How to Recognize Plagiarism

Word-for-word

Example 1 of 5

Word-for-word plagiarism is committed when a writer takes a sequence of 7 or more words from
another source, but fails to identify the quoted passage, fails to provide the full in-text citation
crediting the author(s), and fails to provide the bibliographic reference.

Read the example carefully!

Original Source Material: Technology has significantly Source: Frick, T. (1991).

transformed education at several major turning points in our Restructuring education
history. In the broadest sense, the first technology was the through technology.
primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta
before the development of spoken language. Mime, gestures, Kappa Educational
grunts, and drawing of figures in the sand with a stick were Foundation.
methods used to communicate -- yes, even to educate. Even
without speech, these prehistoric people were able to teach
their young how to catch animals for food, what animals to
avoid, which vegetation was good to eat and which was
poisonous.

Plagiarized Version Correct Version

In examining technology, we have to In examining technology, we have to remember

remember that computers are not the first
technology people have had to deal with. The
first technology was the primitive modes of
communication used by prehistoric people
before the development of spoken language.
that computers are not the first technology
people have had to deal with. Frick (1991)
believes that "... the first technology was the
primitive modes of communication used by
prehistoric people before the development of
spoken language" (p. 10).

Reference:

Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education

through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi
Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

Explanation: This version is word-for-word
plagiarism. The student copied, word-for-
word, text from the original source material.
No credit was given to the author of the text
and quotation marks were not used. Also, the
Explanation: Note in this example that the
quoted passage begins with the author and year
of the publication (in-text citation). Quotation
marks are used to indicate that this passage is a
word-for-word quotation from the original
 student did not provide the full in-text document. The full in-text citation also includes
citation and reference. the page number of the passage quoted (the
locator). The full bibliographic reference tells
the reader where the source of the quotation can
be found.

Example 2 of 5

Word-for-word plagiarism is committed when a writer takes a sequence of 7 or more words from
another source, but fails to identify the quoted passage, fails to provide the full in-text citation
crediting the author(s), and fails to provide the bibliographic reference.

Read the example carefully!

Original Source Material: Constructivism is a Source: Heinich, R., Molenda, M.,

movement that extends beyond the beliefs of the Russell, J. D., & Smaldino, S. E.
cognitivist. It considers the engagement of students in (1999). Instructional media and
meaningful experiences as the essence of learning. The technologies for learning. Upper
shift is from passive transfer of information to active Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
problem solving. Constructivists emphasize that
learners create their own interpretations of the world of
information.

Plagiarized Version Correct Version

Constructivists do not hold views entirely Constructivists do not hold views entirely
opposed to those of the cognitivists. The opposed to those of the cognitivists. The
position of constructivists extends beyond the position of constructivists "... extends beyond
beliefs of the cognitivist. the beliefs of the cognitivist" (Heinich,
Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino, 1999, p. 17).
Reference:
Reference:
Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J. D., &
Smaldino, S. E. (1999). Instructional media Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J. D., &
and technologies for learning. Upper Saddle Smaldino, S. E. (1999). Instructional media and
River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. technologies for learning. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Explanation: This version is word-for-word Explanation: Quotation marks are used to

plagiarism. The student included a portion of indicate that this passage is a word-for-word
the original author's work in a sentence quote from the original document. Here the full
without using quotation marks. No citation in-text citation follows the quote and includes
 points to author or to the reference provided.
No credit was given to the original author in
the text of the paper, and quotation marks
were not used. So a reader does not know
these are someone else's words, nor the source
where these words can be found--especially if
there is more than one reference in the
bibliograpphy.
the locator. Of course, the full reference is also
provided. A reader can find exactly where the
words came from. Just find the book in the
biblography that is referred to, and look on page
17.
We are using APA style here. References are
provided at the end of a paper in APA style

In other styles, the bibliographic reference

might be put in a footnote on the page where the
citation occurs. In any case, the reference
should provide sufficient information for a
reader to find the original source, e.g., in a
library.

