Read, Stop, Jot
Read, Stop, Jot is a strategy that helps readers learn to pace themselves. It focuses on being able to paraphrase the most important idea just read and jotting it down. After completely reading the text, students then have smaller amounts of information to use to synthesize a main idea. Using this strategy helps students identify the main idea, and then use their jots as supporting details in their writing.
Thick vs. Thin Questions
Thick vs. Thin questions is a questioning strategy. This strategy helps students not only write questions but also answer questions. Thick questions are considered “think and search” questions, that require the student to think critically before answering. However, thin questions are considered “right there” questions, and the answers can be found right in the text. Knowing this strategy helps students differentiate between “think and search” and “right there” questions, and helps them determine where to find the answers.
5WH Summary
This is a summary strategy that helps students focus on finding the most important parts of a text by using the 5Ws & 1H questions and rewriting key words or phrases in a shorter version so that the text or story is more easily understood and remembered. The final result is a 6-8 sentence paragraph that contains all of the essential information about a piece of text, focusing on who was involved, what the main conflict was, where and when the main events happened, why these events occurred and how the conflict was resolved.
Say Something
The Say Something Strategy helps students comprehend what they are reading, through making connections, clarifying statements, comments, questions, and predictions about what they are reading. It’s a strategy that focused on the student having a structured conversation with another student, in order to better understand what they have read. Use the attached sheet for sentence stems to help with this structured conversation.
Double Entry Journal
Double entry journals are a note-taking technique that combines taking notes and responding to what a student has read. After drawing a t-chart and dividing a paper into two columns, the student uses the left-hand column to record specific notes from a lecture, video, or piece of text. The right-hand column is then used to write corresponding notes to the notes on the left. These “notes from your mind” can be connections, clarifying statements, questions, predictions, and comments.
Evidence For/Evidence Against
The evidence for/against strategy helps students cite specific evidence from a piece of reading, that either supports or refutes a statement.
Somebody Wanted Because But So Then
Somebody Wanted Because But So Then (SWBBST) is a summarizing strategy. It helps students provide a higher level retelling of a story, focusing on who is involved with the conflict, why the conflict occurred and how it is resolved. The key to this strategy is remembering the questions that go along with each of the six words in the title. Use the attached strategy sheet as a guide to help you write your summary.
Sketching through the Text
Sketching through the Text is a reading strategy designed to help people visualize and summarize what they are reading. While reading, the reader should stop during important events, draw a picture and write a brief caption about the event they drew.
We discussed in class how this strategy could be used in class, and you all came up with some pretty great ideas.
Tophat
This strategy helps writers compare and contrast. It is different from a venn diagram because it provides enough room to list similarities. It also helps the writer focus on parallel differences. We completed a paragraph in class, modeling how to turn the tophat organizer into a paragraph. Here’s the link to the modeled paragraph.
Skim & Scan
This strategy is used to preview a text and use text features. This will help you work on setting a purpose for reading.
Thick vs. Thin Questions
Thick vs. Thin questions is a questioning strategy. This strategy helps students not only write questions but also answer questions. Thick questions are considered “think and search” questions, that require the student to think critically before answering. However, thin questions are considered “right there” questions, and the answers can be found right in the text. Knowing this strategy helps students differentiate between “think and search” and “right there” questions, and helps them determine where to find the answers.
5WH Summary
This is a summary strategy that helps students focus on finding the most important parts of a text by using the 5Ws & 1H questions and rewriting key words or phrases in a shorter version so that the text or story is more easily understood and remembered. The final result is a 6-8 sentence paragraph that contains all of the essential information about a piece of text, focusing on who was involved, what the main conflict was, where and when the main events happened, why these events occurred and how the conflict was resolved.
Say Something
The Say Something Strategy helps students comprehend what they are reading, through making connections, clarifying statements, comments, questions, and predictions about what they are reading. It’s a strategy that focused on the student having a structured conversation with another student, in order to better understand what they have read. Use the attached sheet for sentence stems to help with this structured conversation.
Double Entry Journal
Double entry journals are a note-taking technique that combines taking notes and responding to what a student has read. After drawing a t-chart and dividing a paper into two columns, the student uses the left-hand column to record specific notes from a lecture, video, or piece of text. The right-hand column is then used to write corresponding notes to the notes on the left. These “notes from your mind” can be connections, clarifying statements, questions, predictions, and comments.
Evidence For/Evidence Against
The evidence for/against strategy helps students cite specific evidence from a piece of reading, that either supports or refutes a statement.
Somebody Wanted Because But So Then
Somebody Wanted Because But So Then (SWBBST) is a summarizing strategy. It helps students provide a higher level retelling of a story, focusing on who is involved with the conflict, why the conflict occurred and how it is resolved. The key to this strategy is remembering the questions that go along with each of the six words in the title. Use the attached strategy sheet as a guide to help you write your summary.
Sketching through the Text
Sketching through the Text is a reading strategy designed to help people visualize and summarize what they are reading. While reading, the reader should stop during important events, draw a picture and write a brief caption about the event they drew.
We discussed in class how this strategy could be used in class, and you all came up with some pretty great ideas.
- History: timeline of events
- Science: visualizing the steps in an experiment
- Math: doing a multi-step problem
- Language Arts: visualizing the parts of a piece of text
Tophat
This strategy helps writers compare and contrast. It is different from a venn diagram because it provides enough room to list similarities. It also helps the writer focus on parallel differences. We completed a paragraph in class, modeling how to turn the tophat organizer into a paragraph. Here’s the link to the modeled paragraph.
Skim & Scan
This strategy is used to preview a text and use text features. This will help you work on setting a purpose for reading.