WEBVTT 00:00:05.016 --> 00:00:05.083 [Music] 00:00:05.083 --> 00:00:07.226 Hi, my name is Megan Montgomery, 00:00:07.266 --> 00:00:11.276 and I'm a social studies teacher at KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy, 00:00:11.526 --> 00:00:13.426 and I teach the fifth and sixth graders. 00:00:13.776 --> 00:00:19.306 Montgomery to class: So, I know this is a book that tells facts about Ancient Sumer, 00:00:19.306 --> 00:00:27.226 and I know that there are two main parts that I want to look at today and study today. 00:00:27.226 --> 00:00:29.706 And the first one is called "A Family Farmstead," 00:00:30.256 --> 00:00:33.036 and when I look at the pictures here I can see, 00:00:33.296 --> 00:00:38.286 looks like lot of animals, goats, a lot of empty land. 00:00:38.476 --> 00:00:41.276 Montgomery: When I'm teaching strategy through the thinkaloud, 00:00:41.276 --> 00:00:46.296 I am modeling what I'm thinking as a reader in my head because I want the students 00:00:46.656 --> 00:00:51.196 to know what a good reader would be thinking about while they were trying to access a 00:00:51.226 --> 00:00:52.216 particular text. 00:00:52.846 --> 00:00:55.176 Montgomery to class: So, you can read along on your page with me. 00:00:55.416 --> 00:00:58.746 I'm going to read it one time through, and then I am going to go back 00:00:59.146 --> 00:01:00.646 and think about what the facts are. 00:01:01.156 --> 00:01:05.486 "Your farmstead's quite large because your father's brothers, 00:01:05.766 --> 00:01:09.246 their wives and children live with you, too." 00:01:09.566 --> 00:01:14.416 Oh, so this book is pretending that I'm an Ancient Sumerian and it's explaining my life to me. 00:01:15.086 --> 00:01:17.706 "Each family has its own living quarters..." 00:01:18.076 --> 00:01:23.146 Montgomery: So, today when I was doing the thinkaloud strategy of the spoke diagram, 00:01:23.406 --> 00:01:29.706 I was thinking about how the text that I had chosen fits into that diagram 00:01:29.786 --> 00:01:35.066 and exactly what I want the students to be thinking about during the time that they are reading 00:01:35.066 --> 00:01:36.856 and they're applying the strategy. 00:01:37.496 --> 00:01:42.066 And the way that I ask the students to practice the strategy that I've taught 00:01:42.066 --> 00:01:45.406 for the day is really, I try to scaffold it very much. 00:01:45.506 --> 00:01:50.736 So I start with the thinkaloud with the "I do," and then we move on to a "we do," 00:01:50.956 --> 00:01:55.216 which is where they sit with a partner and they might read. 00:01:55.396 --> 00:01:57.876 One way that they might read is popcorn style. 00:01:57.876 --> 00:01:59.966 Another way they might read is chorally. 00:01:59.966 --> 00:02:01.346 They might read in their heads. 00:02:01.476 --> 00:02:07.506 And then they talk about the comprehension strategy and complete it together because we know 00:02:07.506 --> 00:02:12.026 that it's really important for students to be verbal about what they are reading 00:02:12.096 --> 00:02:14.376 and to bounce the ideas off of each other. 00:02:14.786 --> 00:02:15.836 Montgomery to student: What about the title? 00:02:15.836 --> 00:02:17.666 What's the main title here? 00:02:17.896 --> 00:02:19.286 Student: Oh, when it was flooding. 00:02:19.846 --> 00:02:20.156 Right? 00:02:20.306 --> 00:02:21.676 Montgomery to student: Half of the year it floods. 00:02:22.046 --> 00:02:24.136 We know the other half of the year there is a drought. 00:02:24.136 --> 00:02:25.806 Is there a big topic that that's about? 00:02:26.526 --> 00:02:30.126 Student: Yeah, the uncontrolled water supply. 00:02:30.216 --> 00:02:30.336 Montgomery to student: Awesome. 00:02:30.336 --> 00:02:35.166 Montgomery to class: I was just talking with this group and Aqiela said something very wise. 00:02:35.276 --> 00:02:38.646 She was able to look at the title... 00:02:38.646 --> 00:02:41.856 Montgomery: And then after the "we do," then we'll come back together 00:02:42.076 --> 00:02:47.116 and share what they thought about so that I can identify any misconceptions that they have 00:02:47.546 --> 00:02:51.316 or the way that they are thinking so I can make sure that they are on the right track. 00:02:51.546 --> 00:02:56.116 Montgomery to class: What do you think our main topic should be here 00:02:56.116 --> 00:02:58.976 on our spoke diagram so we can organize our thoughts? 00:02:59.106 --> 00:03:00.736 Student: The uncontrolled water supply. 