Strategies+that+Work


 * __Strategies That Work__**

Rob Pulwer

But first, a quick intro: The following five strategies cover various aspects of your daily classroom practice. They were researched, implemented, reflected on, and refined by members of this wiki. This is by absolutely no means an exhaustive how-to guide for excellent teaching: rather, it serves to highlight a few tried-and-true strategies that have worked for actual teachers in the same classrooms into which you will walk this fall. Each section is broken down as follows:

- A detailed, often anecdotal description of the strategy - Relevant research that supports the strategy - References - A link to the page of the philosopher whose work supports the strategy

My advice is that you read the following pieces, keeping in mind that all of them worked but that none of them is final; your classroom, your style, and your students may necessitate some modifications. That’s fine. Like you, we (and the methods we employ) are still developing, learning, and refining our classroom practices. Don’t be scared to take ideas and run with them, but always remember to change course, however slightly, when your run takes you to an obstacle.


 * __Classroom Wikis and Their Various Uses__**

During the first few days of this school year my fellow teachers introduced me to our school’s homework Wikispaces. I had utilized something similar last year through my online gradebook and noticed that several of my graduate school peers were using blogspot.com and comparable sites. But I believe that a coherent, school-wide website dedicated to homework notifications and updates is the most efficacious, efficient system.
 * __Description:__**

For the strategy to work, all schoolteachers should participate to some degree. My school prefers that homework assignments and test dates be posted the weekend before, which allows both students and parents to prepare for the upcoming week appropriately. The desired outcome of the homework wiki is twofold: 1) students will always know what teachers expect them to accomplish at home, and 2) parents will always know what teachers except their children to accomplish at home. Essentially, the wiki increases accountability by eliminating excuses.

While my school doesn’t keep track of which students visit the website, I have several personal anecdotes that testify to its usefulness. Ricardo, a student of mine, notoriously didn’t copy his homework down in class and, consequently, never turned it in. Interestingly, once I began posting the homework online Ricardo began turning in the homework. For some students, then, that act disinterested during class, this strategy is effective. They are able to do their homework without sacrificing whatever reputation they’re trying to protect. Also, I had another student miss school for nearly a month due to surgery, but because of the wiki (and weekly e-mails), she was able to mostly keep up with the class. The last anecdote I can share comes from parent-teacher conferences, during which I shared the website with the parents. All of them eagerly wrote down the URL and promised to check in consistently.

Obviously, some modifications need to be made for students without consistent access to the Internet. To my 8th graders, the students that most often claim, “my internet wasn’t working!” I give a weekly newsletter that details the same things as the website, albeit much more briefly. The parents must sign the newsletter; it is worth 10 points.

In addition to their function as an online bulletin board, a class wiki can serve as a meaningful discussion center. My students read a class novel as well as a small group novel. The groups are differentiated by interest, so each student is engaged as much as possible. They ‘meet’ online at least once a week, with students rotating roles in their literature circle. I grade the discussion based on a pre-reading conference with each group in which we lay out goals for length, topics, and number of responses. The assignments are graded on a rubric that assesses whether or not they have met those goals.

A wiki is “a collaborative web site comprised of the perpetual collective work of many authors”. They are used for collaborative projects, as discussion spaces, and as virtual classroom newsletters. Engstrom and Jewett (2006) recommend that teachers who want to implement it in their classroom or administrators who seek to establish school-wide wiki use get professional development beforehand to address the two issues primarily associated with wiki use in the classroom, technology and instructional.
 * __Relevant Research:__**

The benefits of using wikis in the middle school and high school classroom are well-documented. As an online meeting place, much like an internet forum or discussion board, a wiki can be used to facilitate collaborative knowledge. It is especially useful for teachers who use literature circles. Moreillon (2008) explains that the use of wikis as the primary meeting space for what she terms the ‘affinity spaces’ (p. 23) literature circles provide allowed for students to take advantage of their individual strengths, since “in different groups and at various points in their discussions and projects, students of all levels of proficiency had opportunities to be leaders, to teach, and be taught by other group members” (p. 25). Although the primary source of knowledge is the peer group, it is imperative that teachers model how the wiki, whatever its use, is to be employed. Engstrom and Jewett (2006) say that “we need to respond to the groups so more gets shared, not just posted” (14). This social scaffold is invaluable, as it allows students to discuss interest-driven reading in terms negotiated by the group, with chances to play different roles within the discussion in front of fewer eyes than a normal classroom discussion.

