It seems as the deeper into the digital age we go, the harder it is to get students into reading, and maybe even a greater challenge for our students to comprehend what they read. Even as adults we are bombarded with constant information, shortening our attention spans. The students I teach, and the students future teachers will teach, will have an enormous task getting students to understand the content we are wanting them to comprehend.
In the past I have used the RAFT model (Role Audience Format Topic) to not only help students to understand the content in which we have covered, but to push their critical thinking in ways they may not typically think. There were a couple of strategies that caught my attention that I would love to venture out and try. The Anticipation Guide seemed really intriguing to me. Getting the students to think on multiple levels of the same material goes a long ways into comprehending and applying the concepts being covered. The other strategies was the BDA. This allows the students to infer on what they know while at the same time proofing those statements right or wrong.
Hi Bronc! I totally agree about attention spans becoming shorter. I think that's why it's so important to know and be familiar with many different strategies to spice things up in the classroom. I am excited to also use the RAFT model because it's creative, yet it involves critical thinking. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMost of these strategies are new to me, but they are very intriguing and I hope to be able to try them out in the future. I like the idea of the RAFT, as well as the Anticipation Guide. I like the idea of trying to get students thinking on multiple levels like you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteMost of these strategies are new to me, but they are very intriguing and I hope to be able to try them out in the future. I like the idea of the RAFT, as well as the Anticipation Guide. I like the idea of trying to get students thinking on multiple levels like you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI found the RAFT strategy very interesting. I would like to explore more ways to use it in a Language Arts class. I am very fond of the Anticipatory guide. I like how you can build background knowledge before starting a novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the bombardment of constant information. They have endless info at their finger tips. It's much easier to Google what they need instead of investing in learning it.
I agree that critical thinking is an important tool for any student to have. I feel as a parent I need to do some more activities, to engadge my own children's critical thinking skills. Around our house, we do not do everything for our children;there are some basic things that children need to do to engadge those critical thinking parts of their brains. Decision making is a great way to engage critical thinking skills in a student. This is one of the reasons I like the RAFT method as well as the choice boards. I want students to be able to make a thought out decision about what kind of activity they want to do; or would be best for them. Then, they can also think about their topic more in depth; once they have chosen it. On another note I think the BDA would be good for using with any debate topic or presenting points of view. I do think you could combine multiple strategies, like you said; to achieve better comprehension of the material. Thank you for posting.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never thought about the difference in reading that has occurred since we have become so heavily reliable on technology but I have seen it in myself as well that it is difficult to get into a reading. I love the Raft idea and the more blogs I read over it the more I understand how it’s suppose to be use! Thanks for expanding my knowledge!
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