A to Z Literacy Strategies

70 Best Practice Strategies for Teaching Reading and Writing Across Middle Grades Content Areas

Compiled and Edited by

David Puckett

Forward

“The most urgent task our generation now confronts is to ensure literacy … for all children.”

            E. L. Boyer

Words can unlock our world, but only when we learn to use them in an intentional and meaningful way. We call that way … reading.  The real value of reading is in its goal of understanding, using, and applying words to a wide and varied range of content areas, all of which are necessary keys to unlocking our personal world. 

For those of us who spend our passions, time, and energies teaching in Middle Level content areas other than reading/language arts, reading can also be the bugaboo that hinders and often halts content learning.  In our content area classrooms, an essential use of reading is to pursue, acquire and expand an understanding about our world through the study of texts.  But, in order for students to truly gain understanding, to think at higher levels while reading, they must also learn to strategically interact with the text. The question is, how can they learn to think and interact at those higher levels while reading, if all teachers do not have the tools they need to teach them. 

All Middle Level teachers, especially content area teachers, need engaging, effective strategies to deliver text-based instruction, not in addition to, but along side their content.  All Middle Level teachers need to create strategic readers; strategic readers who think about text, think with text, and think through text.  All middle level teachers, regardless of content, need to create student-centered classrooms where effective young adolescent literacy development can occur. Combining explicitly taught reading strategies with a classroom dynamic that builds upon students background information, prior knowledge, interests, and experience creates a motivating, engaging, positive literacy environment.

A to Z Literacy Strategies is designed to provide effective, content appropriate strategies (more than 60 best-practice strategies), that will engage students at higher levels and encourage them to become active participants in the literacy process.   It is designed to better equip middle level teachers of all content areas to “involve and engage” reading avoiders, while maintaining a high focus on content standards.  Teachers of all content areas, especially those who teach in areas other than English language arts, need to be empowered with a repertoire of successful strategies at their disposal.  Unfortunately, content teachers, as a whole, have had no preparation in reading/writing strategies other than, perhaps superficially, in a general methods course at the university.  Practicing classroom teachers do not have the quantity of time at their disposal to research and sort through every available web resource on their own.  They do not have the time to pour through the current literature on best practice.  They are engaged in fighting the literacy battle on the front lines.

A to Z Literacy Strategies attempts to do the mundane, “grunt” work for the teachers on the front lines: to search the web, print resources, and the experience of many content area teachers– to provide a repertoire of flexible best practice strategies from which the content teacher may draw.  Just as research has shown that reading engagement and successful reading are linked, we are also learning that successful reading and content mastery are inextricably linked as well. 

Ivey (1999) sums it up well when she summarizes the central message of her research, “Who middle school students are as readers and who they will become is shaped by the context of instruction.”  Further, she asserts that matching reading tasks and texts to students’ interests and instructional levels leads to increased skill and motivation to read.”(p.177)

A to Z Literacy Strategies is built on a foundation of the following beliefs of this content teacher:

• all teachers are teachers of reading and writing
• all students can become successful readers and writers, and, probably most important,
• teachers truly do make a difference.

A to Z Strategies

A

Adolescent Literacy in the Content Classroom                                                     7

Alphabet Brainstorming                                                                                         12

Anticipation Guides                                                                                                15

B

Best Practices in Reading                                                                                     19

Book Buddies                                                                                                         20

C

Conversations Across Time                                                                                  22

Concept Map Book                                                                                                25

Creating Student-Centered Classrooms                                                             27

Cubing                                                                                                                      29

D

Directed Reading-Thinking Activity                                                                      30

Double Entry Journal                                                                                              31

Discussion Notes                                                                                                    32

Definition Map                                                                                                         34

E

E-Mentoring                                                                                                             37

Everyday Literature                                                                                                 41

Expected Outcome Clustering                                                                              42

F

Flipbook Previews                                                                                                  43

Foldables                                                                                                                 45

G

Graphic Organizers                                                                                                47

H

History Frames                                                                                                        49

I

Inquiry Chart                                                                                                             52

Interactive Notebook                                                                                   54

J

Jigsaw                                                                                                                      56

Jot-Charting                                                                                                             58

Journaling                                                                                                                60

K

K.I.M. Strategy for Vocabulary and New Ideas                                                    63

Knowing Young Adolescent Readers and Writers                                              64

K-W-L-H                                                                                                                   65

L

Library                                                                                                                      66

Link and Rethink                                                                                                     68

M

Model Literate Attitudes                                                                                         69

N

Novel In An Hour                                                                                                      71

O

Open House (Tea Party)                                                                                        73

P

Paired Summarizing                                                                                   76

P.L.A.N.                                                                                                                    80

Poetry Gallery                                                                                                          82

Pre-Reading Plan (PreP)                                                                                       84

Q                                                                                            

Questioning the Author                                                                                           86

Questioning the News                                                                                            87

Questions – Fat or Skinny?                                                                       88

Questions Only                                                                                                        89

R

Radio Reading                                                                                                        92

RAFT Papers                                                                                                          93

Reciprocal Notes                                                                                                    94

Reciprocal Questioning (ReQuest)                                                           96

Reciprocal Teaching                                                                                              97

Response Journal                                                                                                 103

S

Seed Discussion                                                                                                  104

Strategy Log                                                                                                         106

Story Star                                                                                                               108

Sum-it-up                                                                                                               110

T

Tea Party                                                                                                               112

Think Aloud                                                                                                            113

Think-Pair-Share                                                                                                   116

Three-Minute Pause                                                                                 118

Three-Level Guide                                                                                                119

U

Understanding the Relationship Between Boys and Books and

Urging Parents to Help                                                                                         121

Useful Web Sites Focused on Adolescent Literacy                                         125

V

Verb Word Walls                                                                                                   127

Vocabulary Blocks                                                                                                130

Vocabulary Journal                                                                                               131

Vocabulary Prediction Chart                                                                               132

Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt                                                                                133

Vocabulary Trees                                                                                                  136

W

Word Splash                                                                                                          137

Writing-To-Learn                                                                                                   139

X

X Chart for Persuasive Writing                                                                            141

Y

Young Adolescent Learners                                                                                143

Z

Zoom-In, Zoom-Out                                                                                               145

Source List                                                                                                            150

Adolescent Literacy in the Content Classroom: Four Key Components

The Education Alliance at Brown University maintains that any effective Literacy focus at the Middle Level and across all content areas must take into account four key components:

1.  Motivation – Relevance to the social, emotional, and developmental needs of the young adolescent.

A successful and effective focus takes into account the diverse cultural, linguistic, social, emotional, and developmental needs of the young adolescent.  Promising practices related to motivation are:

• making connections to the lives of students
• creating an environment in which students interact with each other and with text
• fostering developmentally appropriate classrooms.

