Strategy Resource
Delivery Special Education Services, Elementary Model
Kindergarten and Grade 1
Summer 2010
Strategy / Description / Notes to myself /Consensogram: Tool to obtain responses to the same question about understanding of a topic prior to instruction and after instruction to self assesses learning. This tool elicits student knowledge and/or feelings. Questions may be posed individually or to a group.
Sample:
· Note your current understanding of the 7 Keys for College Readiness using a red dot.
1 / 2 / 3 / 4
On this scale, a score of 1 indicates you have little and a score of 4 indicates that you have a thorough understanding of the topic.
After instruction ask the same question and individuals post their current level of understanding with a blue dot. ( Baldrige Tool)
Ground Rules
The established norms that an organization agrees upon. ( Baldrige Tool )
Bin (Issue Bin)
A Baldrige quality tool that can be used to channel communication in an appropriate manner when ideas, concerns, or issues come up in a classroom that can be answered more appropriately at another time.
( Baldrige Tool )
Turn and Talk / Sharing with Elbow Partners / Think - Pair - Share
Research indicates that if given two minutes for processing after ten minutes of lecture, student performance improves. Sharing with a partner provides an opportunity for full participation of all students and improved retention of information. Sharing with a partner at regular intervals also helps students to verify and clarify understanding.
· Pose a question or topic for consideration
· Give a limited amount of individual think time
· Direct students to share thoughts/answers with a partner
· Ask students to select a common answer to share out
· Share out conducted with entire group
( 10 -2 Mary Budd Rowe)
Random Calling Pattern
Research clearly demonstrates that low-achieving students are less likely to be called on by the teacher than high-achieving students. When low-achievers are called upon, they are likely to be asked easier questions. This impacts the motivation and academic achievement of low-achievers in a negative way. One way to ensure more equitable response opportunities is to stop calling on only students who raise their hands. Instead, use a strategy that uses a random method for asking students to respond.
· “ Accomplished teachers of linguistically and culturally diverse learners use a variety of approaches that allow students to confront, explore and understand important and challenging concepts, topics, and issues in meaningful ways.”
· “…establish a caring, inclusive, safe, and linguistically and culturally rich community of learning where students take intellectual risks and work both independently and collaboratively.”
Trumball, E. & Pachero, M. (2005) Leading with diversity: Cultural competencies for teacher preparation and professional development. Providence,RI: Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB) (Eric document reproduction services No. ED494221)
Examples include the use of:
numbered heads
equity sticks
number generators
statements such as “The person with a birthday closest to today.”
color coded cards
calling cards
Using random response calling patterns makes all students responsible for learning and sharing at any given time.
( A Resource for Equitable Classroom Practices 2009 , MCPS Draft 9/30/09 )
Dip Sticking
Dipsticking means asking questions and eliciting answers:
(1) frequently
(2) across a lot of students
(3) on the same topic or concept
(4) during instruction
Benefits of Dipsticking:
· monitoring student understanding frequently and
· broadly across many students simultaneously
· on the same topic or concept
· during instruction
Signals:
v thumbs up - thumbs down, thumbs to one side
v hands on heads if …
v sign turned over
v red, yellow, green signal cards
Examples:
During a mathematics lesson:
“ When I call for the signal, hold up 1,2,3 cards to show the number of equivalent angles in this triangle ”
During a Reading and Language Arts lesson:
Teacher reads a sentence. Students hold up a card with an “S” indicating it is a sentence or a holds up a card with an “F” indicating it is a fragment.
Dipsticking allows the teacher to rapidly assess student comprehension of a topic or where the class is in regard to completion of an assigned whole class task.
( Research for Better Teaching, Inc. )
Flexible Grouping
Flexible grouping is defined by Radenicich and McKay (1995) as “grouping that is not static, where members of the reading group change frequently.”
Grouping patterns include large groups, small groups, pairs or individuals and may be homogeneous or heterogeneous. The basis for groupings may be student’s interests, readiness, choice, or random selection. Groups should form and dissolve as needs change, and to allow for maximum flexibility.
Flexible grouping acknowledges that all grouping patterns have value. It also communicates the importance of multiple perspectives. This practice offers the learner different experiences and honors all students’ knowledge.
