The purpose of this is to construct meaning, understanding, and make connections with complex content texts. Students can work in groups up to four to engage in this process by talking about what they are focusing on, reflecting on, and reading. The small groups can take turns reading a chunk of text aloud. They then can make predictions of what will happen next, ask a question, or summarize what they read. Continue doing this throughout the text until they have finished the reading. Debrief what was learned and processed as a whole group and continue the discussion focusing on anything challenging. The smaller groups can present their information to the class as well.
Get to the Point When reading new information and touching on new chapters in history it is important to combine the new information, to form new thoughts and to go from divergent to convergent thinking. The class can do this by reading through a portion of text together and then having the students share their thoughts. The teacher can record them on the board. Then read another section and stop and have the students form new thoughts and record them in the next section. Read the last portion of the text and have students summarize all thoughts on this into one sentence and write it down. Students will reread, reflect, and discuss how all of these ideas go into one main point. Students can share their final thoughts and how this concept helped them understand the main idea. For history this could be why an even happened or why someone did something.
Fusion The purpose of this strategy is to link words and ideas together by a visual representation of the meaning of the words and how they connect to each other. Teachers can select a content-related topic based on what the class is studying. As a class, list words around the concepts or categories that relate to the topic. This is like creating a word web with the class. Display the words on the white board. Create clusters under categories. This is a representation of a graphic word organizer called a Semantic Word Map.
Students can be put in groups to organize a poster with a main picture, quotes, or other information about the topic.
Taking Good Notes Taking good notes can be a powerful tool for your students. It can help them to become a more active reader. Students can use note taking skills to record, organize, remember, and respond to what they read. Teachers should encourage students to take notes in a variety of different settings. Students should take notes while reading, during lecture, during presentations, while working in a group, and while watching a video.
Teachers should also help students learn how to take notes. Examples could be creating webs or lists. Students should be able to explain what they learn from looking at the notes that they have taken. Their notes should help them remember, reflect, and organize their thoughts.
Knowing The difference Between Fact and Opinion
A teacher could ask her students to describe and show examples of facts. It the information real, and event, actuate, has it been done. Use some synonyms truth, reality, and data.
An opinion is a belief, judgment, a view. Provide students with a worksheet where they can mark down what is fact or opinion. You can even have them write a short paper on how you can know a fact when you see one. Here is a great video that one can watch with their classroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAKprpl7aPo&safe=active
Review, Reflect, and Reinforce Give students time to process what they have read, how they read it, and what it was about. By the time students reach high school level they have already hopefully become independent readers. They have already decided how to read the text and tis meaning they just need help evaluating.
Great questions to ask are how has your understanding of the text changed from the beginning to the end.
Have the students reread the beginning of the text to see how the end relates to the beginning. What remains confusing to you? What do you know now that you did not know before you read? I learned, I observed, I was surprised by, I now realize, I am still confused by. What conclusions can you draw about this subject or these characters? What connections can you make to what you read? How will this relate to what you read next?