Literacy Strategies @ TJ Learning Blog Questions

1. What is the number and name of the literacy strategy you have chosen?

2.  While conducting research, identify the most important insights you learned (beyond the description in the Google Doc - Literacy Strategies @ TJ).

3.  What insights have you gained about this strategy by talking to other group members?

4. Which course and period did you first implement this literacy strategy?  Explain why.

5.  What did you learn during this first implementation about the strategy, your students, your instruction?

6.  What did you learn when you saw another teacher implementing this strategy?

7.  What did you learn from the feedback supplied to you by another teacher when they observed your implementation of this strategy?

8.  How did you change your thinking and/or implementation of this strategy based on your observation(s), feedback you received, and your experience implementing?

9.  Do you anticipate using this strategy again?  Explain your response.

10.  What questions, concerns, observations, insights do you want to address with your group members on Nov. 7th?

Think Aloud Strategy #345

Click here to get a good strategy for think alouds.

Short Research article

Click here to get a short article:

Math Think-Aloud Strategy

Description of Strategy

Math Think-Aloud involves learning a list of solution steps, often with a set of corresponding

prompts that take the form of questions, such as “What does the problem say?” Students are

taught to ask themselves the questions aloud and continue thinking aloud while answering

them. Student can be encouraged to engage in a running monologue, describing the questions

they are asking of themselves, possible solutions, and difficulties they may encounter. In the

beginning, teachers model the use of the steps and apply the steps to a problem. Gradually, the

teacher transfers responsibility for using the strategy to the student. Over time, the student

internalizes the prompts and self-instructions so that he or she no longer verbalizes them aloud

and the student independently uses the steps to solve problems. For example, students could

be taught to solve problems using the following strategy. Consider this multiplication problem:

5n=50.

Step 1: Identify the variable and the kind of problem. (Answer: n, multiplication)

Step 2: What operation do you use to solve the problem? (Answer: the opposite of

multiplication, division)

Step 3: What number is used to solve the problem and why? (Answer: 5, because it is

next to the variable)

Step 4: Perform the operation on both sides of the equation.

In this case, the teacher can model the strategy (i.e., thinking aloud when following the steps),

use guided practice as he or she checked for comprehension and utility of the strategy, provide

opportunities for independent practice (i.e., homework), assess students on mastery of the

strategy and content, and provide feedback throughout. The teacher should often prompt

students to go to the next step after completing the previous one. Positive reinforcement can be

used throughout to motivate students.

Power of a Think Aloud

Thinking aloud by the teacher and more capable students allowed the novice learners to see the expert thinking which is usually hidden from them.

Short article with strategy

Take a look at The DePaul Center for Urban Education Research Base has a short table and a couple of key research items. The blogger will not let me paste the website.

Think Aloud Prompt Sheet

MATH THINK ALOUD PROMPT SHEET

1. The problem says . . .

2. What am I trying to solve? I am trying to figure out …the value for the variable.

3. The important/essential information is . . .to

4. What strategy will I use to solve the problem? The strategy I will use is . . . the think aloud strategy.

5. I am going to think aloud each step of this strategy.

· First, I know that I need to find out the value for the variable.

· Second, I need to divide the equation into two parts where the equal sign is.

· I know that if I am adding I must subtract to cancel the number.

· I also know that if I am subtracting I must add.

· Then, I know that whatever I did in one side I must do it in the other side of the equal sign.

· Does this answer make sense? Let me work backwards and see...; I will replace the variable for the number and if I get the same answer I know I have the correct value for the variable.

· Does this answer make sense if I read the problem again?

Literacy strategy 3

I like this strategy a "lot". I was using this strategy long before I knew that it had a name.
It is especially helpful to help students learn vocabulary and get thru a lot of the technical
jargon that is part of the proofs and examples for new parts of the textbook curricula.