Sheehy (2008) also notes the importance of wikis to teachers, deeming the practice of establishing and maintaining collaboration in learning a ‘community of practice (p. 56). Since teaching tends to be such an isolating profession, where collaboration occurs sporadically and much of the interaction at work is of the social, ‘water-cooler’ variety, an informal online ‘knowledge repository’ (57) in which established veterans at a school can post successful strategies, lessons, and ‘prototypes in use’ (58) so that other teachers can use them.

Engstrom, M.; Jewett, D. (2005) Collaborative learning the wiki way. //Tech Trends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning.// 49, p. 12-16. Moreillon, J. (2008). Learning and teaching in WANDA wiki wonderland: Literature circles in the digital commons. //Teacher Librarian,// 37, 23-28. Sheehy, G. (2008). The wiki as knowledge repository: using a wiki in a community of practice to Strengthen k-12 education. //Tech trends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve// //Learning.// 52, p. 55-60.  __**Connecting Practice with Theory:**__
 * __References:__**
 * Did you like this idea? Read more about how this best practice intertwines with educational theory by clicking on the following theorists' names! **

Lev Vygotsky says, "Wikis qualify as a sociocultural context. Discussion on a wiki is a great tool for kids learning from and with other kids!"


 * __Improving Student Self-Efficacy by Scaffolding Major Assessments__**


 * __Description:__**

My school last year had an English department of three teacher – all first year teachers, all Fellows. I teach sixth grade. Luckily, as KAPPA is known for, my principal tried to give us a lot of support. She therefore bought the services of an Aussie named Brian Green who helped us create the curriculum and implement Balanced Literacy. In this model we do a lot of “Writers’ Workshop.” One of the benefits of a these workshops is that students can work on the step of writing that they are individually on. For example, one struggling student can complete the brainstorm web while another student begins writing completing the conflict, setting, characters graphic organizer while another student begins writing her first draft. For my big writing projects I would have at least eight steps that each student has to complete. It would be a parent signature, a brainstorm web, one to two graphic organizers, a first draft, a peer review sheet, and a final draft with possibly a visual of some kind. That’s a lot of steps and a lot of sheets to pass in for a sixth grader.

Brian introduced the Collection Sheet. I have attached a couple collection sheets I used last year so you can easily see. It has eight columns, with the name of the step, the description of the step, the due date of that step, points possible, extra points, total points earned for that step, and a teacher signature. As a student completes each step, he checks it with the teacher, who grades the step and then signs off that step (both on the student’s collection sheet and in a teacher’s copy – or just in the grade book).

The implementation of the collection sheet solves two main problems. The first problem is when a kid is in workshop and then annoyingly asks, “Ok, what do I do?” The steps are already listed and described with due dates to match. This helps students stay focused on what they have to do and holds them accountable, since you can always come by and find the place they should be at. It allows struggling students to move at their own pace without forgetting the pace advanced students need to move at. The second problem is what I call “I lost the final draft!” This is when you know a student has been working hard (or you just know they have done some of it) and she just doesn’t follow through and complete the final draft. With the collection sheet, first of all, all the points earned from the brainstorm to the first draft can count towards the 100 of the total grade. So without the final draft, I usually like have everything else add up to 70 points, leaving the final to be 30. I’ve found this pretty effective. It works out. Most students won’t earn the 70 points before the final draft, and I’ve found that students still land in the according grading tiers of their effort and performance level. But this saves you from entering a big fat Zero in the grade book for a few students’ writing projects when really,they earned at least partial credit.

