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.

Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA)

This summer I designed and ran a workshop focusing on nonfiction comprehension. The Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is one of the strategies I taught within the workshop. Below, you’ll find the explanation I shared. In researching this method, I used the following resources:
Reading Rockets (an article about DRTA)
Instructional Reading Strategy: DR-TA (Directed Reading-Thinking Activity)
Directed Reading Thinking Activity

What is it?
DRTA is a comprehension strategy that guides students in asking questions about a text, making predictions, and then reading to confirm or refute their predictions. The DRTA process encourages students to be active and thoughtful readers, which enhances their comprehension. The DRTA model actually consists of three parts: D – Direct, R – Read, and T – Think. The process of those three combine to make the A – Activity. This strategy could actually work with either fiction or nonfiction texts, but for today’s purposes, we’ll be focusing on the nonfiction. The process is the same for either type of text, but the questions you ask will be different.

How do I use it?
There are six simple steps to follow when you’re planning the DRTA process.
1. Choose a text. First, read the text you’ve chosen and mark specific places for your students to pause during the reading process.
2. Activate prior knowledge. Begin this step by introducing the text or the topic to the students. Then, have them brainstorm a list of ideas that come to mind in relation to the title or topic. While they throw out ideas, you should record them on chart paper, the chalk board, or the overhead. This step is important because students will be making predictions about what they will read about in the text. Activating their prior knowledge on the topic will allow them to make predictions about what might be included in the text.
3. Have students make predictions about what they will read. Guide them to use all of the clues they have available to them including: the index, the table of contents, pictures, charts, tables, the cover, etc. When students make their predictions, ask them to explain how they came up with their predictions. Don’t accept “I don’t know” as a response.
4. Have students read a section of the text. Before the students start reading, point out the predetermined stopping points, which should lend themselves to making predictions. In expository texts, good stopping points are often right after a new heading or subheading in the text.
Reading the text can be done in a variety of ways. You can have volunteers read aloud, you can have students read silently to themselves, partner read, or even read aloud for you in a small guided reading situation. If the students are reading silently, it is especially important that you indicate where they should stop reading.
5. At each stopping point, have students confirm or revise their prior predictions, and make new predictions. During this process, encourage them to explain what in the text is causing them to confirm and/or revise prior predictions, and what is causing them to make the new predictions they are making. You can also discuss different possible predictions, since it is very likely that your students will have different ideas.
6. Continue steps 4 and 5 until the selection is finished.

Why should I use it?
DRTA encourages students to be active and thoughtful readers. It activates students' prior knowledge and encourages them to connect new learning to that prior knowledge. DRTA teaches students to make predictions and to monitor their understanding of the text as they're reading - all of which helps strengthen the students’ reading and critical thinking skills.

Inquiry Unit Progress

Inquiry Project Progress as of July 2, 2010

A few days ago, I posted my guiding question, my standards, and an explanation of my final project. Then, in doing more research, I found that I had been referencing the old Indiana standards, not the new ones. In this post, you will find:
* My revised Social Studies standards
* My essential understandings
* A few BDA strategies/activities I’d like to try

Revised Social Studies standards:
5.1.1 Identify and describe early cultures and settlements that existed in North America prior to contact with Europeans. (Core Standard)
Example: The Anasazi and Mississippian culture at Cahokia
5.1.2 Examine accounts of early European explorations of North America including major land and water routes, reasons for exploration and the impact the exploration had. (Core Standard)
Example: The Viking explorations and settlements in Greenland and North America; Spanish expeditions by Christopher Columbus, Hernando Cortes, Hernando de Soto and Francisco Vasquez de Coronado; expeditions by French explorers Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain; and expeditions for England and Holland by explorers Henry Cabot, Henry Hudson and John White
5.1.3 Identify and compare historic Indian groups of the West, Southwest, Northwest, Arctic and sub-Arctic, Great Plains, and Eastern Woodlands regions at the beginning of European exploration in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. (Core Standard)
Example: Compare styles of housing, settlement patterns, sources of food and clothing, customs and oral traditions, political and economic organization, and types and uses of technology.
5.1.4 Locate and compare the origins, physical structure and social structure of early Spanish, French and British settlements. (Core Standard)
Example: St. Augustine, Roanoke Island, Santa Fe and Jamestown

Guiding Question: Who really found America?
Enduring Understandings: At the end of this inquiry unit, I would like for my students to understand that there were a number of cultures involved in the formation of our country. They will understand that a number of Native American groups were here long before European explorers began to “claim” land. They will also understand that a number of European countries had explorers in the “New World.” Because we will be looking at these cultures during our study, I would also like for students to begin thinking about how these different cultures contributed to an American culture (but that will be more of a year long exploration, since they will need to study later history to see the connections).