2.  Research-Based Strategies – Reliance upon proven strategies and techniques.

The following are related to a research-based practice:

• roles of the teacher
• reading and writing
• speaking and listening
• an emphasis on thinking
• creating a student-centered classroom

3.  Across the Curriculum – Reading and writing in all content areas.

The following promising practices are related to cross-curricular literacy:

• vocabulary development
• understanding text structure
• supporting all classrooms through literacy development

4.  Organizational Support – Leadership capacity to ensure necessary support, sustainability, and focus.

The following practices are indicators of effective Organizational Support:

·        meets the goals for young adolescents in that particular community and its various constituents

·        articulates, communicates, and actualizes a vision of literacy as a priority

·        utilizes best practices in the area of systemic educational reform

·        is defined in a way that connects to the larger educational program

·        involves ongoing support for teacher professional development

·        has a clear process for program review and evaluation.

Each of these components is crucial if real progress is to be achieved.   Component 4, to a great degree is out of the control of the classroom teacher.  However, by consistently using intentional strategies to promote young adolescent literacy, the classroom teacher – in every content area – exercises powerful control.

Questions For Reflection

Before classrooms are truly literacy-focused, we need to consider some or all of the following questions.  The questions could be used in interdisciplinary team discussions, needs analysis activities, or informal, small-group conversations. Regardless of the forum, they must be addressed.

1. How would my planning and teaching change if the strategies described in this collection were common practice? How would they remain the same?
2. What are the existing barriers to incorporating more of a literacy-focused approach to my content area teaching and learning?
3. What must I do to address these barriers?

When it works, what does it look like?

Supporting the Language Arts Classroom through Literacy Development

In Middle School Language Arts classrooms where literacy development is a key feature, words and books are everywhere.  Reading comprehension is seen as a priority and there are a number of ways that its development is woven into the fabric of teaching and learning.  Connections are constantly being made between life and text, and among different texts.  Essential questions are generated and incorporated into writing and discussion.  There is a celebration of language.  If the goal is to explore a particular literary theme, a variety of reading choices is offered and/or both contemporary and classical pieces are selected and read.  Writing is seen as a process and there are frequent authentic reasons to write.  Students are exposed to how authors think when they write through teacher modeling, guest speakers, Internet interviews, articles from writing journals, and peer interviewing.  Students conference with each other and the teacher about their writing.  Learning is active and expectations are clear.  There is understanding and support that to be literate is important and not to be fully literate is to be disenfranchised.

Suggested Resource:

Two good electronic resources for using young adult literature in the classroom are:

• http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/litgen.htm
• http://scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/YoungAdult/index.html

Supporting the Math Classroom through Literacy Development

A Middle School Math classroom that supports literacy development is one in which students and teachers use language processes to enhance and demonstrate understanding.  Teachers in these settings make connections, verbally and in writing, between current and prior lessons.  Teachers model problem-solving by thinking aloud, and students are asked to articulate, verbally or in writing, how they solve problems.  In such a classroom, students do not fear word problems, but actively practice them.  Teachers introduce mathematical figures as language features.  Students and teachers are active in concept development.  Common processes in such classrooms include word play, connections to real life, examples of real life applications, varied groupings, and team work to construct and present solutions to mathematical problems.

Suggested Resources: 

A good rationale for using an interactive process for solving word problems, along with links to word problems across the math curriculum. Can be found at:

• http://www.hawaii.edu/suremath/literacy.html

For some suggestions on how to motivate students in the mathematics classroom, see:

• http://mathforum.org/~sarah/Discussion.Sessions/biblio.motivation.html

Supporting the Science Classroom through Literacy Development

In a Middle School Science classroom where literacy development is a priority, reading, writing, and discussion happen on a daily basis.  Understandings are built and expanded through the use of many kinds of texts, including the reading and analysis of essays, journal articles, Web sites, textbooks, and science fiction.  Reading Comprehension is supported through the use of electronic media, film, laboratory experiences, and visuals.  The meanings of specialized vocabulary are actively constructed and reinforced; hypothesis, prediction, analysis, and description occur in verbal and written form; and textbook features are explicitly introduced and used.  The writing process is used to strengthen lab reports, analytic writing, solutions to problem sets, and research findings.  The expectation is that students will be involved with active inquiry, that frequent presentation and discussion of findings, ideas and questions will occur, and that the reading and conducting of scientific research will be a part of the fabric of teaching and learning.  Expectations are clear, there are choices in how students can present learning, students are grouped in various ways for different kinds of assignments, and student interests are taken into consideration.

Suggested Resources:

For a good general description of how research-based strategies might look in the science classroom, see:

http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/HSJ/Baird.asp

Resources and strategies for how to use writing in the science classroom can be found at:

http://mdk12.org/practices/support_success/has/biology/writing_classroom.html and http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/has/earth_space/writing_classroom.html

Supporting the Social Studies classroom Through Literacy Development

In a Middle School classroom that supports literacy development, a wide variety of types of resources, including reproductions of primary sources in texts, kits, or Web sites, (e.g., diary entries, newspaper accounts, broadsides, maps, inventories, historical photographs), film, and historical fiction, are used to develop understandings of eras, places, and events.  Textbook features are made explicit, and specialized vocabulary is commonly used in classroom discussion.  Student writing, and the thinking and approaches of social studies specialists (e.g., anthropologists, archeologists, economists, social historians, sociologists) are investigated.  Active participation in the framing and exploration of essential questions is expected.  Connections between eras, events, and famous and infamous people, different representations of the same or similar events, and past and present are constantly being made.  How languages develop and how language is used, both by those in power and by those who resist, is examined as part of historical, cultural, geographic, and psychological studies.  Students are expected to read and write to learn, there is frequent discussion, presentation, and debate; and research skills are used in context on a regular basis.  Expectations are clear, there are choices in how students can present learning, students are grouped in various ways for different kinds of assignments, and student interests are taken into consideration.

Suggested Resources:

• For a set of specific examples of how various reading comprehension strategies can be applied to the social studies classroom, see:

http://union~city.k12.nj.us/curr/socialstudy/socstu_strat_a.html

• For a summary of best practices in the social studies classroom, see: http://instech.tusd.k12.az.us/balancedlit/handbook/BLHS/blsshs.htm

Adapted from: http://knowledgeloom.org/media/bpinter/1174/pyramid.html

Alphabet Brainstorming

Alphabet Brainstorming, also commonly known as ABC Brainstorming, is a simple, common sense strategy for activating background, or prior knowledge, before students tackle a major topic.  Students are asked to try to think of words or phrases that correspond to each letter of the alphabet.

The key to success with the Alphabet Brainstorm is to keep the topic broad, general, and relevant enough that students can think of many possible terms.  Topics like Environment, Ancient Civilizations, the Water Cycle, or any other broad content topic are appropriate for use with the Alphabet Brainstorm.  Topics studied earlier in the year, about which students know a great deal (hopefully), can be good review brainstorms.  In social studies, this might include broad areas like Prehistoric Man, Early Civilizations, the Classical Civilizations, the Middle Ages, etc.  Narrow topics like Louis Pasteur, the Bill of Rights, or the Scientific Method, would probably not provide enough possibilities fo a successful Alphabet Brainstorm.

First, have students list all the letters of the alphabet down the left margin of a sheet of loose-leaf paper, leaving room beside each letter to write out the rest of the corresponding word or phrase.  You may also wish to create a blank template ahead of time (see the samples which follow).  Allow the students to work individually at first, trying to think of as many words as they can that might be associated with the topic you have identified.

