Student Engagement Strategies
Presentation Strategies
Comic Strips:
Comic strips are a great way to tell a narrative in history. For key events that occur on a timeline, comic strips can be a great way for students to tell a story in history in their own words. Students can color their comic strips and add whatever captions are relevant to them. This strategy is a simple visual tool to help students organize content and make it their own. This is a great tool to use for differentiation for ELLs and SSNs because they can draw whatever pictures make the content relevant to them. Check out more comic strips at http://www.thecomicstrips.com/subject/The-American+History-Comic-Strips.php. |
Communication Strategies
Jigsaw:
A jigsaw strategy is most often used during a reading lesson. Jigsaw is a great way for students to teach and learn from one another. In a jigsaw activity, the teacher separates the reading or the content into 3-4 different sections and assigns each student a section. The student is responsible for becoming an expert on their section. Once they have become experts, the students will then get into groups, in which each group has a person from each section of the text. In this group, each expert teaches their classmates what they have learned. Jigsaws help students with close reading as well as with collaboration with other students. Check out how to do a jigsaw at https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educator-resources/teaching-strategies/jigsaw-developing-community-d. |
Gallery Walk:
Gallery walk activities are beneficial for all types of learners and are a great way to differentiate for students that need it. In a gallery walk, students will walk around the classroom and read or view images on a particular topic. The text or images are often accompanied by guiding questions to aid in comprehension. This is a great activity to expose students to a topic and to build background information. At the end of the gallery walk, the teacher can lead the class in a discussion about what they learned. Learn more about gallery walks by going to https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educator-resources/teaching-strategies/gallery-walk-teaching-strateg. |
Organization Strategies
Timelines:
Timelines are a great way to organize content in history. Time and continuity are an important topic in social studies and it is crucial that students understand how events are laid out in history. Organizing events into a timeline can help students understand content more easily. Timelines are also helpful for visual learners and to help students view the order of events in history. Check out examples of timelines at http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy033.shtml. |
Graphic Organizers:
Graphic organizers are a tool that can be used for a variety of different content. They are especially useful when helping students organize content and to aid in the comprehension of text structure. Graphic organizers can take the form of compare/contrast, cause/effect, action/reaction, and other different relationships among ideas. Students can hep solidify ideas and aid in their critical thinking skills by organizing and visualizing the content learned. To view more examples of graphic organizers go to https://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/. |
Interaction Strategies
Student Interactives:
Some students may not have access to a computer at home, but online interactives are a fun way for students to be able interact with the content that they are learning. Games like the ones listed at this website, http://www.uen.org/7-12interactives/social_studies.shtml, make learning fun for students, while also aiding students in content comprehension. Other interactives can include websites like Quizlet and others that allow interactive activities of vocabulary and other lesson-specific content. |
Collection Strategies
Webquests:
Again, webquests require the use of a computer, which may not be feasible for every student. Webquests are generally an online assignment that students work through on their own or in groups. They include instructions and links to outside websites or resources. Students are tasked to collect information from these sources and then complete a project or assignment that helps them organize the information that they have found. Webquests expose students to how to collect information on the internet, while also aiding in their critical thinking skills. Check out how to do a webquest at http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html. |
Collaboration Strategies
Project-Based Learning:
Project-based learning is very student centered and focuses on leading students through an inquiry process. Students are encouraged to ask critical questions and investigate important ideas. Learning projects often connect these ideas and information to real world problems and issues. Students take on collaborative projects that take on these problems and questions. Students have to use higher-level thinking to complete their projects, making this strategy beneficial to understanding complex content. Learn more about project-based learning by going to http://schools.nyc.gov/documents/teachandlearn/project_basedfinal.pdf. |