Table Top Texting (S.O.S.)

Lori  Dobrzynski (SMS Media Speciali) recently shared the above photo from one of her

classes.  She writes:

Eighth-grade students participated in Table Top Texting during their library visit.

Table Top Texting is an interactive way for students to express themselves.

The topic used for this fun example of written expression was the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry. 

You can find all the details on this Spotlight On Strategy here.  If you are in the District, log into your Discovery Education account and search for Table Top Texting- you will find a video as well as additional resources.

Silence is Golden (with a twist)

DE adding a twist on a favorite SOS

Strategy: Silence is Golden

Big idea: Focus student attention on imagery to engage them in visual

analysis and discussion, leading to deeper connections and understanding

of the material they are learning.

Materials: Video segment with strong imagery, paper, and pencil/pen

---

In any subject…

…ask students to create their own narration, using key vocabulary and

concepts learned during a unit of study.

…smash this strategy with strategies such as Sketchnotes , Sticky Back , or

Tweet Tweet . Watch the video segment without sound and then ask

students to write a summary using sketchnotes, sticky notes, or 280-character

tweets.

In science…

…Lindsay Murdock used Silence is Golden in a Discovery Education Studio Board

she created to “give students the opportunity to develop comprehension,

collaborate with their peers, and, ultimately, narrate their own version of the

chain of events that gets an apple from its start on a farm all the way to their table.

In social studies…

…Courtney Toomey used Silence is Golden in a Discovery Education Studio Board

designed to engage students in a 6th grade special education social studies l

esson focused on Mesopotamia.

…Sharman Asendorf shared that using Silence is Golden gave her young

learners an opportunity to engage in content-related dialogue and collaborative

conversation because they used what they saw to talk about the American flag.

Global reaching SOS

SOS Top Ten for Promoting Global Citizenship

According to the Center for Global Education, globally competent students have the knowledge and skills to investigate the world, recognize perspectives, communicate ideas, and take action. The idea of global competence articulates the knowledge and skills students need in the 21st century. Please click here for the strategies

SOS for STEM

Looking for ideas to integrate SOS material in STEM thinking?  Look no further- here’s a blog post with the top SOS for STEM.

Novel twist on the SOS - Snowball Fight

I took this from the DEN online community- thought it was a great idea!  I

can see how you could make it work in other content areas.

Kudos to Emily!

We had so much fun today. I put a spin on the classic Snowball

fight strategy in math today. Students prepared a BINGO card

from the answers to the one-step equations we were working on.

I then balled up all of the problems and threw them in the middle

of the room.  Students had to pick a problem, work it out, find

the answer on their BINGO card and throw it back. They had a blast!

Emily Strickland

6th Grade Math

Greenville

Greenville SC

More Scrambled SOS

Spotlight On Strategies: Change It Up! Scrambled Please

Welcome to a special SOS Top Ten series called Change It Up. For years you’ve told us the best part of the SOS is their adaptability for use across grade levels and content areas.

In this series, we take tried and true Spotlight on Strategies (CDN Version) instructional ideas and share ways to adjust or adapt for your classroom.

We’d love to know what your favorite adaptations are; visit the DEN Online Community to share more ideas!

---

Change It Up:

Strategy: Scrambled Please (CDN Version)

Big idea: Provide students with a fun and challenging way to sequence ideas, 

events, or steps.

Materials: copies of any text that progresses in sequential order (e.g., reading 

passages, speeches, historical documents, mathematical or scientific 

processes) with the last paragraph(s) of your chosen text removed 

and cut into pieces.

---

In language arts…

… ask students to analyze and put into sequence excerpts of a text or 

video transcript they are studying.

… have students practice using sequence words such as first, next, and 

last as they put portions of a text into the correct order.

---

In mathematics…

…. ask students to view a media selection that introduces problem-solving 

strategies and then provide them with a multiple-step word problem that 

has been cut apart. Ask students to work with a partner to reorder the 

problem and then see if they can correctly solve it.

---

In science…

…introduce students to a new unit of study by giving them steps of a 

science experiment that have been scrambled. Ask them to work 

together to read, analyze, and put the steps of the experiment into the correct order.

---

In social studies…

…assess what students have learned about a period in history 

by asking them to first watch a related video segment and then 

correctly sequence the events.

And the Number is...

Rediscover SOS: The Number Is (CDN Version)

Description: This strategy encourages students to become more aware of the mathematics that they encounter in their daily lives. Students become engaged in listening and watching for numbers in a pre-selected video segment and then use those numbers to generate mathematical word problems.