Give students enough time to think of multiple ideas, then let them work in pairs or small groups to fill in letters that remained uncompleted.  This is very much like the Think-Pair-Share Strategy.  This would be the “share” stage.  After all students have a full alphabet, go around the room or get volunteers to report out (share) possible terms or phrases for their alphabet.  Be open to a wide range of possibilities.  Make sure students know that you are not looking for exact answers, just justifiable and plausible ones.

* This and many other extremely useful graphic organizers are developed by Dr. Raymond Jones at www.ReadingQuest.org. Several of them are featured in this book.

Alphabet Brainstorm Grid

Topic:

Alphabet Brainstorm Graphic Organizer

What is the “Big” topic?

A                                       N

B                                       O

C                                       P

D                                       Q

E                                       R

F                                       S

G                                      T

H                                       U

I                                        V

J                                       W

K                                       X

L                                       Y

M                                      Z

Can you use some of these words and phrases to write a brief summary paragraph about what you already know about this topic?

Adapted from: Raymond C. Jones, ReadingQuest.org

Anticipation Guides

Many of us who consider ourselves to be good readers don’t have to think about what we are doing before we get ready to read something new.  Our minds automatically switch into “anticipation” mode as we begin to preview or survey the reading material before us.  We, sometimes unconsciously, browse the book cover, excerpts from the reviews, the brief biography of the writer inside the back cover.  Sometimes we fall into a habit from our youth and check the number of pages and the size of the print.  We look at chapter titles in the table of contents, read main topic headings, and look at pictures.  Often we go to the chapter summaries before we actually begin to read in earnest.

The struggling reader does not have the strategic background and experience in possible ways to approach a written text to know to do this.  They will more than likely skip these valuable steps and jump into the “reading” of information seemingly foreign to them.  The challenge for teachers is to create activities that will help struggling readers anticipate the important ideas in the text and provide an initial “hook” to draw them into the reading.

The Anticipation Guide is designed to do exactly that: link new information to the student’s prior knowledge, activate the student’s interest and curiosity, and give instruction a sense of purpose.  Research shows that students with prior knowledge of particular topics remember more information than do students with little or no prior knowledge.  (Kujawa and Huske, 1995) 

The Anticipation Guide was initially developed by J. E. Readence in 1986, and is usually used with individual or small group instruction.  A variation of the study guide, it is designed to enhance comprehension by encouraging the student to make predictions about concepts and ideas to be covered in the text. This strategy can be used in almost any learning situation, in any content area.  Before reading a passage of text, students respond to several statements that challenge or support their preconceived ideas about key concepts in the reading.  Because student responses are based on thoughts and experiences of their own, they should be able to explain and defend their positions in both whole group and small group discussions.  This process arouses student interests, sets purposes for reading, and encourages higher order thinking – all important facets of before-reading motivation.

Although students are encouraged to make predictions about the major ideas in the text passage before they read, Anticipation Guides may also be used after reading to assess how well students understood the material and whether or not their misconceptions have been successfully dealt with.  This strategy works equally well with both print and non-print media such as films and lectures.

The teacher should:

1. Identify the major concepts and details in the reading in order to decide what information or ideas should be the focus of the students’ attention.
2. Consider student experiences or beliefs that the reading will challenge or support.  Think about what the student already knows or believes about the text they will be reading.
3. Create three to five statements that may challenge or change your students’ before-reading understanding of the material.  Include some statements that will bring out agreement between the student and the information in the passage.
4. Present the guide at the board, on an overhead projector, or on paper.  Leave space on the left for individual or small group response.  As each statement is discussed, students must justify their opinions.  You may want to have students fill out the guide individually first, and then defend their answers to others in small groups or in whole group discussion.
5. After reading, return the guide to determine whether students have changed their minds regarding any of the statements.  Have students locate sections in the text that supports their decisions.
6. Another option for response is to include a column for prediction about the author’s beliefs.  This may be completed after the students have finished reading the text and can lead into your discussion of the reading.

Notes: You might include an I’m not sure response for students who do not feel comfortable with a definite answer.  This will help determine the students’ prior knowledge.  Let the students know that the statements are designed to make them think about topics and to make them think about what they will be learning.

To use, adapt, or differentiate the Anticipation Guide:

·        Use them as preparation for the preliminary discussion on one or more ideas as a way to introduce the text

·        Develop one or more of them as writing prompts (journal, essay, persuasive piece).

·        Have students choose one (or more) and “track” them throughout the piece of literature.

·        Return to them at the end of the passage for clarification and closure.

·        Differentiate this activity to make it more inductive and challenging by simply giving students a list of the themes and have them generate a list of statements for an anticipation guide. (Brian Ladewig)

Sample Anticipation Guides

Prior Knowledge Topic Survey

   Directions:  Respond to each statement twice: once before reading the

   passage, and again after reading it.

   Write A if you agree with the statement

   Write D if you disagree with the statement.

Best Practices in Reading

The general consensus of Reading Specialists, reading teachers, and others regarding Best Practice is as follows:

Adapted from: http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/Reading/more_less.htm

Book Buddies

As many of us are aware, thanks to Oprah’s Book Club, reading is very much a social activity.  Good readers talk about what they are reading, share titles, and build relationships based upon books that are mutually enjoyed.  In middle school, where students are often assigned their reading, the link between reading books and building relationships is hardly ever made.  Unfortunately, at the middle level, relationships become all the more important.

A Book Buddies program that is part of a year long independent reading program can help restore reading in middle school to the status of a social act.  There are many possible variations: students from two different classes are buddied up when they choose the same book to read, parent/community volunteers may become buddies with a student reader, or linkages with university pre-service education students may be assigned as book buddies.  The latter option also benefits the pre-service teachers as a form of on-the-job training in preparation for a career with this special age group.

Keeping a dialog journal, one buddy writes entries to their book buddy based on the pages they have recently read.  The dialogue journal permits the buddies to document their conversation about what a book means and about its value.

The Turning Points Literacy Tools tell us that “when included in a strong literacy program where students have been prepared to choose just right books, where there has been plenty of good modeling of how to talk about books, and where students have been practicing using effective comprehension strategies, a book buddies program can be a successful way to engage students in reading and contribute toward a positive school-wide culture of friendship and understanding.”

Elements of a Book Buddies Program (from ReadingQuest.org)

• The teacher models how to write dialogue journal entries.
• Students incorporate reading comprehension strategies into dialogue journal entries: predicting, questioning, connecting.
• Students self select reading buddies by selecting an independent reading book.
• Teacher organizes a time schedule that includes in-class time for reading the book and for writing entries.  (Out-of-class reading time runs the risk of one buddy out-pacing the other.)
• Students are given clear expectations on what high quality correspondence looks like.
• Students understand that neither side of the dialogue will be evaluated in isolation.  Instead, the combined effort of both students (buddies) will receive a single evaluation.
• Book buddies are a result of cross classes partnering.  (Why write an entry if your buddy is in the same room?)
• Students are reassured that their written dialogue will focus on the text.  (Given the complex social dynamics of student peer groups, the dialogue journal can be a safe place for interaction between students who do not usually interact.)
• If necessary, students receive support at choosing just right book.  (For independent reading, students should read books where there is evidence of 90+% reading accuracy.)

