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ABC
Brainstorm |
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To activate prior knowledge before reading ask students to brainstorm, using the letters of the
alphabet, as many words as possible related to the topic of study.
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Anticipation Guide |
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Anticipation guides are used
before reading to assist students to activiate their background
knowledge and help them better understand the text
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Building
Connections |
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Teachers can model building connections to the text in 3 ways: Text
to self (T-S) connections where students use information from
their own lives to help them understand the text; Text to Text (T-T)
connections where students draw on the knowledge they have gained
from other reading experiences and Text to world (T-W) connections
where students use their knowledge of the world to connect to the reading.
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Carousel
Brainstorm |
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Whether activating background knowledge or checking understanding after
studying a topic, a carousel brainstorm allows you to have students pull
out and think about what they know about subtopics within a larger topic.
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Column Notes |
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Students
group information according to its type and
then arrange the information into columns. Depending on the text and
purpose - 2, 3 or more columns can be employed.
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Cubing |
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Cubing
strengthens students' comprehension of a topic or concept and helps expand
their understanding of a topic, concept, character, and/or text from
various perspectives. After rolling a cube with the following headings:
Describe it, compare it, associate it, analyze it, apply it, and argue for
or against it, students are directed to respond to the text.
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Directed Reading
Thinking Activity (DRTA) |
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A text is revealed to students in small pieces. As each section is
introduced, the students are asked to make predictions, reach conclusions,
consider the structures and features as supporting evidence from the text.
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Frayer Model |
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The Frayer Model is a
graphical organizer used for word analysis and vocabulary building. This
four-square model prompts students to think about and describe the meaning
of a word or concept by:
- Defining the term
- Describing its essential
characteristics
- Providing examples of the
ideas
- Offering non-examples
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Graphic Organizers |
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The Graphic Organizers are a
pictorial or graphical way to organize information and thoughts to promote
understanding.
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Jigsaw |
Students work in groups and are assigned different portions of a reading,
or different subtopics of a particular unit, to be responsible for
teaching the students in other groups. In this way, each student becomes
an expert on his/her specific portion or subtopic.
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K - W - L |
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This chart helps teachers
engage students in active thinking and reading by activating students’
prior knowledge about a topic before reading (K), deciding what they want
to know about the topic (W), and highlighting or summarizing what they
learned after reading (L). (Ogle 1986, 1989).
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Open House |
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Gives the
students an opportunity to talk to each other about segments of a short
story, chapter, or poem and predict what will happen next. They will make
inferences and generalizations about the characters, setting, mood/tone,
plot/action, conflicts, and point of view by discussing the segments.
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Probable Passage |
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Gives students practice
in predicting what a passage will be about. They will also learn to
activate prior knowledge when they approach a reading assignment. They
will further develop their skill at monitoring their own reading
comprehension and will develop their understanding of narrative
conventions.
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Problematic Situation |
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Sometimes before
reading it is effective to confront students with a problem or issue that
the reading will help them solve or better understand.
The Problematic Situation challenges students to draw upon prior
knowledge, motivates them to read, and provides a clear focus for their
reading. A good problematic situation, then, engages students' interest
and requires them to gather specific information and use it to support
their argument.
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QAR
(Questions/Answer/Relationships) |
QAR (Raphael, 1982; 1986) is a strategy teaches students to increase
comprehension through questions. Students answer questions that are
categorized as:
Right There - Think and Search - Author and You -
On my own
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Reciprocal Teaching
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Teachers and students take
turns leading discussions regarding sections of text. Students are
taught each of the following strategies to promote interaction and improve
their understanding of the text: Questioning, Clarification,
Summarization, Prediction
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Self-Questioning |
Self-Questioning is
the ongoing process of asking questions before, during, and after reading
that are used by a reader to understand text. The questions posed are
based on clues that are found in the text and are generated to spark
curiosity that focuses the reader's attention on investigating,
understanding, and connecting to the text. A self-questioning strategy is
a set of steps that a student follows to generate, think about, predict,
investigate, and answer questions that satisfies curiosity about what is
being read.
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Semantic
Feature Analysis |
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The Semantic Feature Analysis strategy asks students to identify key words
in a reading selection and relate these words to the major concepts of the
text. Using a graphical matrix students:
· List the key words of a reading selection.
· Identify the meaning and properties of these key words.
· Group key words into logical categories.
· Relate the words (and categories) to one another.
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Sequential Round Table |
Students think up words that begin with each letter
of the alphabet for the proposed topic, and write the words into the boxes
in the graphic organizer.
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Sociograms |
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A sociogram is a visual
representation of the relationships among characters in a literary text.
Students can make use of pictures, symbols, shapes, colors, and line
styles to illustrate these relationships.
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Story Impression |
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Students form an
impression of the chapters from a list of words, but are not able to
create entire episodes that they will encounter in reading. This strategy
can extend to during reading where
students focus on verifying their predictions. After reading, students
rewrite their original paragraphs using knowledge they gained from the
text. This process results in analysis and synthesis of information. This
activity can be done individually, in pairs, in small groups, or as a
whole-class activity.
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Story Maps |
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Story Maps can
help students to understand story grammar. The basic elements of a
story map are: Setting, Characters, Problem/Conflict, Events,
Resolution/Solution/Conclusion, and Theme.
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Think-Aloud |
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Think-Aloud is a strategy that shows how skilled readers construct meaning
from text. During Think-Alouds, teachers demonstrate how they are
constructing meaning from text by articulating aloud what is going on
their heads while they read.
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Three-Minute Pause |
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The Three-minute pause provides students an opportunity to stop and
reflect on the text, make connections and seek clarification.
Students form groups and in a three minute time frame must: Summarize key
ideas thus far, add their thoughts, and pose clarifying questions.
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Created by
Juanita
Redekopp-McKeown,
Debra Melle
and
Maureen Erlendson
Prairie Valley School Division |