Strategy #21: Picture Walk

Basics:

Time Needed: 10-15 minutes.

Room Arrangement: For younger grades, a carpet arrangement. Other grades, at their
desk will work.
Materials Needed: picture book to model the activity, student picture books.

Process Directions:
The teacher asks students to select a book from the classroom library and find a partner.
The teacher models a picture walk by saying the following:
o Let's look at the front cover. What do you think this story is about?
o Do you have any experience with ________? An experience I had was...
o Turn the page. What do you see? What do you think is happening?
o What do you think will happen next?
o Here we are almost at the end of the book. How will the story end?
o What are you curious to know more about in the story? I wonder if...
In pairs, students conduct their picture walk to each other, just as the teacher modeled.
Each student will be given 5 minutes to complete the picture walk for their book.
When/Examples:
The activity should be used when students are engaging in reading narrative and
expository texts.
Source:
Clay, M.M. (1991). Introducing a new storybook to young readers. The Reading Teacher,
45, 264-273

Strategy #22: KWL

Basics:

Time needed: 10-20 minutes

Room Arrangement: No special arrangement needed.
Materials needed: KWL sheets for each student and projected chart for teacher use.

Process Directions:
The teacher explains what each letter means to the class.
o K = What I Know
o W = What I Want To Know
o L = What I Have Learned
The class brainstorms and discusses what they know about the subject or content before
the lesson.
The teacher writes the students responses in the K section of the projected KWL chart.
The students will write all responses on their personal KWL sheets.
The class then brainstorms and discusses any questions or clarifications they have about
the content or subject.
The teacher writes the students responses in the W section and the students do the same.
The teacher will then use the students questions and find ways to answer them
throughout the current and future lessons.
The lesson is then taught with answers to as many student questions as possible based on
the lesson objectives.
After the lesson, the class brainstorms and discusses what they have learned.
The teacher will write the students responses in the L section and students will do the
same.
When/Examples:

This can be used with any subject area lesson.

It allows students to build on their previous knowledge.

Source:
Ogle, D. S. (1986). K-W-L group instructional strategy. In A. S. Palincsar, D. S. Ogle, B. F.
Jones, & E. G. Carr (Eds.), Teaching reading as thinking (Teleconference Resource
Guide, p. 11-17). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development
Image:
Lanley, J. (2011). [Image]. Retrieved from http://notebookingfairy.com/2011/03/k-w-l-graphicorganizer-printable/

(Lanley, 2011)

Strategy #23: SQ3R

Basics:

Time Needed: 10-20 minutes

Room Arrangement: Students can work independently or in groups, so the either at their
desk or in pairs around the room.
Materials Needed: a piece of literature, papers, and a pencil.

Process Directions:
The teacher assigns students, either in pairs or individually, a subsection from their
textbook.
Survey: After students have their piece of literature, they look through the pages and do a
picture walk (see strategy 21) on their own, looking at titles, headings, charts, and
illustrations. Once this is done, they read the first and last paragraph to help build their
knowledge of what the lesson and reading will be about.
Question: Students then look at the headings and bolded vocabulary words coming up
with comprehension questions that they will answer as they read.
Read: Students read the passage, searching for the answers to their questions and writing
those answers down. The students use context clues for unfamiliar words and unclear
passages. As they read, the students may create more questions that will be brought up in
further discussion.
Recite: Students close the book and recall what they have read. This can be done
individually, in small groups, or as a whole class.
Review: Once they have completed the reading section, students check their answers with
another student. If there are discrepancies, students go back and reread to find the correct
answer. After this, have the students write a summary of the reading.
When/Examples:
This strategy is used before, during, and after reading.
This can be used when in social studies class when discussing a specific period of time or
a major historical event.
Source:
Robinson, F. P. (1961). Effective Study. New York: Harper.
Image:
Scott, J. (n.d.). [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/An-ECInclusion-Teachers-version-of-SQ3R-Poster-695631

(Scott, n.d.)

