you with data that inform instructional planning. With a fast-write, you write all that you can about a topic for several minutes. Even if you’re stuck, because no ideas are surfacing, try your best to keep writing. Model it first. Start by doing a fast-write about DEAR or about the book you’re reading. When you think your students are ready to use the strategy by themselves, have students get out a blank piece of paper (or sticky note or index card or half piece of paper), set your timer for two minutes, and have them start writing. If you want and if time allows, students can share responses. If you’re starting a new unit, and you want to see what your students know, use it before reading. If you’ve covered a topic and want to see what your students recall, use it during or after reading.
Lesson Closure Frame
This Lesson Closure Frame is amazing. It helps students to summarize the importance of what they learned in a lesson. You could have your students complete these as an exit ticket, or even as a writing assignment on the final test to sum up a Unit or important idea. In YOFO, I had my students write one of these every Friday about a something they learned in a class OTHER than English/Reading. The key to getting your students to do these well is (1) walking them through it the first few times and (2) consistency. The more they see and practice any strategy, the better they get at the strategy. (The template says Social Studies, but this can be used in any class.)
closure_frame.pdfSum-It-Up
Sum-It-Up is a fun way to summarize a concept. Too often, students "over summarize" an idea by providing too many words, too many details, and too much "stuff" that really is not essential to understanding the concept/ idea/ story, etc. With this comprehension activity, students start by writing all of their ideas, and then narrowing their ideas to 20 words.
sumitup_dir.pdfsumitup.pdfAfter previewing the text, students choose the most important word before they read. During reading, students pause and select the current most important word. After reading, students reflect and choose the overall most important word. The document contains four organizers per page. Print as many as needed, and then cut the individual slips.
BDA Most Important Word.docx
RAFT Writing
Role Audience Format Topic
Raft writing is a writing strategy where students write using a selected role, audience, format, and topic. This strategy can be creatively used in all content areas. Encourage students to explore and explain instructional topics from various perspectives, to a variety of audiences, and in different formats.
raft.pdfRAFTWritingTemplate.pdfThink Alouds
Think-alouds have been described as "eavesdropping on someone's thinking." With this strategy, teachers verbalize aloud while reading a selection orally. Their verbalizations include describing things they're doing as they read to monitor their comprehension. The purpose of the think-aloud strategy is to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning from a text. (www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think_alouds ). While you are reading something to your students (textbook, story, directions, articles, questions, etc.), model outloud your comprehension process. Pause and ask the questions and say the thoughts and connections that come to mind while you read. Develop a set of questions to support thinking aloud. Use the Think Aloud Template in Schoology.
thinkaloud_checklist.pdfGoogle Sites
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