Response Writing

I'd like to write about Response Writing. Have you ever thought about how writing helps students learn? It's true. 

"Writing is thinking. Writing, in fact, is the most disciplined form of thinking. It allows us to be precise, to stand back and examine what we have thought, to see what our words really mean, to see if they stand up to our own critical eye, make sense, will be understood by somebody else." Murray, D. Writing to Learn. 

Writing allows students time to think without interruptions and to consider new information on their own. Consider these suggestions to prompt students to scaffold their learning rather than evaluate it:

1. have students write about what was clear and/or confusing to them during the lesson
2. have students apply new info to a new time, place, or context
3. pose a controversial question related to new info and have students write their opinion

I used Response Writing in my Honors Geometry classes during the first two weeks of this semester. We did an activity in which students had to describe pictures using terms we had just learned without using their hands. Their partner had to draw the picture based solely on what was described. After the activity, students wrote reflections on the activity - what made the activity difficult? Did my partner use the correct vocabulary? Did I understand the terms my partner used? etc.  A few days later, we repeated the activity with different pictures. Again, students were asked to reflect on the experience. Their reflections showed the students built on their previous knowledge and were much more successful the second time around.

Let everyone know how you use Response Writing to help students increase their understanding in your content area.

Anticipation Guide- pages 12-14

Using an anticipation guide is a literacy strategy done before the material is presented.  It is very useful in getting the students interested in what they will be learning and accessing their prior knowledge.  Basically, you identify the key concepts you want students to learn.  The material could come from a book, primary document, lecture, video, or other sources.  Write short statements for each key concept, writing them in a true/false or agree/disagree format.  Present the statements to the students and have them decide they are true or false.  You can use a google form, kahoot, or socrative** to get a class percentage and/or number of students who answered correctly for each statement (this will be useful at end of the lesson too).  Students share their answers and reasoning with a partner or together as a class.  Present the information to the class and have the students go back and decide if they were correct and answer each statement again Students include a written explanation with their answers this time.   Discuss the misconceptions the class had and why.  This is a good time to take another count and compare the percentages again from the start of class.  This can create a meaningful class discussion.

I used this strategy in my Economics class with the topic of establishing credit and the material was presented in a lecture format with a presentation.  There are many misconceptions and little subject knowledge when it comes to this topic.  You can check out the one I made below.  There are also examples in the book on the pages 13 and 14.  This strategy helped to introduce the topic and also helped students to focus on what is most important.   I think this would be a great strategy to use for the groups you have a hard time keeping focused (you know what class I'm talking about).  I will definitely be using more of these anticipation guides.

**Credit must be given to Mrs. Rickwood who helped me with these resources to include!

Reader's Theater

When I chose Reader Theater for my blog I hadn't a clue what the book study would tell about this as a literacy strategy.  I know what Reader's Theater is for me in my classes, but no real idea of how they would make it relevant for other subjects.  If you are already getting visions of students writing plays where they are historical figures, becoming Mikey Molecule, and "acting out" info, yes, that is one way to go.   The authors of our book have provided a different approach.  An approach more in line with a group presentations not theater events.  The example of Reader's Theater they give takes solidly academic material more in line with what students might turn in as a paper and creates from it a script.  Consider these two examples:

PAPER

In order to value the importance and impact of lighting on a stage production you must understand the 5 functions of lighting.  They are general illumination, establishing mood, establishing environment, changing time, changing location, and directing audience focus.

SCRIPT

Speaker 1:  In order value the importance and impact of lighting on a stage production you must understand the 5 functions of lighting.

Speaker 2:  They are general illumination.

Speaker 3: Establishing mood and establishing environment.

Speaker 2:  Changing time and changing location.

Speaker 1: And directing focus.

It's still the same information, but now because the readers are carrying equal responsibilities  in the delivery and they are dealing with smaller "bites" of information the tone is more conversational. This benefits the speakers by allowing them time look at the paper while others are speaking, grab  the next lines, and then look up when it is their turn to talk.  Because the Reader's Theater format deals with sentences instead of paragraphs students are less likely to lose their place, forget what to say, and get flustered. Reader's theater has advantages for the audience too.  It helps them stay engaged by using changes of voice and energy on a continuous level without the boring predictability of one person talking for more 2 or 4 sentences.

That's really all there is to it_ no costumes, no props, no talking equations or plant cells.  Just providing students with a tool for doing presentations which only allows them to show us what they know, but with the added benefits of  practicing strong communication skills and gaining confidence.    

 CURTAIN