For more information on Book Buddies Programs in action, see:

• Book Buddies Project

http://kwr.co-nect.net/bookbuddies.html

A comprehensive, standards-based project to complement “Book Buddy Biography” lesson.

• Stapleless Book Interactive

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/stapleless/index.html

ReadWriteThink student interactive

• About Book Buddies

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/reading/projects/bookbuddies/what.html

The Charlottesville City (Virginia) Schools Book Buddies Program

Conversations Across Time

Brian Ladewig of Greece, New York, reminds us that “One of the reasons people read great fiction and non-fiction is to provide a window into another’s experience and understanding of the world.”  It is so important to expose our students to a variety of perspectives and to engage them in dialogue that expands and deepens their thinking on issues, events, or people’s actions that many State Content Standards address the concept of “multiple perspectives.”  One way to expand our students’ higher order thinking is to provide multiple opportunities for them to compare and/or contrast different perspectives and opinions on a common topic.

Example:  Tom Loftus of Athens High School (New York) designed a multi-genre unit based on the essential question, “Is the world a fair and just place?”  After his students completed the reading of John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, Langston Hughes’ “Cora Unashamed,” and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, he had them complete the graphic organizer below as preparation for a small group discussion where the students would share their ideas and gather new ideas for their group.  Below is the template that he distributed for his students to record their notes for class the next day.  He asked the students to record how each of the characters cited would answer the essential question in the center.  The lower right quadrant is reserved for the student to answer the question from their own perspective, which helps them make text-to-text and text-to-self connections.  They had to cite evidence from the text(s) to support their assertions.

Four Square Perspectives Graphic Organizer

(from the Tools for Reading, Writing and Thinking page of www.greece.k12.ny.us)

Name                                                               Class                                                            

Date                                                                Block/Period                                                 

Different Perspectives on:

To use, adapt, or differentiate “Conversations Across Time”:

• Tailor the topic in the center block to your own needs including themes, essential questions, social issues, laws and customs, historical events, controversial statements, time periods, etc.
• Possibilities for the multiple perspectives might include historical figures, writers, well-known personalities, politicians, critics, reviewers, entertainers, etc.
• The 3-circle Venn Diagram can be adapted for a three-way “Conversation Across Time.”  The 3-circle Venn Diagram also encourages students to make connections or consider conversations between character perspectives (for example, What advice would Juana give to Juliet about fairness and justice in the world?)

Thanks to Brian Ladewig and Tom Loftus for their willingness to share this strategy.  For other excellent best-practice Strategies, see the Greece website at:  http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Reading/Reading%20Strategies/conversationsacrosstime.htm

Concept Map Book

Concept Maps are designed to show relationships between ideas.  Students are better able to understand big concepts by clarifying ideas and terms, and by dividing complex concepts or processes into smaller parts.  Students can use concept maps to relate, define, brainstorm, and sequence.  These foldable graphic organizers are the brainchild of Dinah Zike.  You will find more information on her foldables in the “F” section of this book.

Concept Map Book Instructions:

1. Fold a sheet of paper along the long or short axis, leaving a two-inch tab uncovered.
2. Fold in half or in thirds. (Additional tabs can be created by folding into more parts.)
3. Unfold and cut along the inside fold lines (                          ) to create tabs.
4. Have students identify the concept by writing key words or using pictures on the two-inch tab.  Draw arrows from the central idea to the tabs, where students record their notes underneath each tab.

Concept Map Book

Middle School Example

This example was provided by Dinah Zike at http://www.Dinah.com/egroup/middleandhigh4.htm

Creating Student-Centered Classrooms

Before young adolescent readers can effectively be reached, the creation of a student-centered classroom is essential.  A student-centered classroom is one where teaching is built upon student interest, background information, and experience and that encourages experience-based student-choice/involvement activities to support reading comprehension, student engagement and motivation, and the development of positive literacy identities.  This is of crucial importance to the content area teacher since the written word is the primary vehicle for the transmission of content knowledge.

The development of literate young adolescents thrives in classrooms where students and teachers regularly engage in interactive discussions and teachers use varied groupings to meet the needs of diverse learners.

How Can We Create Such Classrooms?

Research confirms that student investment in learning increases when power in the classroom is shared and hands-on experience is a key facet of learning.  Develop a classroom where students frequently participate in experience-based activities that offer choice and/or involvement.  Such activities encourage students to make connections between their lives and their schoolwork.

• Arrange for experiential learning opportunities, inviting students to get involved with activities that help others and address school and community, or regional issues.
• Let students help decide what they will read, how they will present learning, and how they will work.
• Have students research issues of interest to them and/or write about their experiences in reference to the topics at hand.

Facilitate rather than “lead” discussions.  Develop a classroom that is structured to welcome and respect different opinions and perspectives.  Skillful facilitation of discussions will create a truly supportive learning community.  Skillful facilitation of discussions is also an effective way to generate critical thinking, involve students in their own learning, scaffold individual assignments and assess comprehension.  This is the polar opposite of the teacher-led, question-and-answer sessions which characterize many classrooms.

Diverse learners thrive when permitted the luxury of working in varied and fluid groupings.  Such groupings also make possible the variety of learning experiences and practices that are effective in supporting early adolescent literacy development.  Developing a mixture of whole group, small group, paired and individual work activities throughout the week (and sometimes, throughout the day in a larger time block) is necessary because students are multi-faceted as learners and because literacy development is so complex.  Teachers need to change grouping strategies to match the needs of diverse learners and the objectives of diverse tasks.  This allows for a variety of working arrangements over the course of each week.  Configurations that allow for heterogeneous and homogeneous groups give teachers ample time to interact with those students who need additional support and to incorporate structured and unstructured literacy development (reading, writing, speaking, and listening).

Adapted from: http://knowledgeloom.org (a resource developed and managed by The Education Alliance at Brown University.)  Retrieved 7/15/05.

Cubing

Cubing is not a new idea but can be adapted to a multitude of purposes.  Originally designed as a writing strategy to explore topics or subjects from a variety of angles, cubing uses a concrete visual of a cube to consider these multiple dimensions.

Cubing encourages students to look at information in different ways and to use different ways of thinking – hopefully, critical thinking.  The information that comes from the different ways of looking at the material can be used to complete descriptive writing assignments that can begin with short paragraphs and evolve into longer pieces of writing.

It is best to introduce the activity with a familiar topic, going through each of the steps to model their application to that particular topic.  Then, students can work individually or in small groups to go through each side of the cube.

The Six Sides of the Cube

1. Describe it - including color, shape, size (if applicable) – How would you describe the issue/topic.
2. Compare it – what it is similar to or different from – “It’s sort of like …”
3. Associate it – what it makes you think of – How does the topic connect to other issues/subjects?
4. Analyze it – tell how it is made or what it is composed of – How would you break the problem/issue into smaller parts?
5. Apply it – tell how it can be used – How does it help you understand other issues/topics?
6. Argue for/against it – take a stand and support it – “I am for this because/This woks because/I agree because…”

Adapted from: Literacy & Learning: Reading in Content Areas

Directed Reading-Thinking Activity

The directed Reading-Thinking Activity (commonly known as DRTA) focuses on open-ended questions about the reading experience.  This activity is designed to make students aware of their own interpretive actions during reading.   Students are encouraged to think as they read and to make predictions and check their accuracy.

