Marzano Strategy, Part Deux

Marzano Strategy

Think-Pair-Share

My AP Lit class wouldn't work without collaboration. We've studied the particulars of poetry and prose for the last nine months, but they seem to respond better when they don't feel like it's a solo pursuit. This strategy is simple, but effective. I use it with journal prompts, short texts, or poems. Most recently, we looked at the 2010 AP Lit test prompts--not the ones they used, but the alternate test prompts--and utilized this strategy.

With poetry, I give them the text, and they need to mark it up with notes--literary terms, comments--and look at title, tone, theme, etc. They know the drill, as we've done this often. Next, I have them pair up and share their information with a partner. With sophomore classes, I give them a time limit and have them switch, but with AP, they share, discuss and switch when they're ready. Then we bring it back to the class for whole class discussion.

I like this strategy because it gives students a chance to share their ideas and not feel like they have to fail in front of a group. Once they've shared with their partner, they're more likely to share with the rest of the class. We've had some of our best discussions this way.

Marzano Strategy

Cooperative Learning
Marzano Strategy

Objective: Students will collaborate, address text, determine importance, and share their ideas.

I’ve used the “Book in an Hour” strategy since college. Basically, decide what text you want students to read, divide up a certain amount of pages for each group, require them to determine the most important information, create a product, and then teach the class.

Materials Needed:
Poster paper / butcher paper (You can also use the white board or an overhead)
Markers
Books

Set up your groups and assign a certain amount of pages per group. This can work for a short novel—I used it with The Five People You Meet in Heaven in my sophomore class recently, but I’ve used it with my juniors with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn this year—and it can also work for textbook chapters. Depending on your time frame, have students read the text silently (usually about a chapter or so) and take notes to share with the group. Working together, they are to distill the most important information and create a visual product to teach the class. As each group presents, students “read” the text with the class. It’s a great way to make text manageable, and allows them to work on other strategies at the same time.

Reflection: This strategy worked well with Five People. In the spirit of teaching until the end, this kept students engaged in text and allowed them to collaborate and create.