Triangle Talk

I attended a C.L.A.S.S. training session last week, and picked up a few fun tricks! First, for those of you who are unfamiliar with C.L.A.S.S., the acronym stands for Connected Learning Assures Successful Students. Their website describes their philosophy saying: “The C.L.A.S.S. philosophy is grounded in the belief that best teaching practices are based from the understanding of the human brain; a systemic understanding of human beings; and the interactions among human beings and the environment.”

Every C.L.A.S.S. training that I’ve attended has provided several fun ideas, but the best part is that they are easily implemented into the classroom the very next day! You don’t have to spend hours of planning to implement these strategies, you just plug them right in to the things you do every day.

Triangle Talk is a strategy that can be used in reading groups or in whole group reading sessions, and can be easily modified to meet any topic or content that you are teaching. All you need is half a piece of paper (the long way) and a plan. You begin by folding the paper into three even sections and labeling each section with one of the focuses of the lessons. My example shows new information/questions/favorite fact. Other options could include beginning/middle/end, three important facts, or KWL. After you read and write, you tape the triangle together to create the finished product.