Denver Thinking Strategies Training Information

1. Denver Thinking Strategies Training Information Created by: Denise Smith Read 180 7th, 8th, and 6th grade Instructor Carroll County Middle School 2011-2012

2. Learning to Think about Thinking GOAL: It is important for students to learn to become intentional, critical thinkers so they can grow into proficient learners. Denver Thinking Strategies helps offer students springboards for their own thinking while helping them become independent students.

3. Workshop Model—90 minutes

4. Crafting 15-20 minutes • 1st segment of the workshop model • Chunking/building background knowledge of topic • Activating prior knowledge of students • Modeling the task/learning target for students • Sharing out of the lesson “big idea” or “need to know” information

5. Crafting --continued • Sharing out with students “secret” of the learning target. • Allowing students to fully understand the day’s core content and the way you want them to interact with the information presented in the lesson • Focus: teacher showing a mini-lesson

6. Composing (student work time) 30-45 minutes • 2nd workshop segment • Students: • Practicing the mini-lesson task/concepts in action modeled by the teacher in the crafting stage of the workshop model.

7. Composing – continuedGradual Release • Gradual Release is the time when you allow students to demonstrate their own “understanding” of the content and learning target for the lesson. • NOTE: It is okay for students to struggle during this work time. However, if they continue to struggle then it is time to go back and confer with the struggling student to re-teach the content/concept.

8. Composing-- continued • Students– create product of their I “get it” for the lesson. • Teacher– conferring with individual students or a small group of students • Teacher—finding “teachable moments” • Teacher—asking students to “hold” their thinking: post-it notes, learning journals, charts, overheads, smart board notes, text notes

9. Reflection (15-30 minutes) • 3rd segment of workshop model • Debriefing of understanding/learning • Teacher—helping correct misunderstandings of content • Teacher—gaining an understanding of where to take the next day’s mini-lesson

10. Reflection-- continued • Time to help students “connect the dots” for the day’s learning. • Allowing students to process their thinking and using writing to “store” their day’s thinking.

11. Vital elements of the workshop model • Students: • Read/Write independently daily to help extend their thinking/learning • Selecting a healthy “reading diet” daily • Moving/working as an independent learning in the classroom • Using a variety of options to express learning and understanding of content/”big idea”

12. Vital elements of Workshop Model -- continued • Students: • Creating “deep thinking” connections, apply concepts of learning in a wide variety of texts and performance products. • Teachers: • Create a structured daily workshop routine and make it stick daily

13. Vital elements of workshop model- continued • Teachers: • Create a “safe” learning climate that encourages students to share out their thinking and learning • Displaying student work in the room to create student ownership of learning/thinking • Use a scholarly language with your students in the classroom to enhance rigor of student thinking/learning

14. Suggestions of text types to use in the classroom: Biographies Websites Poetry Memoirs Editorials Picture books Photo essays Expository texts—narratives Persuasive texts Reference texts Historical fiction Science fiction Variety of Texts

15. Language of Thinking • Monitoring for Meaning: • Student Reader Voice: • “I’m confused here” • “I don’t get it” • “ This doesn’t make sense” • Teacher Prompts: • “What’s confusing” • “Where are you clue-less”

16. Language of Thinking • Schema • Student Voice: • “This is just like…” • “This reminds me of…” • Teacher Prompts: • “What does this remind you of…” • “What can you connect this to…” • “How is this text like another text…”

17. Language of Thinking • Asking Questions • Student Voice: • “My question is…” • “I’m wondering…” • “I wonder…and I found out…” • Teacher: • “What are you wondering…” • “What questions do still have…”

18. Language of Thinking • Drawing Inferences • Student Voice: • “I’m thinking…” • “I predict…” • “I bet…I knew that…” • Teacher Prompts: • “What are you thinking…” • “How can you take your thinking beyond the text…”

19. Language of Thinking • Determining Importance • Student Voice: • “ I think this is really important…” • “ I will remember…” • “ The big ideas are…” • Teacher Prompts: • “ So, what is essential…” • “How does the author show us what they think is important…”

20. Language of thinking • Creating Sensory Images • Student Voice: • “My image is…” • “ The movie in my head is…” • Teacher Prompt: • “Now what are you thinking…” • “Tell me about the quilt of your thinking…”

21. Language of thinking • Synthesizing • Student Voice: • “At first I thought…but now I’m thinking…” • “ my thoughts have really changed…” • Teacher Prompt: • “Now what are you thinking…” • “Tell me about the quilt in your mind of thoughts..”

22. SLANT • Sit up straight • Lean Forward • Activate thinking • Note key ideas • Track the speaker • Used in the classrooms to keep student attention and posters of SLANT hung throughout the classroom.

23. Thinking Stems • Thinking Stems help the students jump start their overall thinking. • Teaching students how to become more intentional thinkers truly helps them become more critical and proficient learners.

24. All in all…. • Sensory images—creating pictures in your mind of what you read to help evoke all of the senses. • Schema—pulling past experiences to help create a deeper understanding as a learner. • Asking questions—thinking about the text in a “deep way” and generating purposeful, meaningful and intriguing questions of the text before, during and after reading of the text.

25. All in all… • Determining Importance—locating key ideas of the text and using strong evidence from the text to prove their opinions.