Cubing

Purpose: to prepare students for reading or writing, increase comprehension, extend understanding of a topic/concept, character, or text from various perspectives. May also be used as a pot-reading activity to encourage students to think critically about the topic at hand.

Procedure:

1. The teacher or students must select a topic to be cubed.

2. If being used as a whole-class activity, the class may be divided into 6 groups and each group will be assigned a perspective to consider and discuss.

3. Each group writes a summary or their discussion and shares it with the class. These perspectives may be taped to the cube for reference and access.

Benefits and Limitations:

· May be used as whole-class, cooperative group, pairs, or independent activity.

· Almost any topic may be cubed including math concepts, science theories, and events in history.

· When used as a post-reading strategy, students are required to apply the information they have learned.

· May be modified according to desired outcomes and lesson objectives.

· This strategy should be modeled and the teacher should explain why this strategy is being used.

Possible Cube Perspectives:

Describe: what does it look like? What are some traits/characteristics? What size, shape, or color?

Compare: What does it remind you of? How is it like something else? What is it different/opposite from?

Associate: What does it make you think of? How is it related to other topics or people? How does it connect to other things/concepts?

Analyze: What is it made of? How can you break it down into smaller parts?

Apply: What can be done? How is it used?

Argue for/against: make a list of supporting reasons

This is one of my favorite strategies because it is engaging, easily adaptable, and a great concept attainment tool for all grades!

I created this cube (with detachable parts) for a Pre-Kindergarten lesson on food/nutrition. The student's enthusiasm and participation was fantastic! By the end of the unit their discussion and thought processes became observably more detailed and sophisticated.

Analogy Charting

Purpose: to create a visual framework of text-to-self connection and note differences and similarities between a new familiar concept. “Analogies are based on the compare/contrast text frame, and as students explore relationships by connecting to already known ideas, they broaden their understanding of important concepts or vocabulary.” (Buehl 2009)

Procedure:

1. Select a familiar concept that can serve as an analogy for a new concept. The familiar concept should be well understood by all students and have characteristics which are analogous to those of the new concept.

2. Introduce analogy and have students brainstorm characteristics of both concepts to put under the “similarities” column.

3. Have students brainstorm differences between the two concepts and fill out the other side of the analogy chart.

4. Discuss relationship categories and “what you understand now” (summary statement).

Benefits:

· Provides students a foundation (outline) for developing organized compare/contrast summaries

· Allows students to relate to the new concepts by making connections to their background knowledge

Limitations:

· The “familiar concept” must truly be familiar to the students and directly comparable to the new concept

Comprehension Strategies

Clusters, Maps, and Webs
Text: Abe Lincoln Goes To Washington by: Cheryl Harness

Purpose: Clusters are weblike diagrams with the topic written in a circle centered on a sheet of paper. Main ideas are written on rays drawn out from the circle, and branches with details and examples are added to complete each main idea (Rico, 1983).

Students use maps when reading to organize the information they are learning.

Students use clusters when writing to organize ideas before beginning a composition.

This strategy may be done individually, in small groups, or as a class with the teacher as a facilitator.

Procedure:

1. Draw center circle which represents the topic

2. Brainstorm a list of words/phrases that are related to the topic. Then organize the words into categories.

3. Add main ideas and details. The main ideas are written on rays drawn from the central topic and the details are written on rays drawn out from the main ideas.

Brainstorm list:

Stovepipe hat, Lawyer, Married to Mary Todd, Village shoemaker, U.S. President, Battle of Bull Run, Naval Blockade, George McClellan, Son Willie died, Issued Emancipation Proclamation, North: wants to end slavery, South: legal to buy/sell slaves, West: shoving Indians, open land, California gold, thousands going…, Studied books about war/military strategies, Visited hospitals, Union victory at Gettysburg, Union soldiers captured the Confederate capital, Gen Lee surrendered –war over, John Wilkes Booth, Ford Theatre, Died April 15, 1865