Cueing thinking in the classroom the promise of theory-embedded tools

Teaching children to read: Putting the pieces together. New York: Prentice Hall. Stauffer, R. Teaching reading in a thinking process. Vacca, J. Reading and learning to read. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Lauber, P. An octopus is amazing. New York: HarperCollins. Maestro, B. The story of the statue of liberty.

New York: Mulberry Books. Otto, C. Spiders New York: Scholastic. Palmer, S. Humpback whales. New York: Rourke Enterprises, Inc. Stone, L. Wood, L. New York: Scholastic. Download references. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to Kelli R. White's Charlotte's Web , students might be asked to respond to the question Did E. White believe in animal rights? Discussion Webs can be used to teach difficult-to-understand concepts -- concepts that often contradict students' experiences and ideas, says Swafford.

For example, a Discussion Web could be created that has at its center the question concept "Why Do the Seasons Change? They offer a laundry list of questions that might serve as fuel for their approach.

Some of those questions would be perfect ones for applying the Discussion Web strategy and format at the upper grades:. The possibilities for using Discussion Webs in the classroom are endless. They are limited only by the creativity of teachers. The possibilities aren't even limited by that! Because once the strategy is used -- once students grow familiar and comfortable with it -- the students are bound to start coming up with their own questions!

Perhaps James Barton best summed up the value of Discussion Webs and other graphic organizers in a recent Journal of Reading article: "To put it simply, the human mind craves organization Search Search. Newsletter Sign Up. Search form Search. Webs The Discussion Kind! Then: Students think individually about the question that's up for discussion.

They look in the text for information they might use to support their opinions. They discuss their ideas with a partner as a pair. The partners share supporting ideas from the text and from their own experiences. Then the partners pair up with another set of partners. They work as a group of four to eliminate contradictions and inconsistencies in their thinking as they come to a consensus and decide upon one idea that a spokesperson for the group will share with the class.

There'll be plenty of time during the classroom discussion for dissenting opinions to be heard. The Discussion Web differs from the Web Outline in several distinct ways, Alvermann says: "The Discussion Web incorporates all four of the language arts reading, writing, speaking, and listening , not just reading and writing.

Vogt follows a Discussion Web form prescribed by Whisler and Williams see references : Students draw on information from the texts, from previous classroom discussions, and from their own experiences as they think about this yes-no question and discuss it with a partner. The partners must come up with evidence that supports a "yes" position and also a "no" position.

Opinions are fine as long as they are supported by information from the text or by personal experience. See illustration below. Then the partners are paired with another set of partners to form a discussion group. The members of the group share their responses.

Together, they reach a consensus on a pro or con point of view. Then students have the opportunity to share their point of view with the entire class. As a follow-up, students might be asked to debate the question or to support and write their individual opinions.

This is how one pair of students might have responded in the second step above: Yes - Would sheep make - good pets? No They are soft to lean on. They're too big. They would be fun. They eat too much.

They're cute. They are messy. They're my size. They are noisy. They're easy to hold on to. They are stinky. Source: Lively Discussions! Among her examples are these: After reading Jack and the Beanstalk , kindergarten students were asked to discuss Was it right for Jack to bring home things from the giant's castle? After reading The Hobyahs , second-graders were asked to discuss Was Turpie wise to jump into the Hobyah's machine? After reading Stone Fox , students are asked Did Willy deserve to win?

After reading Island of the Blue Dolphins , fourth graders were asked to respond to the question Should Karana have gone back to get her brother Ramo? Among the examples she shares are: After reading The Little Red Hen to kindergartners and first graders, she asks Should the little red hen have shared her bread?

In a paper she presented at the World Congress on Reading , she suggested a number of possibilities for using Discussion Webs including: Social Studies. Swafford provides the example of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Then students can use their texts and other resources to research the stances taken by each of the men and to complete the diagram. Students can use the Discussion Web format to support possible explanations for scientific hypotheses.

Instead of labeling the columns "Yes" and "No," in this case the columns could be labeled "Hypothesis 1" and Hypothesis 2. One possible follow-up discussion would focus on the narrator: Is the narrator of the story sane or insane? Students write their thoughts in the appropriate columns.

Teachers might provide for students a math word problem such as: The two children, 9-year-old Susan and year-old Mario, delivered 3 dozen cookies to their neighbor.

If the cookies sold for 90 cents a dozen, how much money should Susan and Mario collect? Some of those questions would be perfect ones for applying the Discussion Web strategy and format at the upper grades: Are televangelists hypocrites? Is it wrong for lawyers to defend accused people? Does media violence cause real violence? Is feminism responsible for the family breakdown?

Is assisted-suicide a crime? Should education remain compulsory? Should World War II criminals still be tried? Goodwin, M. Cooperative learning and social skills: What skills to teach and how to teach them.

Lyman, F. The responsive classroom discussions: the inclusion of all students. Anderson Ed. Marzano, R. Building academic vocabulary. McTighe, J. Cueing thinking in the Classroom: the promise of theory-embedded tools. Educational Leadership, 45 7 , Raba, A. Creative Education, 8, Razak, F. The Effect of cooperative learning on mathematics learning outcomes viewed from students learning motivation. Journal of Research and Advances in Mathematics Education. Rowe, M. Wait time and rewards as instructional variables: their influence on language, logic and fate control.

Sampsel, A.