00:03:00.736 --> 00:03:06.016 Mongomery: And then the last part is the "you do," when I let them off on their own to try 00:03:06.016 --> 00:03:11.346 to apply the strategy themselves on a text that has an appropriate level for them. 00:03:11.616 --> 00:03:15.856 My goal for today's lesson was to teach the students, for the first time, 00:03:16.166 --> 00:03:21.556 how to use the spoke diagram as a way to help them organize the text in their head 00:03:21.666 --> 00:03:25.946 so that they can get all of the information that they need to out of their textbook. 00:03:26.496 --> 00:03:31.036 So, I wanted them to see what I had done and then work on their own using the same kind 00:03:31.036 --> 00:03:33.726 of thought pattern to comprehend the textbook. 00:03:34.146 --> 00:03:39.346 I want the students to be able to use this graphic organizer across a variety of texts, 00:03:39.756 --> 00:03:44.226 across a variety of disciplines and really take ownership of that as a tool they have 00:03:44.656 --> 00:03:47.496 to help them become better readers and also better writers. 00:03:47.806 --> 00:03:49.606 Montgomery to student: What did you read about in your book? 00:03:49.666 --> 00:03:55.426 Student 1: We read about that they plow. 00:03:55.816 --> 00:03:59.866 Student 2: We read about oxen. 00:04:01.116 --> 00:04:03.826 Montgomery to student: Okay, does this have to with a plow or oxen? 00:04:03.966 --> 00:04:04.886 Student 2: No. 00:04:04.956 --> 00:04:09.096 Montgomery: When a student or a pair of students is having some kind of difficulty 00:04:09.096 --> 00:04:14.906 with a thinkaloud process, I really try to listen to them and to see what they are thinking 00:04:14.906 --> 00:04:18.516 because a lot of times if I truly listen to what they are saying, 00:04:18.516 --> 00:04:21.935 I can understand where their thinking is breaking down. 00:04:22.065 --> 00:04:25.436 So, when the class is working, I'm never standing still. 00:04:25.436 --> 00:04:29.306 I'm always going around, trying to see what the students are doing, 00:04:29.306 --> 00:04:33.266 try to understand more of what they are thinking, what's working, and what's not working. 00:04:33.266 --> 00:04:37.996 And then if I see there's something that's not working for a pair of students 00:04:38.276 --> 00:04:41.476 or even a bigger group of students, I'm right there to intervene 00:04:41.476 --> 00:04:45.616 and make sure that I'm guiding them to be thinking the way that I want them to be thinking. 00:04:46.496 --> 00:04:53.836 Student: "Farmer's need a faster way to prepare the land for planting." 00:04:51.116 --> 00:04:52.756 Popcorn, Marques. 00:04:54.986 --> 00:04:58.916 Marques: "Sumerians made the first plows out of wood." 00:04:58.996 --> 00:05:02.336 Montgomery: When students are able to use their graphic organizer during the time 00:05:02.336 --> 00:05:05.336 that they're reading, it helps them make sense of the text 00:05:05.676 --> 00:05:08.586 in a way that's accessible and visual for them. 00:05:08.706 --> 00:05:13.836 For example, in today's text there were a lot of facts about the Ancient Sumerians 00:05:13.836 --> 00:05:16.706 that I wanted the students to be able to understand. 00:05:16.776 --> 00:05:20.266 And when the students are reading a text that's so packed with facts, 00:05:20.786 --> 00:05:26.566 it can be difficult for them to determine what the main ideas are versus what the details are 00:05:26.566 --> 00:05:29.166 and to find out what are the most important things. 00:05:29.626 --> 00:05:35.266 So, when I use the spoke diagram it's a way for them to visually break down the text 00:05:35.306 --> 00:05:39.926 into the main points, the sub points, and the details that are supporting that. 00:05:40.456 --> 00:05:44.376 And when they can see that all laid out in front of them, it helps them to say, "Oh, okay, 00:05:44.376 --> 00:05:48.676 this is what the text is really about, and this is what I am needing to know." 00:05:49.036 --> 00:05:53.196 I'm definitely seeing a lot of improvement in the way that our students are able 00:05:53.196 --> 00:05:56.266 to comprehend the material that they're reading. 00:05:56.266 --> 00:06:01.386 I know that I'm seeing a lot of improvement because of the kinds of diagnostic tools 00:06:01.386 --> 00:06:05.286 and the assessments that I am using, and I am typically seeing between two- 00:06:05.286 --> 00:06:08.906 and three-years growth from our students in their ability to comprehend. 00:06:10.306 --> 00:06:12.000 [Music]