Student Interest and Motivation

Layers of Inference

This strategy will assist students in building knowledge by drawing evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. This approach develops their academic language and function skills by engaging students in the content through a variety of learning tasks. For social studies, the instructor can use a range of textual and visual sources and can project the images on the smart board and distribute them to the students so each has a copy to view. The instructor will begin by asking what the students already know about the topic to activate any prior knowledge. The visual will be set in the middle of a page with four boxes surrounding the picture. In the four boxes the pupils were to write their responses to the four ‘layers of inference’ questions. There is a big question governing the lesson and it is necessary that the instructor consistently stresses and displays fascination toward the question throughout the lesson. Students can work individually or in small groups completing the inference questions in the boxes. This strategy should be used during (even throughout) instruction and can be used with most social studies texts as the key point in this method is determining and evaluating the main concepts of the visual. This strategy is a very engaging and motivating method by intriguing students with visuals. It is a fantastic strategy to use with historical photographs. This strategy works well for most students as the students evaluate the visual source, write down their ideas, and then discuss their thoughts with their peers (if in small group). This method particularly appeals to visual learners but would be a good strategy for auditory learners as the whole class discusses the big question and then works in small groups to interpret and analyze the visual to answer the inference questions.

The Gallery Walk

The gallery walk strategy can help students determine and organize central ideas or information. This strategy can also help students to integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. This method appeals to a variety of learners as the learning tasks vary in form which engages students in learning. This method is great for social studies as it is very versatile. One way to use this strategy is for students to create exhibits such as posters, newspapers, or other written work demonstrating their learning of the material for their peers to review. Students can complete a graphic organizer for organizing and summarizing information as they view their peer’s exhibit, or answer questions from the instructor based on the exhibits on display.

The following web link provides helpful information for implementing a gallery walk in the classroom:

http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/gallerywalk/how.html

The gallery walk can be used in the beginning of instruction (or during) to build background knowledge of the topic so students can then apply that knowledge in other readings and writings. If the purpose of the gallery walk is to introduce students to new material, students can take informal notes as they walk around the room and view their peers work. This method is a fantastic way to get students motivated into the content as they can walk about the room and discover new ideas and feel more in control of their learning. This strategy can work well with most students. The versatile gallery walk strategy could be implemented in both cooperative group work and as an individual activity. The gallery walk gets students out of their seats and actively involved with content in various forms and because this strategy requires students to physically move around the room, it can be especially engaging to kinesthetic learners.

Stations for Motivation and Engagement

The stations strategy can help students determine central ideas or information from a source. The strategy can also help to analyze and compare how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge and/or compare approaches the authors take. This method engages students with the content and appeals to a variety of different learners (kinesthetic, visual, auditory, etc.). This strategy also is helpful for integrating visual information and ideas from texts to graph forms. The students will be put in small groups for activities. Each group will go to every station and complete the individual/ group activity. The activity may consist of writing, reading, listening to something, or simply viewing a time period artifact and recording thoughts. After completing the activity the students will have a mark the station off their checklist. Most stations will require students to turn in the tangible piece of work completed. Then students will proceed to the next station.

As an example: one station will listen to recordings of the music played during a specific time period in history as well as previous presidents speak of the challenges of the time. Students can work together and create their own songs, create an illustration capturing the theme, or write a reflection. Another center could focus on writing. The students will be asked to read a story or a brief passage in a journal/diary and write a short reflection. One learning station could allow students creative freedom to express themselves with a limited amount of structure relating to the subject matter. In this activity students would work individually and read an excerpt from a book or periodical and choose to draw a picture, write a letter, create a song, or even write their own questions etc. to explain their thoughts of the reading. Another station allowing creativity would be an art center to create posters that illustrate a point of learning, drawing a map of battlefields, an advertisement, or an example of wartime propaganda. The final station could be a fun group activity center focused on vocabulary. Crossword puzzles made with the terms of the current unit of study provides multiple practice opportunities to familiarize students with the new terms through writing, hearing, and saying the words. This strategy could be used with a variety of texts and during the middle or end point of instruction on topic or unit. This strategy is great for subjects with multiple topics and new vocabulary terms. Stations for motivation and engagement are centers designed to engage students and to enhance the learning of concepts, skills, themes, or topics. The learning stations get the students out of their seats and actively involved with content in various forms. This type of lesson style is a respite from the traditional instruction approach into a more hands-on learning style. Students who are actively engaged learn the best, and incorporating station fundamentals into the classroom can help students learn while having fun. The use of stations promotes independence, helps students feel more responsible for their learning, and allows opportunity for self-discovery. The learning stations should combine both cooperative group work and individual activities. This strategy is excellent for kinesthetic learners but appeals to the majority of students as it provides choices and movement.