Materials: Students will need a video segment, paper, something to write with.

>>See the full strategy (CDN)

Adaptations and Extensions:

1. DEN Friend Emily Fagan likes using this strategy across many different content areas. She uses it:
• in Social Studies to have students better understand the American Revolution by looking for numbers related to the number of colonies, jobs, and land areas
• in science to have students dig into biomes and habitats through the numbers found in media that discusses temperature, climate, and world zones
• in language arts, specifically the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, she has students determine the number of miles the main character walks, discover the number of weeks it takes for a broken leg to heal, etc.
2. Use Discovery Education media that contains numerical data about a topic, such as the solar system, and use SOS Pause and Play (CDN Version) to help students understand how to actively listen for numerical data. With each pause, ask students to curate their data in a chart. After playing the media, have them compute totals or averages for the data they’ve collected.

Digital Citizenship- the Top 10

Here’s a new SOS top ten from Discovery Education - and this time the focus is on digital citizenship.  Many of my favorites are included in this package.

Looking for higher Order Thinking Tools?

Check out this information from Discovery Education.  SOS resources and other tools! You will need to access your Discovery Education account. (Image from Discovery Education)

Rediscover SOS: Myth Bustin’

Rediscover SOS: Myth Bustin’

From Discovery Education

Strategies like Three Truths and One Lie (CDN Version), Snowball Fight

(CDN Version), and Paper Slide (CDN Version) are long-time favorites

for both teachers and students.

They are easily adaptable to many different grade levels and content

areas and are fun ways to engage students in analyzing digital media.

But, did you know that they represent only a handful of more than 130

different tried and true strategies in the Spotlight on Strategies

(CDN Version) collection?

Rediscover SOS is a series that reminds us about some of these

great strategies. Take this opportunity to explore a strategy that you

haven’t used in a while.

Challenge yourself to give this strategy a try, and

share your outcomes with us in the DEN Online Community.

---

Rediscover Myth Bustin’ (CDN Version)

Description: Myth Bustin’ mimics the scientific inquiry model used on

the popular television show and Discovery Education asset, Mythbusters (CDN Version). Students consider myth/fact statements provided by the teacher, and

through the exploration of a variety of resources, determine whether

the statements are fact or fiction. This strategy enables students to

develop critical thinking skills as they examine and use evidence to support their claims.

Materials: You’ll need a video segment and related teacher-generated myth/fact statements. Students will need pen/pencil and paper.

Adaptations and Extensions:

Instead of giving myth/fact statements to the students, have
them pull statements from the media as they watch and listen.
Then, have students trade with one another to see if they’re
 able to provide evidence that proves or disproves each claim.
Ask students to use their claims and evidence as the starting
point of an argumentative essay.
Create a team challenge by keeping a tally of points given to
 teams who are able to identify the myths and facts correctly over time.

More Top Ten SOS!

More top ten from Discovery Education- this time the focus is on higher order thinking skills.  Did any of your favorite SOS make the list?

Top Ten SOS for Promoting Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Welcome to the SOS Top Ten series. In this edition, we highlight ways

to use Spotlight on Strategies (CDN Version) to promote higher-order

thinking skills.

The Partnership for 21st Century Learning identifies four areas of skills,

knowledge, and expertise that students should master to succeed in

21st-century work and life: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking,

and Creativity.

Critical Thinking specifically focuses on effective reasoning, systems thinking, making judgments and decisions, and solving problems, all of which are higher-order functions. Many of the strategies in the Spotlight on Strategies (CDN Version) collection provide a framework to help students practice and perfect their higher-order thinking skills.

Change it up with SOS

From Discovery Education:

Change It Up:

Strategy: The Question Is (CDN Version)

Big idea: Reversing the common order of question-and-answer, students

respond to a teacher-provided answer about a topic with questions that

could prompt that answer.

The complete post is here.

Change up an SOS

In this blog post from Discovery Education, one S.O.S. strategy (They said what?) gets a

makeover.  I’m not suggesting you use all the suggestions, but maybe one will be perfect

for your students.

Need a creative edge?

Try these SOS (Spotlights on Strategies) from Discovery Education.  In their recent blog post, they shared the top ten SOS for creativity and innovation in your classroom.

SOS for Social Studies

In this week’s Discovery Education blog, they highlight the top ten SOS (Spotlight on Strategies) for social studies educators.  Please click the link here to see their suggestions.

Tools for Watching Videos

In this SOS “Pause and Play”, you will find suggestions for helping student get more out of video segments.