There are many quick and easy ways to randomly group students which provide students with opportunities to work with different group members and in different group sizes. Several common techniques include flexible grouping cards, folding the line, or simply numbering off. Flexible grouping cards, such as those illustrated below, may be distributed to each student and in order to quickly regroup students in pairs or quads using the same color puzzle piece or triads using the “smiley” face.
( Hunt ,1996 as cited in Research for Better Teaching, Inc. )
Graphic Organizer ( T-Chart / Action Plan )
“words on a paper, arranged to represent an individual’s understanding of the relationship between words” Clark 1990.
Graphic organizers are diagrams with words, and a diagram whose form shapes the relationship of the words to one another. The form represents a particular kind of thinking and is generalized to use with other content organized by that kind of thinking.
Graphic organizers are powerful tools for explaining ideas and summarizing student learning.
· See the relationship of concepts and elements
· Organize information into a coherent structure
· Attend to important items
· Capitalize on visual learning and activate the right brain.
(Clark ,1990 as cited in Research for Better Teaching, Inc. )
Gallery Walk
Gallery walks provides a vehicle to record, access and celebrate what small groups of participants have learned. Students also benefit from sharing the ideas of their classmates and receive a broad exposure to a great deal of information in a limited amount of time. Small groups of students work together to prepare an “exhibit” (charts, diagrams, pictures) summarizing their work or a particular topic. After the work is posted, students take a walking tour of the “exhibits” and spend a designated amount of time examining and discussing posted work. The gallery display may include charts, artifacts, student work or other appropriate “props” related to the topic.
This strategy may also be used as an activator or to introduce content that contains complex passages, important quotes, or provocative ideas. The ideas or passages are written on individual charts and students tour from chart to chart, discussing and interpreting the posted charts. This activator raises curiosity and interest for a new topic of study and aids in comprehension.
Variations
1.Students may serve as docents for each gallery display, as needed.
2.Use a gallery walk as an extension of carousel brainstorming.
3.Groups of students may walk through and observe each display in an organized way or students may walk through the gallery randomly in a timed or un-timed manner.
4. Before students begin, suggest “ways to react to the charts,” for example:
This means…
This sounds like...
This looks like…
A question this raises is…
We were confused by…
( Spencer Kagen: Cooperative Learning ,1999 )
Plus “+” /Delta “ Δ
A Baldrige quality tool that opens a process of fairly sharing ideas/ The purpose of the tool is for everyone to consider what went well and what could be changed to improve the process. It is important to reflect back to the deltas for continuous improvement. It is important to start the deltas with a verb.
(Baldrige Tool)
Sorts
The purpose of sorts is to help students focus on the relationship between conceptual ideas or letters and sounds. Sorting and classifying information helps the brain to see these relationships. Students use word sorts to examine and categorize words according to meaning, sound-symbol correspondence or spelling patterns.
· Closed sorts provide the categories in which words or topics should be sorted.
· Open sorts require the student to see the relationships and determine the categories as words or topics are sorted.
Variations
· Human sorts are a variation of open or closed sorts that require students to physically move and sort themselves based on their topic.
· Wall Sorts—in this variation words, letters or ideas can be sorted and posted on the wall for all to view.
( Research for Better Teaching, Inc. )
Fold A Line
Students line up on a value line, either by a number value or place themselves according to their energy around “agreeing” or “disagreeing” with a topic. Fold A Line offers students a chance to interact with others beyond their tablemates or friends.
( Spencer Kagen: Cooperative Learning ,1999 )
Stand-Up, Hand-Up, Pair-Up
The Stand-up, Hand up, Pair-up strategy encourages active learning and may be adapted in a variety of ways. Students may discuss a focus question or summarize learning. It is particularly useful when used as a discussion follow-up to silent reading. Students are able to stand up, raise their hand and find a partner to begin discussion as soon as they finish reading. This provides an opportunity for students who need more or less reading time to be engaged in either reading or discussion at their own pace. Pairs may switch partners or join and form groups of four to continue discussion.
Directions
1. Stand up after independently completing the silent reading assignment.
2. Keep one hand in the air until you find a partner.
3. Give your partner a high five!
4. Discuss the focus question with your partner.
5. Partners may find another pair, forming a group of four to continue the
discussion of the focus question.
6. Partners may switch to continue discussion the focus question with a new
partner.
( Spencer Kagen: Cooperative Learning ,1999 )
MCPS Delivery Special Education Services Elementary Model: Kindergarten and Grade 1
OOD/ OCIP / DSES Summer 2010