Three steps to Building a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity:

Step 1.  Making predictions from title, subheadings, illustrations, captions, sidebars, and other text clues

ü      Write the title of the story or text selection on the chalkboard or overhead projector, and ask students to predict the content or perspective of the story (text passage).  More importantly, ask them to explain how they reached these conclusions.

ü      Give each student time to consider the question and make predictions.

ü      All predictions should be accepted (as in a brainstorm activity), and the teacher should not make any prediction during this discussion period..

Step 2.  Reading the material

ü      Pick a reasonable “break point” in the reading selection and have them read up to this point.  Challenge students to evaluate their predictions to explain why and offer specific evidence/reasons for the change.

Step 3. Repeat the process in steps 1 and 2 throughout all the logical “break points” in the text until the selection is completed.

From:

Jennings, C. & Shepherd, J. (1998). Literacy and the key learning areas: successful classroom strategies.  Eleanor Curtain Publishing.

Lenski, Susan D., Wham, Mary Ann, & Johns, Jerry L. (1999).  Reading and learning strategies for middle and high school students. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Double Entry Journal

Most best-practice strategies for literacy are focused on the challenging task of getting students to actively interact with a passage of text.  Students must learn to go beyond gliding over the text, calling words, but making only limited bits of meaning.  They need to be able to manipulate the text, take it apart, play with it, look for its heart, chunk it into meaningful bits, and then handle each bit.

The Double Entry Journal is one way to help students to do those very things.  It helps students to slow down and pay attention when they read.  Students need to learn that the fastest readers are not always the best readers.  Double Entry Journals can help teach students the critical art of close reading.

Different Ways to Keep a Double Entry Journal

(Examples listed in the graphic are simply options for ways to set up the journal)

Adapted from: Turning Points: Transforming Middle Schools

Discussion Notes

Discussion notes, developed by Jim Burke, is a simple graphic organizer that helps students prepare to participate in a discussion about a text.  The graphic organizer includes prompting questions in the margin that help guide student thinking.

Directions for a Discussion to Respond to the Text

Complete the following steps:

1.  Generate some questions about the text you plan to read; jot down or brainstorm ideas that come to mind from previous readings or your own experience.

2.  Discuss these ideas with your group.  Add any new ideas to your notes as you listen to others or share your ideas.

3.  Set a purpose for your reading: This might be a question you want to answer by the time you finish reading.

4.  Preview the text to familiarize yourself with it; look for words or other content that might cause you trouble.

5. Read the text, taking notes as you go.  These notes should help you prepare to contribute to or lead the discussion about this text when you return to class.  Consider using some of these questions:

• What questions come to mind while you read or after you finish?
• What does the text make you wonder about?
• What do you want to discuss?
• What did you think about while you read?
• Did your thoughts or feelings about this subject change while you read?
• How might a person with a different perspective respond to this text?
• What point is the author trying to make?
• What is the author’s purpose?
• What surprises you?
• What do you think of the author’s writing style?

Adapted from Jim Burke, http://www.englishcompanion.com

Definition Map

The definition map is a graphic organizer that comes in many varieties.  All versions, however, recognize that it is not enough to know how a word is defined in a dictionary sense.  *Consider what happens with the following word that gives many students reading To Kill a Mockingbird may not have encountered before:

            Ecclesiastical

            Definition:

                        “of or related to a church”

            Example of Appropriate Use In a Sentence:

The minister’s ecclesiastical robes danced in echo to his wild gestures from the pulpit.

            Example of a Sentence Written by a Student:

Church members are reminded to park in the ecclesiastical parking lot, rather than in the shopping center across the street.

Besides the fact that “ecclesiastical” is probably not central to students’ understanding of the themes of To Kill a Mockingbird, it remains that the definition they were given is too one-dimensional.  They have not experienced its richness of meaning, nor the shades of meaning that help us distinguish words more precisely from one another.  The best way for students to comprehend a new vocabulary term is for them to experience it.  A definition map helps broaden their experience of new words.

* The example given comes from ReadingQuest.org (a web site from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, designed for social studies, but easily applicable to all content areas.)

Definition Map

Definition Map

(Adapted from the Frayer Model)

E-Mentoring is a powerful collaborative tool for strengthening student skill and confidence in writing.  Developed by a team of educators at Farnsley Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana University Southeast, in New Albany Indiana, E-Mentoring involves a variety of professional educators as well as large numbers of seventh grade writers.

With the advent of e-mail accounts for all students at Farnsley Middle, teachers asked themselves, “ How can e-mail be used to enhance what is already taking place in the curriculum?”  At about the same time, the Language Arts Department at Farnsley was brainstorming strategies that might help their students become better writers.  After a conversation between Chris Burba and Debbie Schweitzer, a possible solution to both challenges was born.  Chris, a seventh grade language arts teacher, and Debbie, a school technology coordinator (STC), decided to embark on a mission to establish an electronic mentoring program with a nearby university’s teacher preparation program.

Since Kentucky’s state assessment includes a demanding writing portfolio for children at the seventh grade level, Chris and his principal became excited about the prospect of this new type of mentoring to support young writers.  Why?  Because some of the inherent complications of regular conferencing – namely coordinating time and finding space for the collaborative efforts – would be taken care of via cyberspace.  Indeed, E-Mentoring affords everyone involved the opportunity to correspond at a convenient time and space of their own.

The next aspect the team had to consider was who could become involved with this project.  There were several qualities the Farnsley teachers considered essential.  The mentors would need to:

1. know about supporting young adolescent writers in positive and productive ways.
2. have easy access to e-mail accounts of their own.
3. understand the developmental needs of the young adolescent.

Because they would prosper from this collaborative project as much as the middle school students, pre-service language arts teachers were the natural choice.  Through her affiliation with Indiana University Southeast, Debbie was able to make contact with and propose the idea to Dr. Susan Ridout, professor of education.  Dr. Ridout agreed to pilot this collaborative project during the following fall semester of 2001.

With the full support and encouragement of the principal, the seventh grade language arts teacher, the school technology coordinator, and the university professor met to agree on a framework.  They decided to conduct two face-to-face sessions per semester and several strategically scheduled e-mentoring transactions.  These e-mail connections provided constructive feedback to their young writers throughout the writing process.

Since the pilot project was so successful, the project has continued during subsequent semesters.  While the model changes slightly from one semester to the next, the framework usually looks similar to the example which follows:

At the beginning of every semester, the principal releases Chris and Debbie to meet the teacher education mentors and present the ethical marking of student writing and ethical and legal uses of technology in the college class.  The Farnsley team does not want pre-service teachers to be faced with ethics allegations.  They discuss the exact specifications for a business-type e-mail and the requirements regarding attaching pieces of student writing.  Most recently, however, the electronic medium has shifted from e-mail to a controlled online environment called JCPS (Jefferson County Public Schools) Online, much like Blackboard or Oncourse, giving parents a better sense of security.  Additionally, the Farnsley Team provides a small amount of support in the area of writing instruction and student conferencing tips.