I’ve made a few changes. This year I am not going to give an exact grade on each step, because I had hard time keeping up with grading everybody’s along the way during class. I also started printing off the assignment and rubric on one side and the collection sheet on the other. It’s also a great idea to make it a different color, like salmon or something, so the students and you can find it in a messy book bag.

This collection sheet idea really fits for all populations. For ELLs sometimes it looks like an intimidating mess of text, but once they use it once, they will be able to use it in future units. The modifications should really take place along the steps of the writing project; and so a collection sheet can help keep that organized and as I’ve said, helps allow struggling students to work at their own pace.

While the collection sheet might be seen as behaviorist, since I am basically training my students to complete a project this way. I view it, however, as a socio-cognitive approach because I think it is more like a scaffold to guide students to increased feelings of self-efficacy, as theorized by Bandura (2000). With the collection sheet students know the steps of the process, which is like a constant scaffold, and which I think also is like a form of insurance for them, since they can always fall back on it to understand what to do next. And doing that is practicing self-regulated learning. And practicing self-regulated learning most definitely increases self-efficacy.

Sample Collection Sheet

2/10/09 || 15 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * ELA6 //Name:// Total Score:
 * //My Short Story Collection Sheet//**
 * //(Please read all descriptions and due dates carefully)//** ||
 * **//Parts//** || **//Description//** || **//Due Date//** || **//Points//** || **//Extra//** || **//Result//** || **//Signed//** ||
 * **//Parent Signature//** || Must have a parent/guardian sign the attached sheet. || Mon. 2/9/09 || 5 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **//Brainstorming Web//** || Neatly draw and complete a web with **//at least 10 ideas//** about what you want in your short story. || Mon. 2/9/09 || 10 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **//Character and Setting Graphic Organizer//** || Neatly complete each part of the graphic organizer, with at least three characters. || Tues.
 * **//Plot Map//** || Neatly complete each part of the Plot Map. || Wed. 2/11/09 || 15 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **//First Draft//** || Complete a written **//5-7 paragraph//** draft that shows your planning from the graphic organizers. . || **Monday 2/23/09** || 15 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **//Peer Editing Sheet//** || Must pass in a peer editing worksheet completed by one student. || Monday 3/2/09 || 5 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **//Final Draft//** || **//Complete a published short story of 5-7 paragraphs, which is edited and extremely neatly written//**. || **Monday 3/2/09** || 20 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **//Visual//** || Must create a **//colorful//** book jacket including the title, author, and visual for the short story. || Monday 3/2/09 || 10 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **//Completed Rubric//** || Must **//score yourself//** on the rubric and pass it in with your final draft. || Monday 3/2/09 || 5 ||  ||   ||   ||

Scaffolds are an important part of teaching in New York City, where many schools expect and enforce the workshop method. According to Englert, Manolo, and Zhao (2004) the quality of a scaffold should be evaluated by its effects on student work as well as the extent to which students internalize it (p. 7).
 * Relevant Research:**

The use of a collection sheet is also valuable for the data it contains. You will be asked to quantify student progress and grades, so engaging the tracking process through collection sheets will afford you the type of transparency your school desires.

Most importantly, the collection sheet has a positive effect on student self-efficacy, described by Klassen (2001) as “how self-perceptions of the capability to perform certain tasks strongly influences one’s engagement in and successful completion of a task” (p. 4). By 10, Klassen notes, students start to show self-doubt and understand how ability affects performance around age 10. Many factors are involved in subsequent drops in self-efficacy, not least among them motivation. Much of the lack of self-efficacy in the ELA classroom can be attributed to a perceived grammatical inferiority at grammar and editing (Garcia and Caso, 2006). The collection sheet could help students with low self-efficacy experience the feeling of success associated with mastery of small tasks. This should lead to added motivation, increased participation and effort, and a high-quality final product.

