Even though there is always a mind-boggling amount of invaluable info shared on the Discovery Education Network (DEN), one of the best resources available is the Spotlight on Strategies (S.O.S) series, a must-see DEN favorite designed to provide teachers with simple yet effective instructional practices for using digital content to support student learning.

To date, there are 70+ teacher tried and tested strategies featured on the DEN blog and now thanks to Lance Rougeux, Vice President of Learning Communities and Educational Consultants at Discovery Education and all-around DEN tech guru, I will now be featuring these techniques on my space. Two thumbs up to this guy!

So, enough of that… Let’s fast forward to the good stuff…

This week’s spotlight: What Did They Say?, a visual literacy strategy that focuses on using content-based images to practice and reinforce writing and vocabulary skills while sharing subject matter knowledge.

Background

If you ask a student what it takes to do well in social studies, they may likely say a good memory. Historians disagree. It’s much more than that. “To historians, history is an argument about what facts should or shouldn’t mean. Even when historians are able to piece together the basic story of what happened, they rarely agree about what an event means or what caused it. Historians argue about the past’s meaning and what it has to tell us in the present.” (Thinking Like a Historian- Wineburg)

How do we help change students’ perspective? We do that by putting them in the picture.

Example

» Find a primary source image. This could be a painting or historical photograph.

» Have students discuss what they see, know, and wonder about the image.

» Find a collection of resources (videos, reading passages, audio files, etc.) about that event or time period to support students’ understanding of what events actually took place.

» Have students use sticky notes to create speaking or thought bubbles above the character’s head and fill in with something that individual could have likely said or been thinking at the time of the image.

» Allow time for students to share in small groups and provide evidence to support why they chose their statements. They should look for similarities and differences in their choices.

» For an added bonus, have students re-enact the image.

Click here to snag a PDF version of this super cool strategy.

So, there you have it—another S.O.S. trick to add to your edtech toolbox. Stay tuned for additional ways to activate learning in your classroom…

Like what you see? Then be sure to check out other ideas in this series:

» Reading Between the Lines

» ABC Summary

» 6-Word Stories

Even though there is always a mind-boggling amount of invaluable info shared on the Discovery Education Network (DEN), one of the best resources available is the Spotlight on Strategies (S.O.S) series, a must-see DEN favorite designed to provide teachers with simple yet effective instructional practices for using digital content to support student learning.

To date, there are 70+ teacher tried and tested strategies featured on the DEN blog and now thanks to Lance Rougeux, Vice President of Learning Communities and Educational Consultants at Discovery Education and all-around DEN tech guru, I will now be featuring these techniques on my space. Two thumbs up to this guy!

So, enough of that… Let’s fast forward to the good stuff…

This week’s spotlight: 6-Word Stories, a digital media strategy that focuses on summarization skills related to an image. Check out this simple but effective idea below.

Background

According to Reading Rockets, “Summarizing teaches students how to discern the most important ideas in a text, how to ignore irrelevant information, and how to integrate the central ideas in a meaningful way. Teaching students to summarize improves their memory for what is read.” By narrowing the number of words allowed, we require students to focus on the most important ideas and concepts of the content being shared.

Example

» Display a Discovery Education image such as “Family on Bike Trail”. (Of course, Discovery Education images are the bomb, but if you do not have a subscription to this amazing resource, then any photo will do the trick.)

» Have students discuss what they see, guess what happened right before the image was taken, and predict what will happen next.

» Explain to students that they need to individually summarize the photo in 6 words or less.

» Have students share their summaries. Discuss similarities and differences.

» Pro Tip: Have students bring in their own pictures or draw images that represent the current topics being covered in class and have classmates create 6-word stories. Using these images, have students write creative stories with the 6 word caption as the title. Use iPiccy.com to create a collage or add captions on photos.

Challenge

» Select a video, image, or reading passage that corresponds with your current curriculum.

» Have students discuss what they see, guess what happened right before the image was taken, and predict what will happen next.

» Explain to students that they need to individually summarize the photo in 6 words or less.Have students share their summaries. Discuss similarities and differences.

Click here to snag a PDF version of this super cool strategy.

So, there you have it—another S.O.S. trick to add to your edtech toolbox. Stay tuned for additional ways to activate learning in your classroom…

Like what you see? Then be sure to check out other ideas in this series:

» Reading Between the Lines

» ABC Summary

Even though there is always a mind-boggling amount of invaluable info shared on the Discovery Education Network (DEN), one of the best resources available is the Spotlight on Strategies (S.O.S) series, a must-see DEN favorite designed to provide teachers with simple yet effective instructional practices for using digital content to support student learning.

To date, there are 70+ teacher tried and tested strategies featured on the DEN blog and now thanks to Lance Rougeux, Vice President of Learning Communities and Educational Consultants at Discovery Education and all-around DEN tech guru, I will now be featuring these techniques on my space. Two thumbs up to this guy!

