3 Facts & a Fib
Description: This strategy can be used as an assessment tool or review to allow students to show you what they know in many different ways, and also provides an opportunity for them to gain experience in narrowing choices. Students create three facts and a fib about the content that is being studied and test their peers. How to Use the Strategy:
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Choral Response
Description: Choral Response is a verbal repetition strategy that encourages students to respond in unison when prompted with a cue by an instructor. The oral response can be either to answer a question or to repeat something said by the teacher. The choral response allows the teacher to determine if most students understand a concept. Ideal for curriculum content that: – can be answered in short 1-3 word responses. – has only a single correct answer to the question. – is presented in a fast paced manner. How to Use the Strategy:
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RAFT
Description: The RAFT strategy uses writing-to-learn activities to enhance understanding of informational text. The writing is done in a non-traditional format that encourages creative thinking and motivates students to reflect in unusual ways about concepts they have read. Students process information rather than retell factual answers. R = Role A = Audience F = Format T = Topic How to Use the Strategy:
**Teacher may also decide to allow students to choose their own Role, Audience, and Format around a particular Topic of study. |
Text Impressions
Description: The Text Impressions strategy arouses students’ curiosity and enables them to use “clue” words that are associated with events, characters, and settings so they can write their own versions of the text PRIOR to reading the original. The clues words and phrases are taken directly from the reading and arranged on a list in the order they appear in the text. The list should give the students an overall impression of the text that they will use to write predictions about the major events. After reading the text, students will compare their versions with the original. (When used with narrative text, its title is Story Impressions) How to Use the Strategy:
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Word Questioning
Description: Word questioning is a strategy that teaches vocabulary and promotes critical thinking. Using a concept map it challenges student to define, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate target words in their reading or unit. This strategy can help students unlock previous knowledge and connect vocabulary to other concepts. How to Use the Strategy:
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Alphaboxes
Description: The Alphaboxes is a strategy that uses the 26 letters of the alphabet to record important concepts about a specific topic or theme. This strategy gives students a one place to record all content specific vocabulary and concepts throughout a unit. How to Use the Strategy:
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Kinesthetic Assessment
Description: This strategy asks students to create sentences that reflect content studied. Students like the element of chance that is involved. How to Use the Strategy:
Other Possibilities: Each day students could receive a stack of cards with different terms on them in which to write their sentences. |
Role Cards
Description: This strategy promotes active discussion by using role cards and uses colors to differentiate for different skill levels. The example below assumes that you are using blue for the less able and green for the more able students. How to Use the Strategy:
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text in the Middle
Description: The teacher selects challenging text excerpts and photocopies the text in the middle column. On the left, students write a statement for the gist of the text that helps the student write a more complete summary below it. Questions may be used to help guide student thinking. One the right, students pay attention to their thinking and record the reading comprehension strategies they used to make sense of the text. As a result, teachers know whether or not students understood the content. |
Word Sort-Expository
Description: This strategy involves a collection of words and phrases from an expository text with each word of phrase written on an index card. Students review the cards, develop categories, name each category, and rearrange cards in the appropriate categories. Students then use the categories to make predictions about the expository text. Students then read the selection and after reading, rearrange the cards and create new categories so they can more accurately retell and discuss the selection. How to Use the Strategy:
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Analogy Building
Description: Analogy Building is a strategy that can be used to increase comprehension of a concept or idea. The concept/idea is compared to something else by using a simile. A simile is a comparison between two different things using “like” or “as”. The simile is supported with reasoning. How to Use the Strategy: 1. Identify a concept/idea to create a comparison.
2. Students individually think of their analogy (3-5 minutes). 3. Place students in groups of two. 4. Each person in the group shares their analogy with the other group member and discusses their reasoning (4-6 minutes). 5. Teacher may decide to have volunteers share their analogies with the entire class. |
Linear Arrays
Description: Linear arrays are a strategy that illustrates gradation between related words. This helps the student make connections between words, see subtle distinctions between words, and realize that all words have shades of meaning. Use of linear arrays works best with vocabulary from literature text rather than informational text. How to Use the Strategy:
5. Discuss as a group what words students used and why. |
SQ4R
Description: SQ4R provides a systematic way of comprehending and studying text. Students preview text to develop predictions and set a purpose for reading by generating questions about the topic. Students then read actively, searching for answers to the questions they have generated. By summarizing information students are able to monitor their own comprehension. Finally, students evaluate their comprehension through review. How to Use the Strategy: The teacher should model how to complete each step of the SQ4R strategy and then move students into guided practice. Scaffolds such as posters and worksheets can help students as they learn to implement this strategy.
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Thick and thin Questioning
Description: This strategy provides students with the opportunity to become thoughtful sense makers by focusing on Thick Questions. It’s the teacher’s responsibility to understand the difference between Thick and Thin Questions. One Thick Question is far better than 20 Thin Questions. How to use the Strategy: *This strategy can be used with ALL concepts/ideas. A Thick Question is open ended. It requires evidence to support a point of view and a warrant to link that evidence to the point being made. A Thin Question is usually asking for literal information that does not require interpretation, argumentation, or sustained conversation. THICK QUESTIONS:
THIN QUESTIONS:
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Word Sort-Narrative
Description: Word sorts for narrative text is a before-, during-, and after-reading strategy in which the teacher creates a collection of important words and phrases from a story on index cards. This collection is prepared in advance of the lesson. Working individually or in pairs before reading the text, students arrange the cards in an order that supports the telling of a story and then use the cards to tell the story to the class. During the reading the teacher stops occasionally, allowing the students to rearrange their cards, as needed. Upon the conclusion of the reading, the students rearrange for the last time in order to give a proper retelling. How to Use the Strategy:
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Anticipation Guide
Description: This strategy helps students anticipate the direction of the text. At the same time, it gives you a chance to pre-assess their knowledge of the content. How to Use the Strategy:
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Polar Opposites
Description: This strategy helps students analyze and evaluate characters in a text by rating them on a variety of dimensions along a three-, five-, or seven-point continuum. After reading, students place a check mark on one of the blanks along the continuum to indicate their understanding and interpretation of a character based on a particular dimension. They can include examples from the text as justification and discuss them in a literature circle. This strategy can be used with the linear arrays strategy. How to Use the Strategy:
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Story Impressions
Description: The story impressions strategy arouses students’ curiosity and enables them to use “clue” words that are associated with events, characters, and settings so they can write their own versions of the story PRIOR to reading the original. The clues words and phrases are taken directly from the reading and should be arranged on a list in the order they appear in the story. The list should give the students an overall impression of the story that they will use to write predictions about the major events. After reading the story, students will compare their versions with the original. (When used with non-fiction text, its title is Text Impressions) How to Use the Strategy:
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Think-Tac-Toe
Description: This is a great anchor activity to assign to individual students. It allows them to engage in meaningful work while you’re involved with other students in a small group. How to Use the Strategy:
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Word Toss
Description:
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