The IUS pre-service teachers continue their preparation for working with middle schoolers as Dr. Ridout schedules much of her writing methods instruction in sync with the project calendar.  Some of the topics the pre-service teachers study prior to engaging in the E-Mentoring are the writing process, traits of good writing, how to create writing mini-lessons, and various revision strategies.

The success of the project provided the impetus for the principal to purchase more than seventy handheld wireless PCs.  These mini-computers connect to the internet and are equipped with PocketWordÓ.  While the machines can be used for a number of purposes on an interdisciplinary team, they provide the vehicle for distance learning and continued E-Mentoring at Farnsley Middle School.

The Farnsley/IUS E-Mentoring Team States,

            “We know this project has a major impact on seventh graders’ lives when we see tears falling from their eyes at the end of a semester.  The pre-service teachers are positive role models for the middle schoolers and they form a powerful connection almost immediately.  The interactions are positive and motivating!  Sadly enough, this type of relationship with an adult is somewhat foreign to our rather large at-risk population.  It is rewarding to observe the seventh graders striving to please their E-Mentors as they post a message and eagerly wait for a reply.  These same young adolescents even verbalize their appreciation for the conferencing help without being reminded.  Perhaps most telling, however, is the large number of young writers every year who attribute their success to their E-Mentors in the letter to the portfolio reviewer, an entry designed to allow students to reflect on their growth as writers.”

Note:  The E-Mentoring Project has caught the attention of a number of organizations, publications, and educational leaders.  The Farnsley/IUS Team has presented the “How To” and educational practice behind the project as part of the keynote address at the Kentucky Teaching and Learning (KTLC) Conference in March 2002 and the Indiana State Reading Association (ISRA) Conference in 2003.  Debbie Schweitzer shared the project in Seattle, Washington during the summer of 2003 when she presented at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), the world’s largest educational technology conference for teachers and technology coordinators.  Marilyn Milloy told the Team’s story to thousands of teachers across the country in a January 2003 article entitled “You’ve Got Mail” that appeared in NEA Today.  For the full text of the article, visit the web at http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0301/infocus.html

Everyday Literature

School reading is not always “everyday”, real world reading.  Unfortunately, little of the reading we present to students each day can be traced back to their “everyday” world.  These “everyday” texts can be valuable teacher resources for literacy efforts, regardless of the content area we may teach.  Including these texts in our curriculum gives us material with which we can deliver powerful lessons in reading and writing.

When students read these texts closely, they can reach new understandings about how pieces of print material can affect our attitudes about race, gender, age, class, etc.  And producing their own “everyday” writing can help students become aware of the many choices and decisions writers faces as they do their work.

The greatest benefit, however, of using “everyday writing as an integral part of our instructional practice, is that it serves as a reminder to students that reading and writing are not just classroom activities, but are a vital activity of each citizen in a democratic society.

Examples of “Everyday” Literature include:

Editorials                    lost and found notices                       real estate advertisements

Idioms                         cartoons                                             excuse notes

Book reviews             commercials                                      invitations

Recipes                      diaries                                                            graffiti

Songs                         instructions                                         ransom notes

Report cards              logs                                                     interviews

Tattoos                       police reports                                    headlines

E-mail                         memos                                               lab reports

Bumper stickers        poems                                                wills

“To do” lists                scripts                                                 jokes

horoscopes                greeting cards                                   board games

sermons                     graduation announcements laws

Adapted from: Turning Points: Transforming Middle Schools
Expected Outcome Clustering

Closely related to the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity, the Expected Outcome Cluster is a pre-reading strategy which affords the student an opportunity to build the text before they read it.

The procedure is quite simple:

1. Students preview material by reading the first few paragraphs of a selection, or by reading the first few sentences of each section.
2. Ask students what questions they think the selection will answer.
3. Group related questions on the chalkboard or overhead.  Encourage students to tell what prompted them too ask their question.
4. After the questions have been asked and grouped, the class labels the groups (clusters) of questions.  The students will see major topics begin to emerge from the reading.
5. If there is important information the students have missed, fill this in on the expected Outcome Cluster and call the students’ attention to it.
6. Once the expected Outcome Cluster is completed, students read the answers to the questions they have asked.
7. Students explain which questions were answered, which were not, and why not.

Adapted from: http://www.litandlearn.lpb.org/strategies.htm

Flipbook Previews

Many times our students, especially special needs students, are overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of textbook material they are presented with each day.  Devising methods of chunking, or reducing, the perceived magnitude of the task is an ongoing challenge for thoughtful teachers.  The Flipbook Preview is one way of combining a three-dimensional graphic organizer with a preview strategy of the teacher’s choice (SQ3R, PQRST, etc) to assist students in the digestion of text material.  This device slows down the reader and helps him/her decide what is worth remembering.

Students enjoy the hands on nature of folding three sheets of copy paper (colored if available), and creating a flipbook by placing two staples at the fold.

Even middle school students like to color and decorate the cover to reflect the topic.

The teacher should, of course, model the preview strategy of their choice, showing how to survey pictures, captions, sidebars, maps, subtitles, bold print, and other text features.  The students then help create the title page of the flipbook by deciding what the assigned portion of text is going to be about.  Further they label each page tab with labels that correspond to the featured preview strategy.  They record notes as they read, jotting down briefly their most important information under the appropriate tab.

Finally, when they have finished reading and taking notes, students should retell (summarize) using some sort of sentence stem like, “In this section I read about……. I learned that……….”

A sample Flipbook Preview, provided by Turning Points: Transforming Middle Schools, follows:

Sample Flipbook Preview

Foldables

Dinah Zike is noted for inventing and developing three-dimensional educational manipulatives, also called graphic organizers, that …

ü      Quickly organize, display and arrange data making it easier for students to grasp concepts, theories, processes, facts, and ideas, or to sequence events as outlined in the content standards.

ü      Result in student-made study guides that are compiled as students listen or read for main ideas, or conduct research.

ü      Provide a multitude of creative formats in which students can present projects, research, experiment results, and inquiry based reports instead of typical poster board or science fair formats.

ü      Replace teacher-generated writing or photocopied sheets with student generated print.

ü      Incorporate such skills as comparing and contrasting, cause and effect, and similarities and differences into daily work and long-term projects. 

ü      Continue to immerse students in previously learned vocabulary, concepts, generalizations, ideas, theories, etc. providing them with a strong foundation upon which they can build with newly learned knowledge, observations, and concepts.

ü      Allow students to make their own journals for recording qualitative and quantitative observations.

ü      Can be used as alternative assessment tools by teachers to evaluate student progress or by students to evaluate their own progress.

ü      Integrate language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science.  Note: Dinah has developed a publishing center that encourages the use of timelines, maps, graphs, tables, charts, and measurement tools (such as beakers, rain gauges, and thermometers) to be incorporated into student communication – written, oral, and research-based computer projects.

ü      Provide a sense of “ownership” or investiture in the curriculum.