A collection sheet should help every student in your classroom, while simultaneously serving as a meaningful cognitive and organization scaffold and differentiation tool for your LD students. Even though, as Garcia and Caso (2006) note, “there is no general consensus among researchers regarding the differences in self-efficacy beliefs between LD and normally achieving (NA) students” (p. 3), our experiences as teachers have taught us that LD students will indeed frequently have low senses of self-efficacy significantly below those of their NA peers. They can thus greatly benefit from such a tool.

Finally, the metacognitive approach to writing espoused by some researchers emphasizes a strict process-based approach to writing in order to facilitate self-regulated learning (Garcia and Caso, 2006). This allows students to develop at their own pace, and, according to Klassen (2001), can lead to an increase in self-efficacy. This, as you will see, is due to an increased sense of accountability that students will gain by becoming the masters of their own learning.

Englert, C., Manolo, M., and Zhao, Y.. (2004) I can do it better on the computer: The effects of Technology-enabled scaffolding on young writers’ composition. //Journal of Special// //Education Technolog//19, 2, 5-22.
 * References:**

Garcia, J., de Caso, A. (2006). Changes in writing self-efficacy and writing products and process through specific training in the self-efficacy beliefs of students with learning disabilities. //Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal,// 4, 1-27.

Klassen, R.(2001). Writing in early adolescence: a review of the role of self-efficacy beliefs. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, USA, 1-40.

__**Connecting Practice with Theory:**__
 * Did you like this idea? Read more about how this best practice intertwines with educational theory by clicking on the following theorists' names! **

__Jean Piaget__ says, "You should really try this because we know students all progress at different speeds, so give them the opportunity to learn best by letting them progress at a comfortable, but rigorous pace!" Lisa Delpit says, "Collection sheets help create clear expectations. Clear expectations make it easier for people of all cultures to achieve." Benjamin Bloom says, "The collection sheet can guide students along the path to higher learning objectives."


 * Using Technology- Based Games in the Classroom**

Two things hold true for the students you will teach: 1. They love games, and 2. They are more interested in things on screens than in things on pages. Use this to your advantage.
 * Description:**

Although I have not had success with every game I have tried, and some have been outright disastrous, I have found that using PowerPoint Jeopardy is one of the most effective ways to help students learn material before a test.

We all know how the game works: you look at your test and create different categories and questions for each of those categories based off of the questions you will ask on the test. Here I will present some pointers for structuring the rules of the game as well as some websites that offer great PowerPoint Jeopardy templates. It might sound logical to structure your classroom game like the show, where the contestant who gets a question right gets to keep going. Unfortunately, this will almost invariably lead to one group dominating the board while the rest lose interest or get upset. To keep all students engaged, try this set of rules:

1. Students sit in their normal groups. 2. Pick a number 1-100. The group with the closest number gets to go first. 3. That group picks a category and a question. They have 15 seconds to begin their answer. All groups can use this time to confer. 4. While they confer, members of other groups can raise their hands. The first team to raise its hand after the question is read will have the opportunity to steal first. 5. The group that picked the question gives its answer. If they are wrong, the stealing groups answer until a group gets it right. 6. If the original group is right, they get the points and the next group (either in number, such as Group 4, 5, 6, or in order of the number they picked for step 2) goes. 7. Repeat.

With this method, no one group is disengaged. Also consider the following pointers:

1. Students who tend to be off-task or unmotivated can be given jobs, such as scorekeeper. 2. Certain students may need something to keep them occupied, so have them write answers while other students play the game. This way, they can demonstrate comprehension of the material. 3. You will probably need to quell some outbursts from frustrated groups, especially if you are lenient in awarding another group a certain answer and the other groups know it. Take away points from groups whose students have such outbursts. 4. Award extra credit to the winners.