BDA (Before, During, & After) Activities:
While exploring this week’s readings, I found a number of activities that appealed to me. I found myself thinking of lessons and activities that would fit different BDA strategies, and have started a list to keep on my desk throughout the year. While I found a number of strategies that I liked, I don’t think that using all of them in my inquiry unit is even close to practical. Figuring out the strategies that match my topics and materials is part of designing a good lesson! This will focus primarily on the BDA strategies that I think will work in my inquiry unit (but they aren’t necessarily final).
* Note: I’ll be using a number of books in this project. I found 32 books at the library and I’d like to use selections from the text book, too. Since there are multiple texts, some of the BDA strategies will be text specific. However, some of the “before” strategies will be used before ANY reading occurs, some of the “during” strategies will be used throughout the experience of the unit (I think Wilhelm calls this “gateway activities”), and some of the “after” strategies will occur at the end of all readings. I’ll try to note these things in my explanations.

“Before” strategies:
Anticipation Guide (website): This strategy will be used as part of the introduction to the unit as a whole. In the anticipation guide, I plan to have questions that will introduce students to the topics and establish a base of knowledge that we can return to throughout the unit.
List-Group-Label (page 2): I will be using this strategy as part of the frontloading for the entire unit. List-Group-Label appeals to me over brainstorming because it organizes the information within the brainstorming. I may actually combine this strategy with PreP (Pre-reading Planning – page 3) so that the students can not only organize, but elaborate on their brainstorming as well.
Checking out the Framework (website): I’ll actually be doing a mini-lesson on this strategy before we begin the unit. This strategy really emphasizes previewing a book to figure out how to best use it. I plan on using this strategy with my students, and also encouraging them to use it on their own to make the most of their reading experiences.

“During” strategies:
Key Concept Synthesis (website): This strategy will also take some teaching before students are prepared to do it on their own, but I believe that it will greatly help them in their exploration of texts. Because figuring out the important parts of a text is a difficult skill, this strategy will help students to identify and keep track of key concepts while they are reading, and then their notes will help them to make conclusions after the reading.
Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) (page 4): This strategy is all about making predictions, then checking your predictions and revising them. I think it is a great strategy to use with students because it makes reading an active process and it makes the kids more conscious of their understanding (because you can’t predict or check a prediction if you don’t understand).
Knew, New, Q (page 10) OR KWL: I say K,N,Q OR KWL because they are very similar strategies. I like the Knew, New, Q strategy because it encourages students to record their new findings and to record further questions that haven’t been answered. Since this whole unit is about inquiry and asking questions, I thought this strategy would be helpful in directing the students throughout their readings. It will help them to see what area needs more research as the “Q” helps them figure out where the inquiry will go next.

“After” strategies:
Entrance Tickets & Exit Tickets (Wilhelm, p. 95-96): I think that entrance and exit tickets can be used interchangeably depending on the amount of time available in class during that session. I like the idea of using entrance tickets because they allow the students to think things over and write down questions that may guide the next lesson. Similarly, I like exit tickets because it gives the teacher a good idea of what went well, what needs re-taught, and what questions the students need answered the next day. I will be using this strategy after individual readings throughout the unit.
Heuristic Questions (Wilhelm, p. 98): This strategy will also be used throughout the unit. The “point” of this strategy is to encourage students to make connections between what they knew and between what they’ve learned. The reflection involved in this strategy could be done in learning/inquiry journals throughout the inquiry unit.
RAFT (website): I believe that this inquiry process has a design that aligns itself well with the RAFT strategy. While this is an “after” strategy, students will need to be introduced to it and reminded of it throughout their study. When the students are finishing their research and beginning to think about the final project, this strategy will really come into play.

While all of these strategies will be used throughout the unit, I believe that good discussion will be the tool that ties everything together. Wilhelm and Tovani both mention a number of “ingredients” that encourage good discussion, and I will be using a number of their suggestions throughout the unit. I’ve also been considering how to organize students throughout the unit to best encourage group discussion.

What now / What next:
I feel like I have gathered a lot of resources and looked into good strategies to use in this inquiry unit. Now, I need to be more specific in designing my activities and putting them into the timeline of the unit.