Standard two-dimensional Venn Diagram

Sample Foldable Venn Diagram

Instructions:

1. Fold a piece of paper in half like a hotdog bun.

2.  With the paper horizontal, fold the right edge toward the center, trying to cover    one-half of the paper.

3.  Fold the left side over the right and crease to form three tabs.

4.  Draw two overlapping circles on the front.

The student does all the labeling and decorating of the foldable.  Title and categories are printed on the cover, and notes are recorded inside the foldable.   The center third of the foldable allows more adequate space for recording shared characteristics than does a standard Venn Diagram.  And, since the student is doing all the work rather than the teacher, the student is more engaged and takes greater ownership of the learning.

For a close look at a variety of “foldable ideas, visit Dinah’s web site at http://www.dinah.com

Graphic Organizers

Research estimates that anywhere from eighty-five to ninety-five percent of the content addressed in Social Studies emerges from the textbook.  Science is not far behind.   Working in curriculum areas driven by content coverage, unlike some others, Social Studies and Science teachers face a particular challenge in helping students access and make sense of content.

But the text book, while important, is not he only source of information for students.  Newspapers, supplemental handouts, atlases, encyclopedias, guest speakers, videos and film, field trips, and increasingly the World Wide Web provide the information needed for students to understand, make sense of, and organize the ideas and key concepts of academic content.

It isn’t always easy to make a connection between the local, state, and national content standards for content areas, necessary content skills, and the daily sequence of activities in a middle school classroom.  The key to bringing all those pieces together may lie in having a way to think about the process of bringing students in contact with the content.

The rationale for the use of Graphic Organizers to assist that process comes directly from literacy research: The keys to comprehension are:

ü      The activation of prior or background knowledge

ü      Active engagement in the content

ü      Metacognition

In essence, these three categories cover the before, during, and after of content reading.

Background Knowledge and Prior Knowledge

What students will understand about new content and concepts is heavily dependent upon the knowledge they possess prior to encountering the new information.  Background knowledge refers to what is already known by the student which needs to be activated to get him/her ready for encountering the new ideas.  This is the process of reminding students of what they already know and using it as a foundation for the purposes being set for the upcoming lesson.  Considering what students already know also entails considering what they may know, and therefore the preparation that may need to occur before attacking the new information.  For instance, there may be vocabulary that is key to understanding a new concept or being able to comprehend an upcoming text selection.  Students’ comprehension can be enhanced if they are introduced to the vocabulary before they encounter it cold.

Active Engagement

All too often, students are passive receptors of content.  They listen to a lecture, they watch a video, they read a chapter or a section of a text.  Active engagement focuses on what students are doing while  coming into contact with  the content: are they actively seeking to construct meaning?  Are they taking notes?  Completing a chart?  Supporting a predetermined argument?  Active versus passive learning is concerned with what students are doing as they read.

Metacognition

Metacognition focuses on what happens after reading.  Metacognition (“thinking about our thinking”) relates to an awareness of one’s own learning.  It is the reflective thinking that follows reading that asks, “Did I get it?”  “How do I know?” Metacognitive students know what to do when they don’t know what to do.  This is the key component of independence as a learner. (adapted from: ReadingQuest.org)

A multitude of wonderful Graphic Organizers is available online.   Simple do a search for “graphic organizers” and you will be richly rewarded.

History Frames/Story Maps

The History Frame, developed by Raymond Jones at ReadingQuest.org, is one strategy that is a natural for history or Social Studies teacher because students are already trained to use them.  They have been using the story maps in language arts for years.  When looking at stories and novels, students are asked to focus on the “elements” of story: setting, characters, plot, and theme, among others.

When we look at historical events, we are interested in the same things:

ü      Where and when did the event take place?

ü      Who was involved?

ü      What was the problem or goal that set events in motion?

ü      What were the key events?

ü      How was it resolved?

ü      And, for theme, so what? What’s the universal truth, the reason this matters?

How do these Frames work?

1.      Characters:  Who were the people who were involved in this?  Which ones played major roles, and which ones were minor?

2.      Setting: Where and when did this event take place?  Over what period of time?

3.      Plot: This section is broken into three parts:

ü      Problem/Goal:  What set the events in motion?  What problem arose, or what were the key players after?

ü      Events/Episodes:  This is to get students to focus on summarizing.  They focus on the key steps or events that that capture the progress of the situation.

ü      Resolution/Outcome:  How was the problem solved?  Was the goal attained?

     4.  Theme: Think of this as the “so what” of a history frame.  You might think of it as the universal truth or revelation, the larger meaning or importance, the moral, the “what we’ve learned from this” and so on.  You may wish to additionally look at this from two levels: a universal truth, and a personal truth (the way a student relates the event to his/her own life).

Ideas for cross-disciplinary applications: From Raymond Jones, ReadingQuest.org

The History Frame: Sample Template

Inquiry Chart

Inquiry Charts were developed by James V. Hoffman, based on the work of McKenzie, Ogle, and others.  I-Charts offer a planned framework for examining critical questions by integrating what is already known or thought about the topic with additional information found in several sources.

On a given topic, there are several questions to explore.  These are found at the top of each individual column.  The rows are for recording, in summary form, the information you think you already know and the key ideas pulled from several different sources of information.  The final row gives you a chance to pull together the ideas into a general summary.  It’s at this time you also try to resolve competing ideas found in the separate sources or, even better, develop new questions to explore based on any conflicting or incomplete information.

The Inquiry Chart that appears on the next page is merely a suggestion.  You and your students can create for yourselves an I-Chart to help you analyze several sources of information.  You should feel free to modify the I-Chart, such as including a bottom row to list new questions.

From: Raymond Jones, ReadingQuest.org

Sample Inquiry Chart

Interactive Notebooks

The Interactive Notebook which began as a strategy in Addison Wesley’s program, History Alive!, is a flexible and adaptable strategy which may be used before, during, and after reading.  It encourages the student to condense or summarize ideas from one or more text, distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information, compare/contrast information from one or more texts, and make text-to-text, text-to-self, and/or text to world connections.

Interactive Notebooks are simple and easy for the student to use.  In general, a spiral notebook (or three-ring binder) are used to record information for the class, regardless of subject area.  Each pair of pages, left and right, are designated for specific purposes.  The right side is used to record notes on a mini-lesson, lecture, reading, class discussion, etc.  The left side of the notebook is used exclusively for the purpose of the student’s individual interaction with the information on the right page.  This interaction is not directed by the teacher in any way other than a list of possible options for the various methods from which the student may want to choose.  These interactions may be done at the end of class as a closure activity or as a great way to engage students in a homework assignment that is individualized and practical.

What follows is a partial list of some of these options, however the list may be added to as teacher and students find other possibilities.

Interactive Notebook

Adapted from:

http:// www.greece.k12.ny.us//instruction/ela/6

12/Reading/Reading%20Strategies/interactivenotebook.htm

Jigsaw

The Jigsaw strategy, which has been in use for at least thirty years, is an especially useful form of cooperative learning activity that helps a class digest textbook materials that are full of information and are not user-friendly to the average student reader.  It provides scaffolding for struggling readers and engages all students.  Just like a jigsaw puzzle, each piece – each student’s part – is essential for the completion and the full understanding of the task.  If each student’s part is essential, therefore, each student is essential; and that is precisely what makes this strategy so effective.

