What do you students think about a topic before reading? Do their ideas change after reading? Learn about how anticipation guides can support your students’ changing opinions and ideas.
How do your students keep track of what they are learning as they work in small groups? The CSR learning strategy captures students’ learning before, during, and after reading. CSR learning logs are also helpful as study guides and anchors for follow-up activities.
How are two or more concepts or words connected? Concept maps make the web of connections between words and ideas come into focus by visually representing their relationship with one another. Better yet, they are easy to use across disciplines as a way to organizing students’ growing knowledge.
What’s a fun way to engage students of all ages in critically thinking about vocabulary and new concepts? Concept sorts ask students to think about what they know as they compare and contrast it to new information. They are a fun and interactive way to introduce and review vocabulary and concepts across disciplines.
A DRTA approach makes readers stop, think, and respond orally or in written responses as they move through text. It’s a fun way to make reading interactive while building students’ awareness of their understanding while reading.
Are you looking for a low-key way to assess what students have learned? Exit slips give you insight into how students are making sense of what they are learning and where you might need to adjust your instruction.
The Frayer Model is a simple approach to building students’ vocabulary and conceptual knowledge. It can be used across content areas/disciplines, builds students’ critical thinking skills, and can expand their word knowledge.
The Jigsaw strategy divides large amounts of text into manageable chunks that students work collaboratively to understand and explain to their classmates. It’s interactive, purposeful (e.g. read to become an expert), promotes student-led discussions, and is a fun way to learn!
