Complex procedural text can be tough to follow, even for the strongest readers. When I am reading lengthy directions that are presented in paragraph form, I sometimes use strategies to help me follow along. My co-teacher and I taught two of these strategies today, while also using colored magnets for group assignments and voting.
This is a flow map for our group configurations. We started with a co-led whole group activator and then moved into two mixed-readiness groups. Each teacher taught one of the strategies, then students flipped so they received instruction in both. Finally, we came back together for a co-led whole group closure. Using a flow map like this can illustrate and clarify our plans, guaranteeing that we use a majority of our time for small group instruction.
This is a flow map for our group configurations. We started with a co-led whole group activator and then moved into two mixed-readiness groups. Each teacher taught one of the strategies, then students flipped so they received instruction in both. Finally, we came back together for a co-led whole group closure. Using a flow map like this can illustrate and clarify our plans, guaranteeing that we use a majority of our time for small group instruction.
Students were highly engaged from the spilled water activator (see entire lesson plan here) to the magnet voting in our closure. My co-teacher and I will continue to reinforce use of both the List and Checkbox strategies whenever students encounter multi-step directions or procedural text.
RSS Feed