Wait time- Wait time is the pause that teachers give students to think of an answer and to respond. This is a critical instructional tool. This can also allow time for students to think about another student’s response. Wait time is appropriate for deep thinking questions, and not for when it is a yes or no answer. This can be used to give the students time to calm down and understand the expectations.
Graphic organizers- are stories, pictures, and other introductory materials that set the stage for learning. Graphic organizers are introduced before a lesson to draw attention to important points, identify relationships within the material, and relate material to student’s prior knowledge. The most effective graphic organizers provide an organized conceptual framework that is meaningful to the learner and allow the learner to relate concepts in the instructional materials to elements of that framework. Graphic organizers are used in skimming. These include narrative advance organizers: story format like a movie trailer, Graphic Advance Organizers: organizers that will give a preview of the topics that will be seen. As the students learn, they will add information to each part of the organizer.
Inferences- inferences require students to think deeply and draw upon information that they already know and address missing information in a fill in the blank fashion. Teachers can help students make inferences about things, people, actions, events, or states of being by asking questions. This helps student understand what the information reflects and how it influences society. This means to take a logical guess on what you don’t know based on what you already know.
Predictions-A reasonable statement of what could happen later in the text. This helps capture student’s attention while the student seeks to confirm, modify and reject their predictions. It also helps students make connections to the text.
Anticipation Guide- anticipation guides are filled out by students before reading to activate student prior knowledge and build curiosity. Students read selections that challenge or support their prior knowledge. These highlight key ideas and concepts in the text.Anticipation Guides are used to activate prior knowledge and increase comprehension by engaging in critical thinking. The anticipation guide gives a statement where students mark true or false before and after reading. Students should find textual evidence to support their opinions after reading. The anticipation guide can lead to a class discussion (before and after reading), where students justify their answers and activate critical thinking.
Think Aloud- Think Alouds are a strategy for monitoring comprehension while reading that involves the reader saying what they are thinking while reading. This can be done by the teacher or the student. When the teacher reads aloud the teacher shows how to monitor comprehension. When the student reads aloud, they can learn to monitor their own comprehension.
Guiding Questions- Guiding questions are given to students verbally or in writing while they are working on a task. They help students to think at higher levels by providing open-ended support that call student’s attention to details. These questions help a student analyze a topic.