The following websites have great templates for your own Jeopardy. Some of them also have templates for other game show-based classroom games:

[] [] [] []

Although the use of games in the classroom is an age-old practice, the current technological advances in video game and computer technology, coupled with the increased amount of time students spend using those media, make technology-based games an invaluable part of the modern-day teaching strategy repertoire. It is important to understand that even Luddites can take advantage of games that keep the emphasis on education. Much effort has been put into merging the virtual with the educational, but opinions differ as to what is effective and what should be used. According to Trotter (2008), there has been “disappointment that so little of practical value has so far come out of attempts to bridge the entertainment-education divide” (1). Many are calling for more simulation-oriented approaches to educational games. This type of “exploratory learning”, which Freitas (2006) says is a strategy in which “learning takes place through exploring environments, lived and real experiences, with tutorial or peer support (344).
 * Relevant Research:**

Although not strictly exploratory, Jeopardy is a real-life simulation, both of the game-show and, to an extent, the test for which it is being used to help students prepare. Freitas (2006) demonstrates that technology-based games have numerous advantages, increasing motivation levels, completion rate, and enjoyment. While the latter is much harder to quantify than the other two, that there is a significant (and easily quantifiable) rise in the other in a way shows the third to be true. Finally, the best way to make any game effective is to tie it to tangible learning goals. Using PowerPoint Jeopardy as a test-review activity seems to be its best fit. As Freitas (2006) notes, “ a key challenge for using games effectively lies in providing close links between the game-play and the learning objectives and outcomes. Where this is not achieved, games are often not effective in achieving their broader learning outcomes regardless of how motivated the learners are during game-play” (350). Always be sure to make the point of the game explicit, and state that the period during which the game is played is not a free-period, but rather an interactive way to review.

Freitas, S. (2006). Using games and simulations for supporting learning. //Learning Media and// // Technology. // 31, 4, 343-358.
 * References: **

Trotter, A. (2008). Despite allure, using digital games for learning seen as no easy task. // Education Week, // 25, 1.

__**Connecting Practice with Theory:**__
 * Did you like this idea? Read more about how this best practice intertwines with educational theory by clicking on the following theorists' names! **

John Dewey says, "You should really try this because students are obsessed with technology such as computers and cellphones outside of school, and kids obviously enjoy games, so why not incorporate those things into your lessons?" Lev Vygotsky says, "Games allow students to practice the process of learning together and then internalizing what was learned. Plus, PowerPoint Jeopardy, after a unit of scaffolding, stays within the Zone of Proximal Development, and therefore is awesome!"


 * __Effective Vocabulary Instructional Practices__**

Acrostic Associations __Students take a word and write it vertically, letter by letter. For each letter, they have to write a corresponding word (synonym) or phrase (something that they associate with the meaning of that word) in order to create mental associations for themselves. Students then present their acrostic associations in front of the class. I tell students it should__ be anything that "helps you remember what the __word means."__
 * __Description:__**

Vocabulary Ads __ Students invent products and write an ad pitch (with vocabulary quota). They then design an actual magazine advertisement for their product (again, with a requirement of how many vocabulary words must be used - in the slogan, product description or in the product name). They then "pitch" these to the class.__

Vocabulary Movie Posters __ Students come up with a movie - with a title, plot, actors, etc. and they make a movie poster to go along with it. The title must include vocabulary words and there must be 6 other vocabulary words present in the poster. Students then present a trailer of their movie using the words. __

Vocabulary Visuals __Students draw pictures for each word in boxes (from folding paper into sections), but they leave the word out and other students have to guess the word based on the pictures they've drawn. I count this as a "quiz." For students who claim they are not good at drawing, I tell them to use computer images or to cut the images out of a newspaper or magazine. I even do a little lesson on stick-figure drawing and make it known that they will not be graded on how great their art skills are.__