Strategy #24: Think, Pair, Share

Basics:

Time Needed: 5-10 minutes

Room Arrangement: Students should be sitting by a partner to share their ideas with.
Materials Needed: None.

Process Directions:
The teacher presents a question or idea.
The teacher gives students about 30 seconds to think about the question or idea.
Then the teacher tells the students to turn to a partner and share what they thought about.
For about a minute, the pairs their answers.
Then they share out with the whole group..
When/Examples:
This activity would work well for a group that enjoys interpersonal interaction.
This would be an effective anticipatory set and could also be used at the end of a lesson
to review what was learned.
Sources:
Lyman, F. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion: The inclusion of all
students. Mainstreaming Digest. University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Strategy #25: Questions to the Teacher

Basics

Time Needed: 10-15 minutes, plus a break in between for the teacher to read the
questions
Room Arrangement: No special arrangement needed.
Materials Needed: Mailbox on the teachers desk, piece of paper, text, and writing utensil

Process Directions:

The students read a section of text (fiction or nonfiction, a paragraph to a chapter).

After students read the text, they compose a question about what they read.
They write it on a piece of paper and put it in the mailbox on the teachers desk.
Sometime during the day (lunch, recess, or specials), the teacher reads through the
questions and sorts them according to three levels of understanding:
o Type I: Questions seek to understand information from the reading.
o Type II: Questions cause the reader to analyze, critically examine, and appraise
the information presented by recognizing what is missing or only implied.
o Type III: Questions judge the author's position or formulate an alternativeor
even contraryhypothesis
Once the teacher has the questions sorted, he or she can discuss the questions with the
students, using examples of higher tiered thinking to encourage deeper thinking.

When/Examples:
This strategy would be effective for reading expository texts.
It would work well for social studies and science.
Source:
Lewin, L. (2010). Teaching critical reading with questioning strategies. Educational
Leadership 67 (6).

Strategy #26: Ranking Ladder

Basics:

Time Needed: 15 minutes

Room Arrangement: No special arrangement needed.
Materials Needed: Ranking Ladder sheets, writing utensil

Process Directions:
The teacher passes out Ranking Ladder image sheets to the students or has them draw
their own.
The teacher asks the students a question pertaining to the importance of what they have
learned in the lesson (What is the most important thing to do when?)
Students rank the steps from least important at the bottom of the ladder to most important
at the top.
Then the teacher pairs students to discuss their steps.
After students discuss in pairs, the class discusses it as a whole group.
When/Examples:
This strategy helps students organize what they already know to help them further
understand the material.
It focuses on what is important in their understanding of the content.

Source:
Bellanca, J. (2007). A guide to graphic organizers second edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Ranking Ladder

Most
Important

Less
Important

Less
Important

Least
Important

__________________
__________________
__________________

__________________

Strategy #27: Elkonin Boxes

Basics:

Time Needed: 5-10 minutes.

Classroom Arrangement: Usually done in small groups or one-on-one.
Materials Needed: Elkonin box worksheet and pencil or a dry erase board and marker.

Process Directions:
The teacher pronounces the target word slowly so that the student can hear each sound.
Student repeat the word back, making sure that he or she is doing it slowly so that the
sounds can be heard separately.
The teacher gives the student the worksheet or a dry erase board. If a dry erase board is
given, the student draws the boxes that are needed for each syllable or sound.
Have the student write in each phoneme in a separate box.
Direct the student to slide his or her hand along each box as the word is repeated.
When/Example:
Elkonin boxes can be used when a student is struggling spelling or with phonics.
This helps by focusing on individual syllables or sounds.
See sample lesson (Animal Communities) for an adapted version using cut out letters
being slid into the boxes.
Source:
Griffith, P.L. & Olson, M. W. (1992). Phonemic awareness helps beginning readers break the
code. The reading teacher, 45(7), 516-523.
Image:
Learning A-Z. (n.d.). [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.readinga-z.com/book/
decodable.php?id=10

(Learning A-Z, n.d.)