So, enough of that… Let’s fast forward to the good stuff…

This week’s spotlight: ABC Summary, a digital media strategy that focuses on summarization skills related to a video clip. Check out the details below.

Background

Summarizing requires that students distill information in a concise, synthesized form and focus on the important points presented in a text (Marzano, 2001). This strategy involves students sharing the responsibility for summarizing content. After watching a video, each student develops a summary statement beginning with a unique letter of the alphabet and then shares out to the whole group. The individual summaries can be compiled into one final product.

Technique

» Decide on how students will be assigned to alphabet letters. If using a random assignment you’ll need to prepare slips of paper, one letter per slip, that students can draw out of a hat.

» Select and preview a video. (Of course, Discovery Education videos are the bomb, but if you do not have a subscription to this amazing resource, then any video clip will do the trick.)

» Share video with students. Encourage note-taking by stopping frequently to discuss, define, or clarify information.

» Assign letters to students and explain that students will watch the selection a second time, this time with the focus being on developing a summary statement that begins with that letter.

» Replay segment.

» Provide time for students to craft A-B-C statements. Scaffold by allowing students to discuss with partners or small groups if necessary.

» Ask students to share statements in either small group or whole class format.

» Optional: Compile individual summary statements into a book, poster, etc.

Potential Applications

» Review of information gleaned from a video presented in class.

» Synthesis of multiple days of instruction with each student responsible for one letter of the alphabet.

» Group presentation format with students working in groups to research topics and then presenting a summary of their learning in the form of an A-B-C list rather than a written paper.

Example

After watching a video on the water cycle students will craft statements to generate a “Water Cycle from A-Z” list. Sample shared below.

Click here to snag a PDF version of this super cool strategy.

So, there you have it—another S.O.S. trick to add to your edtech toolbox. Stay tuned for additional ways to activate learning in your classroom…

Like what you see? Then be sure to check out other ideas in this series:

» Reading Between the Lines

Another year… Another opportunity to spend the day with the super cool Discovery Education Network (DEN) team at the 10th annual PETE&C Pre-conference Extravaganza: A Spotlight on Strategies (S.O.S).

Even though there is always a mind-boggling amount of invaluable info shared at each session, my best OMG take-away this time around was the S.O.S series, a must-see DEN favorite designed to provide teachers with simple yet effective instructional practices for using digital content to support student learning.

To date, there are 70+ teacher tried and tested strategies featured on the DEN blog and now thanks to Lance Rougeux, Vice President of Learning Communities and Educational Consultants at Discovery Education and all-around DEN tech guru, I will now be featuring these techniques on my space. Two thumbs up to this guy!

So, let’s get to the good stuff with some tips about how to get that visual literacy thing going on…

First up: Reading Between the Lines, a digital media strategy that focuses on main idea and summarization skills though the use of a very cool web tool known as Wordle. Check out the details below.

Background
Words are a powerful force, but yet often we do all the talking. Sometimes what is best is to allow the words to reveal their own hidden message.  Wordle is often considered a “fun” tool, but not an instructional instrument. Through a simple cut and paste we can reveal what’s most important in a text and use that as an opportunity to build background knowledge for solid understanding of content.

Example
The image below is a snapshot of a Wordle created from the reading passage Getting to Know Energy in Ecosystems (found on the Discovery Education web site). Depending on a student’s history, passages like these can sometimes be challenging.  By creating the Wordle and sharing before students read, we can review the most important concepts and ensure that the class has foundational knowledge and address any misconceptions.

Challenge
Select a reading passage that would interest your students from Discovery Education.  Cut and paste the text into Wordle.  The larger a word looks in the Wordle, the more times it appeared in the passage.  Have students discuss what words are most important to know before reading the passage and review the definitions.  Before students read the passage, have them go through the document and highlight the reviewed vocabulary words.

Bonus
Have students summarize a reading passage.  Take a group of their summaries and cut and paste into Wordle.  Discuss which words were most common.  Have students re-write their summary to reflect the most important concepts.

Click here to snag a PDF version of this strategy and/or to view other strategies in this series click here.

Um, time out… My school doesn’t have a Discovery Education subscription, so now what? Aww, man. Now that’s a major bummer! But here’s a suggestion: Open some conversation with the powers that be to find the funding necessary to purchase these resources for you and your colleagues. It will seriously be one of the best investments your district or school entity will ever make! If the persuading, kicking, yelling and screaming your full head off antics don’t do the trick, then there’s always the Powerball option.

OK, seriously— even though the best way to roll out theses strategies is through the use of DE media, they can be utilized with any type of text, images, video and audio clips.

So, there you have it—an original S.O.S. trick to add to your edtech toolbox. Stay tuned for additional ways to activate learning in your classroom…