Comic Strips __Also for artistically inclined students (many schools have NO art program), I assign comic strips based on whatever novel we're reading. I have students portray a scene (6 boxes) using vocabulary words so that they can summarize the important points. To further enhance its academic value, I might have them analyze a literary element present in the scene. In other cases, you can have a student do a comic strip representing a "day in the life" of a character. I have them do comic strips where they place characters from works of historical fiction in a modern-day context.__

Vocabulary "Pictionarv" __In this whole-class game, individual students come to the board and draw pictures that convey the meanings of particular words, and the class has to guess the word that corresponds to the picture. In order to guess, students must raise their hands and be called on. The student who answers correctly has the opportunity to draw or to choose someone else to draw. It's a good time filler or break when you're teaching multiple periods in a row...or maybe you have 5 minutes left and nothing on the agenda.__

Vocabulary Charades/Improv

__ Students get into groups and act out scenes that convey the meanings of vocabulary words. Sometimes, I have them perform silent skits, and other times they have to include multiple words in a given skit. Improv works very well with students who love acting and who have a strong grasp of the words. In this activity, the students have a certain number of minutes (say...3) and have to use as many words (CORRECTLY) as possible in their skits. __

'America's Next Top Vocabulary //Word^m// __For my students who love attention, I have them do "runway walks" down the center aisle of the classroom. Their walks are supposed to embody the essence of individual words. I usually do this when I teach character trait words (which I do before the BLA test in 6th, 7th and 8th grades). Students in the audience have to raise their hands to guess what the words mean.__

Teaching vocabulary is commonly considered to be one of the most difficult areas of ELA content. You will probably have in your classroom numerous ELLs whose home and school English support is limited, as well as students who were not brought up reading and so lack vocabulary you would consider normal for students in your grade.
 * Relevant Research **

Burke (2008) distinguishes between expressive and receptive vocabulary, the former used in producing written and oral language, the latter in consuming it. Interestingly, there seems to be little research done that distinguishes effective strategies for expressive and for receptive vocabulary learning.

In all likelihood, a good number of your students will be visual learners. Use this to your advantage with teaching vocabulary. Notice that almost every single strategy listed above is visual in some way. Burke (2008) advises that having students draw words and make word clusters, in which the main concept is in the center, with branches for etymology, definition, context, and other facets of the word coming out, much in the same vein as a mind map.

Cary (2007) also advises that film be used to supplement texts, especially for ELLs. The films can be shown during class or at another time arranged by you and the student. With the film, the black print of the text becomes much more understandable and visual, thus providing the student with an important instructional scaffold. If you are uncomfortable with the strategies described above, Burke (2008) recommends the vocabulary square, shown below: Not only will this graphic organizer allow your students to create a schema around a given word, but it will allow your visual learners to engage their preferred learning style for a word. If done properly, such a complete study of a word can model for students how to fully comprehend a word, providing what Manyak and Bauer (2009) call a “multifaceted” (175) approach to vocabulary instruction, wherein students get “strategies for inferring word meanings and the development of word consciousness (i.e., a heightened awareness of and appreciation for words)” (176).
 * Etymology and Part(s) of Speech || Variations, Synonyms, Antonyms ||
 * Word: ||
 * Symbol/Logo/Icon || Definition(s): ||
 * Sentence: ||

Burke, J. (2008). //The English teacher’s companion//. New Hampshire: Heinemann.
 * References: **

Cary, S. (2007). //Working with English language learners: Answers to teachers’ top ten// // Questions. // New Hampshire: Heinemann.

Manyak, P., Bauer, E. (2009). English vocabulary instruction for English learners. //The Reading// // Teacher //, 63, 2, 174-176.

__**Connecting Practice with Theory:**__
 * Did you like this idea? Read more about how this best practice intertwines with educational theory by clicking on the following theorists' names! **

Lev Vygotsky says, "Groups and social learning activities are great!"

Benjamin Bloom says, "Many of these activities require higher functioning learning processes."