Strategy #28: Pick a Side/Corner

Basics:

Time Needed: 5-10 minutes.

Room Arrangement: Need space on each side or corner of the classroom to stand.
Materials Needed: None.

Process Directions:
The teacher reads a statement with multiple choice answers.
If there are two options (true/false, yes/no, agree/disagree), the teachers prompts the
students to go to a certain side of the classroom based on their answers.
If there are three or four options, the teacher prompts the students to go to a certain corner
of the room based on their answers.
After all of the students have picked a side, the teacher chooses students to share why
they went where they did. The students can be chosen at random or be called on by
choice.
Repeat as many times as necessary.
When/Examples:
This can be used to introduce a subject for a lesson.
This would work well for review at the end of a science or social studies lesson.
It can also be used to gather data about which students are struggling.
Source:
Davaney, E. (2012). Pick a side: Warm up and discussion. Teaching Channel. Retreived
from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/quick-classroom-warm-up

Strategy #29: Cubing

Basics:

Time Needed: 20 minutes

Room Arrangement: There is no specific room arrangement required.
Materials: Cube templates, pencils/pens, scissors, tape

Process Directions:
The teacher hands out cube templates to students.
The teacher models how to create a cube from the template.
The teacher introduces the sides of the cube with a familiar topic, going through each of
the steps to model the application to the topic.
o Describe it: How would you describe the issue/topic?
o Compare it: Its sort of like
o Associate it: How does the topic connect to other issues/subjects?
o Analyze it: How would you break the problem/issue into smaller parts?
o Apply it: How does it help you understand other topics/issues?
o Argue for/against it: I am for this because/This works because/I agree
because
Then the students make the cube themselves.
Have students work individually or in groups to go through each side of the cube.
When/Example:
This strategy would be used to help students look at a subject from six points of view in
writing.
This activity fosters a deeper understanding of content because students use multiple
levels of Blooms Taxonomy.
An adapted version where each side is a different concept within a subject area has
possible lessons including parts of speech, math properties, or types of animals.
Source:
Gregory, G. H., & Chapman, C. (2007). Differentiated instructional strategies (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Image:
Sprenger, M. (2013). [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/113040/
chapters/Appendix@-Templates.aspx

(Sprenger, 2013)

Strategy #30: Snowball Fight

Basics:

Time Needed: 15-20 minutes.

Room Arrangement: Desks should be pushed to the outside edge of the room or the class
can go to an open area.
Materials Needed: three pieces of scrap paper, a writing utensil.

Process Directions:
The teacher distributes three pieces of scrap paper to each student.
Students help arrange the classroom to allow for the greatest amount of space and the
least amount of obstacles.
Students individually fill out each piece of scrap paper with questions he or she has about
the content.
When it appears most students have at least two papers filled out, the teacher instructs the
students to crumple the papers into a tight ball.
The teacher then instructs the students to throw their snowballs at other students.
Students continue to pick up snowballs and toss them.
After a few minutes, the teacher instructs the students to stop throwing the snowballs and
pick up the snowball closest to them.
The teacher selects a student to read the question on the paper to the class.
The class as a whole answers the question. Once the question has been answered, the
student to the right of the first student reads his or her question and so on.
Any questions that the students cannot answer will be answered by the teacher.
For each question that is answered remove it and have the student pick up another
snowball to answer the next time the class gets to him or her.
When/Examples:
This activity would work well at the end of a lesson, before any major summative
assessment.
Questions can be based on the content or instruction.
o Why did the colonists leave Europe?
o Did we have guided notes for this chapter? I cant find any.
Source:
Cotton, K. (1995) Effective schooling practices a research synthesis Northwest Regional
Educational Laboratory. Retrieved from http://capone.mtsu.edu/jhausler/
Effective_Schooling_Practices.htm