Instructional Strategies:
Think, Pair, Share
Students first think individually about a topic. Then the students split up into pairs and each student shares his/her ideas about the topic with his/her partner. After each of the partners have shared their ideas, the pairs present their ideas to the entire class. |
Quick Write
The students are instructed to write down everything that they know about a topic in a short given amount of time. This is a great assessment tool because it can give you an idea of what your students know/do not know about the topic. |
Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are great tools to help students organize information and visualize relationships within each topic. Graphic organizers can be used to help students study material and can also be displayed throughout the classroom. |
Students are given time to read a passage. Then, they are instructed to write down their response to what the author said in the passage and also write down any questions they have about the passage. |
Vocabulary Journal
Students will keep a journal of all the social studies vocabulary they learn throughout the year. For each page in the journal, the students write down the word, its definition, a sentence or phrase including the word, and picture of the word. |
Four Corners
This is an activity you can use to get students up and out of their seats, and also get them to talk to other people around the room. The instructor assigns a topic to each of the four corners of the room, and then each student selects a topic and goes to the corresponding corner of the room. The students then take time to discuss why they chose that corner. |
Jigsaw/ Peer Teaching
This is a strategy that can be used to learn a lot of course material in a short amount of time. Assign each student a different portion of the material to read. Each student becomes an "expert" on his/her material, and then once the students have finished reading the material, they come together and each share what they learned about the material. Role Playing
This is a really fun way for students to learn/ review material. Once students have learned about a new topic, they act out a scene involving that topic in front of the class. Literature Circles
In this activity, the students within a group are assigned to red a particular text or passage. Each of the students are assigned a role such as narrator or illustrator and then shares their individual work with the group. The goal of this activity is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the material presented in the text by viewing the text using different perspectives. The ABCs of...
For this activity, students are given a topic and they have to come up with a word related to that topic for every letter of the alphabet. One example is the topic US Government for which we could have A-Armed Forces, B-Bill, C-Congress, etc. |
Line up review
This is another type of engagement activity in which students stand up and form two lines in which each of the students in one line are facing another student in the other line. The students take turns reflecting on what they have learned. Once the pairs have finished their discussion, the lines move so that each student is across from a new person, they share again, and so on... Mix, Freeze, Pair
The students stand up and find a partner in the room to stand and talk with about a topic. After a certain amount of time, the students "mix" and choose another partner to discuss the topic with. R.A.F.T
This is a writing strategy in which students write on a certain topic. For each topic, students are expected to take on a certain role and address a given audience while following a particular format. Exit Cards
Before students can leave the classroom, they have to write down a quick response to a given prompt on a note card and give the note card to the teacher. This is a good strategy to use to help students reflect on what they learned. |
Marzano's Six Step Process For Building Academic Vocabulary
Marzano's six steps are the key to effective vocabulary instruction, as they help students develop a deeper understanding of vocabulary words and how to use them in the proper context.
Click here for a description of Marzano's strategies and how to use them in instruction.
Marzano's six steps are the key to effective vocabulary instruction, as they help students develop a deeper understanding of vocabulary words and how to use them in the proper context.
Click here for a description of Marzano's strategies and how to use them in instruction.