Its structure is quite simple: the students in a social studies class for, example, are divided into small groups of four or five students each.  (Be very intentional in your group assignments, making sure each group reflects the diversity of the class as a whole – in terms of gender, ethnicity, race, ability, Learning Disabilities, etc.).  Each person in the group counts off – one, two, three, four, five.  If you have six small groups, you will have six of each number.  All the number one’s are assigned to read the first segment of text (perhaps pages 62-64) and are responsible to make sure each number one knows the material well enough to go back and teach it to his/her own small group. 

For a thorough exploration of a jigsaw classroom, visit http://www.jigsaw.org

Graphically, the Jigsaw might look like the following:

Numbered Job Assignments:

§      All number ones read pages 62-64

§      All number twos read page 65

§      All number threes read page 66

§      All number fours read pages 67-68

§      All number fives read page 69     

Job Alikes (students with the same number)

Readers get together in “job alike” groups to compare notes and ideas and to become experts on their portion of the text.  They should determine what is important, the main idea, a clear summary.  

Assembling the Reading (synthesis)

Small groups of readers (numbers one through five) meet to share notes and summaries.  Small groups are each given a task which requires the application of all pieces of information gathered from each passage expert (participant).

Jot-Charting (Matrix)

Jot-Charting is a simple use of a matrix to provide students with a user-friendly outlining tool for organizing related information.  The Jot-Chart is especially effective for visualizing information regarding ideas, people, events, and processes.

The Jot-Chart organizes bits of information in a two-dimensional matrix with topics or items recorded horizontally and specific questions or characteristics recorded vertically.  This easy tool helps students gather and synthesize information from data-rich reading sections, regardless of content area.

Four Simple Steps:

1. Create a Jot-Chart on the chalkboard or on an overhead transparency, or produce a print copy for each student.  The Jot-Chart/Matrix should be structured as follows:

ü      Main ideas/categories/items for description or analysis are listed across the top of the Jot-Chart.

ü      Question/characteristics of the main ideas/categories/items are listed down the left side of the Jot-Chart

2. Discuss the purpose of the chart with students before the reading assignment.  Give an example of a completed chart to help clarify its function.
3. Have students read the selection and complete the Jot-Chart.
4. Discuss the students’ findings and complete the results into a group

           Jot-Chart.  Stress the relationships between the data in the chart.

Sample Jot-Chart

Sample from: http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/jot.htm

Journaling

Journaling is one of many “writing-to-learn” strategies which promote active learning in every content area..  While writing-to-learn can help develop a student’s ability to communicate, the primary purpose of this strategy is not to improve the quality of writing but to improve the quality of thinking and learning process.  Because writing involves an active process of individual discovery, integrating brief writing activities into any content class can prevent students from being passive.  An additional benefit is that each time a student writes, he/she is individualizing instruction because writing, even if only done for four or five minutes, creates ideas, observations and emotions.

Journaling, as a form of writing, helps students understand what they are reading, think about the content, and reflect upon what they do not yet know or understand.  A hidden benefit is that it allows the teacher to see what the student does or does not understand.  The journal is an effective way to assess student learning after a lesson, as well as a great way to provide 0ne-on-one feedback for each student.

Tips for Implementation:

Provide Structure – Simply asking students to “write down what you’ve learned today” won’t work.  An unstructured journal assignment leaves the student felling frustrated and abandoned.

Examples:

(Math) Explain briefly how you would figure the sales price of a $20 pair of jeans with a 15% discount (used after a percentage lesson).

(World Civilizations) What effect did the environment have on where early people settled and the homes they built?

(Civics) What are the three branches of government and which is your favorite?  Explain your reasons.

Although each of these could lend themselves to a lengthy response, they can also be answered in a brief paragraph.  Select appropriate verbs from Bloom’s taxonomy to help you develop questions which go deeper than simple recall of knowledge.  With knowledge level questions you can see what students might have learned, but you cannot assess how deeply they may have learned it.

Have Expectations – Students need to know what you expect of them.  As someone has said, “Students can hit any target they can see!”  Plan out your expectations in detail and include them in your syllabus or an early communication to parents.  Think about the following questions as you plan”

ü      What is your goal for the journal each day?  What is the purpose?

ü      How much do you expect students to write?

ü      What kind of grade will they receive for their journal?

ü      What do you expect for spelling, grammar, etc.?

Sample Expectations – I expect my students to write at least three sentences each day.  Their journal entry must stay on topic and answer the prompt.  I expect complete sentences and correct spelling.  The journal is a way for me to check student learning each day and is also a way for me to talk with each student individually.  If the student has something to say to me that they don’t want to say out loud, they may write it in their journal AFTER they answer the prompt, OR before class begins the next day.  Students are given a participation grade each week for their journal.  They are also given a class assignment grade based on their answers.

Have a Procedure – It is important that you establish a journaling procedure for your students.  They need to know exactly what to do for this type of assignment.

            Example:

ü      Put away all materials.

ü      Clean the area around your desk.

ü      Take out your journal.

ü      Write a journal entry silently until class is dismissed.

ü      You must get your journal from the table before class starts each day.

Journals may also be a way to check for absences.  Any journals left on the table are those of absent students.  This also becomes helpful with tardies.

Grading – Don’t panic about grading the journals every day with a specific number or percentage grade.  The participation grade does not need to be more than a Ö, Ö+, Ö-, or a “0”.  It is quick to give out and easy to record.  However, consistent usage of a system such as this does show your students that you are reading their journal and that they are being held accountable.  At the end of each week, review their journal entries as a whole and determine a letter grade at that time, as needed.  Sometimes you record grades in the book, sometimes you don’t.  This keeps students alert because they never know when the journal will affect their overall grade.

The middle school student really wants to hear what you have to say.  They look for your feedback each day.  Be sure that you have one or two things to say to each student in their journal.  It doesn’t have to be much, but at least once each week be sure that you offer detailed comments in their journal.  Use this as one-on-one time.  Have you noticed something in particular about one student?  Take some time to write them a note to ask about the situation, or just let them know that you are available to talk if they need it.  The journal can serve more than just one purpose, and students really respond to the teachers who take time to learn more about them as a person.

Keep a Good Attitude – Your attitude really affects whether something seems like drudgery or not.  Be aware of how you view the journal as part of your class.  Remember that when students journal, they are taking a risk.  If you approach reading and grading journals with a good attitude,  you are less likely to accidentally squash student improvements by being careless.  Just be mindful that you hold the thoughts of your students iin your hands.

Adapted from: http://www.inspiringteachers.com/tips/journaling/index.html

K.I.M. Strategy for Vocabulary and New Ideas

Write a key term or key idea (K) in the left column, the information (I) that goes along with it in the center column, and draw a picture of the term or idea, a memory clue (M), in the right column.

The key term or idea may be a new vocabulary word or a newly introduced concept.  The information may be a definition or it may be a more technical explanation of the concept.  The memory clue is a way for students to fully integrate the meaning of the key idea into their memories.  By making a simple sketch that explains the key idea, students synthesize and interpret the new information, making it their own.  Then, students can reference their drawinjgs to easily remember new key ideas.