Sanel Terzic

Drake University
School of Education
Instructional Techniques File
1. Quick Write A literacy technique that is designed to give students the opportunity to reflect upon their
learning. It can be used at the beginning, middle, or end of a lesson and takes only about three to five
minutes. Short, open-ended statements or prompts are usually given, and student responses can be used
as a quick formative assessment to guide instruction. At the conclusion of a science lab, students reflect on
their original hypothesis based on the new information from the lab. The prompt may include a summary of
their findings and an analysis of their misconceptions. (Universal Construct Critical Thinking)
2. Rep. of comprehension by Frayer Model - Frayer model is set up as follow: After reading a text or
article we draw 4 squares. The first square has the Word or Concept that we are reading about. The second
square has My definition. In third Square we write Examples about the word or concept, and in fourth
Square we write down samples of a Non-Example. Frayer model helps students to understand a word by
giving them the chance to write their own definition and give examples trying to support their definition. In
Geography we can use the word Tornado to explain what our definition is and give examples, and non
examples such as, its not a Hurricane. (Universal Construct- Critical Thinking)
3. Jigsaw This model is little bit tricky. Several groups are formed and each group is given instruction on
what to write for their part in the puzzle. One group is tasked with one topic, the other group with another
and so on. All the groups when done should have one final paper that is the final project, the finished puzzle.
Example is how WWI started; groups represent countries and their reasons why they entered the war.
(Universal Construct- Complex Communication)
4. Double entry Journal This strategy lets the students write down ideas from the text while they are
reading it. Usually the student would write down phrases, concepts or sentences. When they are done with
reading and writing, they will write their own connection to the text. I would give the students a text regarding
civil rights in the 1960s and have them write down ideas. When they are done I would know if they
understood the text by reading the students connections to the text, and it would give me an idea how much
they comprehend the seriousness of the 1960s. (Universal Construct-Productivity and Accountability)
5. Give One, Get One This technique is made to make it fun and engage the students in gathering
background knowledge on the topic they are about to study. The student creates two columns and
brainstorms a list with approx. 10 bullets about anything they already know about the topic in the left hand
column. The student will find a partner give them one of their ideas and get one idea from their partner and
write the partners name down. The student then will go around the room and talk to other partners. This
technique can be utilized in complex text that will help the student that struggles to come up with their own
ideas. (Universal Construct- Collaboration)

6. Save the Last Word This technique is another group work effort, usually consisting of 4-6 students per
group. While the students are reading they are highlighting statements that they think are interesting,
confusing, surprising and exciting. After they finish reading the first student indicates the page, paragraph
and reads her/his statement. The next student then starts the dialogue giving his/her input, and so on
clockwise. The Students who originally gave the statement comments on it last, hence Save the Last
Word. The second student then gives her/his statement and the process repeats itself. This activity
encourages the students to engage in critical thinking and use of collaboration among the group members to
better comprehend the text. (Universal Construct Critical Thinking and Collaboration)
7. Graffiti Graffiti is a technique that is trying to engage all students in an activity that stimulates critical
thinking, group work, having fun and active learning. All students are given a text to read. Their thoughts on
the first article the students will write down on graffiti paper in orange. Then, the students will have a choice
between two other articles and they will write their thoughts in either green or blue. Finally in pink, the
students will then synthesize their thoughts based of what other students wrote on the board. This is a great
technique to be used on a more complex text yet that might be boring. The students will have fun though
writing on the board. I could use this technique in Geography class on topics and articles that would go deep
into conversations. (Universal Construct- Creativity and Collaboration)
8. See, Hear, Not See, Not Hear- works great when students are watching videos and they are tasked write
down what they see, hear, not see and not hear. While most of the time watching videos is fun, the students
usually dont memorize what they watched as they are not trying hard to understand what is in front of them.
Videos are usually short and the content is forgotten very fast. The see, hear, not see, not hear technique
will make sure that the student goes back and watches the videos over and over again trying to write what
they saw, heard, didnt see and didnt hear. Its a fun activity that has the student work kind like a detective
getting clues what was said and done in the video. (Universal Construct- Creativity)
9. 5, 7, 9 This technique requires the students to take 5 minutes and reflect on their own thinking regarding
the text. The next step is 7 minutes of discussion with someone else regarding the text. Finally, the student
will take 9 minutes to write on the discussion and feedback they got from the other member on anything new
that they talked about. It is always great to collaborate with other students and discuss and elaborate on
what was written. This technique can be very useful in history on certain topics that require discussion and
dialogue. War in Iraq could be a topic that students could write and discuss on their writing. (Universal
Construct- Collaboration)
10. Read-write-leave, read-write-compare This technique is used after reading the text. This is not from
our class but I remembered it from one of my English classes I took at DMACC a while back. This technique
is fostering accountability and creativity in students writing. When the student reads an article, he/she is
supposed to summarize it right away without much thinking about it. The result will not be the best. The
student takes 10 minutes and goes to do something else. Then, the student comes back and repeats the
process. The technique is valuable in a way that it shows the student how it is important to re-read a certain
text several times. The student will compare his/hers two summaries and analyze the differences.

11. Vocabulary Tree- In this technique students pick a vocabulary word and build on it through the tree.
When they choose a word they start with the root and work they way up through the trunk and branches. For
instance they start with the word run in the root. Then in trunk they build on the word it becomes re-run. It
branches out into runner and for-runner etc. The students are limited with vocabulary, so this technique will
help them work on it and encourages critical thinking. When they come up with words, they can also think
about their meaning and expand on their knowledge. (Universal Construct- Critical Thinking)
12. Paint Chips- Paint chips have different shades of the same or similar color. We write one word on the
top color and in the rest of the shades we will write different versions of the word and then synonyms on the
paint chip. During the class if the students use any word from the paint chip, they can take a colored sticker
and put it up on the board to show that they used that word. The technique stimulates the students to think
about the vocabulary words that are more complex so that they can put the sticker on board showing that
they know and comprehend the meaning of it. (Universal Construct- Creativity and Critical Thinking)
13. Speak Silently- In this technique the class is divided into groups. The group is given a blank sheet of
paper, and in the middle of a sheet of paper a concept, quote or a statement is written. The sheet of paper is
passed from one student to another and each student and they make comments on what is stated in the
middle. When everyone is trough, the group breaks the silence and they summarize/synthesize through a
small group discussion on what was written. It is a fun activity because of the excitement factor at the end
when students want to know who wrote what and than discuss it. (Universal Construct- Collaboration)
14. Did I get it right? This technique is a before reading technique where students are asked a question
and they should answer it based on their prior knowledge. The question can be an idea, a statement, a
concept or just a part of a bigger story from the text or article. The purpose of it is to hook the student right
away that will encourage the student to read the text with excitement and will trying to solve the mystery
behind the question. The students are also encouraged to talk to other students and compare their answers.
The trick is to formulate the question so it is interesting yet not easy to answer.
15. Telephone game- This is a very fun and exciting technique. Just like the real telephone game, this one
is similar, but it will include writing the words on paper. Here how it goes. The students form a circle. The
first student writes a sentence for example- The monkey sits on a tree and eats a banana. He than gives the
paper to next student and the student writes a new sentence with one word change. The monkey sits on a
tree and eats a mango. The third student reads it, crosses it out and writes-The monkey sits on a tree and
devours a mango. The students are not allowed to change the words drastically, but are instead encouraged
to use similar or even synonyms instead. Its a fun and exciting activity, just like the real telephone game.