 * Using Essential Question- Driven Anticipation Guides Before Starting a Work of Literature **

My units are driven by philosophical Essential Questions. I frame many of the lessons and assessments around these questions, and the students see that the literature they read in class does in fact relate to them and to the real world. To give you a feel for Essential Questions, here are the EQs I used for The Catcher in the Rye:
 * Description: **

 How do our perceptions of ourselves differ from others’?  What is an individual’s relationship to society and its rules?  How does our environment (people and places) affect us?  What does it mean to grow up?  How does experience affect one’s observations?

I present the Essential Questions on the first day of a given unit and refer back to them frequently. Then I present the anticipation guide for that particular unit. There are many ways to structure anticipation guides. I prefer giving the students a statement based off of an EQ and having them indicate whether they agree or disagree and explain why. After students have filled out their anticipation guides, I have them share their answers in their groups. As they discuss, I assign each group a question. Two members of that group go to the board and write points for each side of the debate on that statement. Then, when we discuss that statement as a class, those students lead the discussion. The result is an entertaining, often emotionally charged, and student-led activity that gets students interested in the book before it starts. Below is the anticipation guide for The Catcher in the Rye__. Notice how each statement corresponds to one or more Essential Questions:__

Name: Date:

The Catcher in the Rye __Anticipation Guide__ 1. Growing up is a good thing and everyone should want to do it. Agree/Disagree
 * Directions:** Indicate whether or not you agree with the following statements. In one or two sentences below each, write why you feel that way.

2. Experimenting with sex, sexual preference, drinking, and smoking are important parts of growing up. Agree/Disagree

3. My physical location has a profound impact on the way I feel and behave. Agree/Disagree.

4. People don’t have to follow society’s rules, only their own. Agree/ Disagree

5. How people see me is different from how I see myself. Agree/Disagree

6. Being angry at and confused with the world is a natural part of growing up. Agree/Disagree

An anticipation guide is, according to Kozen, Murray, and Windell (2006) “a prereading strategy that combines literacy instruction and content-area learning” (196). Essentially, it is a way to engage students in the reading by having call upon and discuss their own beliefs and values. This activation prior knowledge is one of your best friends; without tying content to schema already internalized by your students, you risk losing all but the most motivated of them.
 * Relevant Research: **

Essential Questions (EQs) are an important part of unit planning, as they provide the conceptual framework for the content covered during it. Smagorinsky (2008) discusses the importance of EQs and the structure they provide for teachers, especially in ELA, where so many of the works studied have philosophical implications. He calls for the use of conceptual units, which he defines as “sustained attention to a related set of ideas” (111). Typically, EQs based on a single work of literature are thematic in nature, but a conceptual unit can be designed around a region or time period. It is these EQs that foster discussion and debate throughout a given unit and allow students to connect the dots between the work of literature in question and their own lives. The discussion that normally accompanies good EQs paired with a good work of literature is an important structural scaffold for students who need to express themselves orally and a good engagement tool for students who want to be social but whose desire to talk is often stifled in class.

Kozen, A., Murray, R., and Windell I. (2006). Increasing all students’ chance to achieve: Using and adapting anticipation guides with middle school learners. //Intervention in School and// // clinic //, 41, 4, 195-200. Smagorinsky, P. (2008). //Teaching English by design: How to create and carry out instructional// // units. // New Hamshore: Heinemann.
 * References: **

__**Connecting Practice with Theory:**__
 * Did you like this idea? Read more about how this best practice intertwines with educational theory by clicking on the following theorists' names! **

John Dewey says, "You should really try this because giving students the opportunity to both draw on their own personal experience //and// express their opinion //before reading// will increase for them both their interest in and the relevancy of the idea and task at hand."

Lev Vygotsky says, "Essential question-driven anticipation guides are an excellent tool for scaffoling instruction. It is like opening the door into the Zone of Proximal Development!"