Read the example carefully!

Original Source Material: The concept of systems is Source: Frick, T. (1991).

really quite simple. The basic idea is that a system has Restructuring education through
parts that fit together to make a whole; but where it technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi
gets complicated -- and interesting -- is how those Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.
parts are connected or related to each other.

Plagiarized Version Correct Version

A system has parts that fit together to make a Frick (1991) states that "... a system has parts
whole, but the important aspect of systems is that fit together to make a whole ..." but the
how those parts are connected or related to important aspect of systems is "... how those
each other (Frick, 1991). parts are connected or related to each other" (p.
17).
Reference:
Reference:
Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education
through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education
Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi
Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

Explanation: This version is word-for-word Explanation: Note that the correct version
plagiarism. Although the original author is begins by citing the author and year of the
cited at the end of the paragraph, the student publication, as well as the location of the quoted
copied word-for-word from the original words at the end of the quote. Quotation marks
 source material and did not use quotation are used to indicate that these are word-for-
marks. word quotes from the original author. The
original author is also listed in the reference.
This passage appears to be paraphrased by the
writer. A reader cannot tell which words are So now the reader can tell which words came
the writer's and which words are Frick's (the from the writer and which words came from
original author), even though the reference is another author and where those words can be
provided. found.

Read the example carefully!

Original Source Material: Theories differ from Source: Gredler, M. E. (2001).

philosophies and models of teaching. A philosophy is a value Learning and instruction:
system, whereas a theory seeks to explain real-world events Theory into practice (4th ed.).
and can be certified through scientific investigation. Models Upper Saddle River, NJ:
of teaching are approaches to the management of some aspect Prentice-Hall.
of classroom instruction and they may not be independent of
subject area, grade level, age of the student, or the setting for
learning. A characteristic of learning theories is that they
address the underlying psychological dynamics of events.
Thus, they provide a mechanism for understanding the
implications of events related to learning in both formal and
informal settings.

Plagiarized Version Correct Version

Theories and philosophies are different from
each other because theories seek to explain
real-world events and can be certified through
scientific investigation. Learning theories
address the underlying psychological
dynamics of events, so they provide a
mechanism for understanding the
implications of events related to learning in
both formal and informal settings.
Theories and philosophies are different from
each other because, according to Gredler
(2001), theories seek:
to explain real-world events and can be certified
through scientific investigation... A
characteristic of learning theories is that they
address the underlying psychological dynamics
of events. Thus, they provide a mechanism for
understanding the implications of events related
to learning in both formal and informal settings.
(pp. 12-13)
 Reference:

Gredler, M. E. (2001). Learning and

instruction: Theory into practice (4th Ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Explanation: This version is word-for-word Explanation: An indented block is used to

plagiarism. The student took two passages
from the original work and inserted them into
his or her writing. This is still an example of
word-for-word plagiarism. No credit was
given to the author in the text and quotation
marks were not used, and also the work was
not listed in the reference, which is also
missing here.
There is no way for a reader to tell that some
words are those of the student writer and other
words come from a different author. The
passage appears to be words the student wrote
and the student's own ideas. This is deception,
because the student is using someone else's
ideas and words without proper
acknowledgement.
indicate that this passage is a word-for-word
quotation and the pages from where it was taken
in the original document. The original author of
the content is cited at the beginning of the
passage, which in effect also points to the
reference.
Note that an indented block is a convention for
APA style when the quote is more than 40
words. While quotation marks are not used for
this block, a reader can still easily tell whose
words are whose in this passage. If you use
another style, be sure to follow it for how direct
quotes, citations and references should be
handled. We use APA style for examples in this
tutorial and on the tests. Quoted passages on the
test are always less than 40 words, and so
quotation marks should be present for non-
plagiarized student versions.

Example 5 of 5

Word-for-word plagiarism is committed when a writer takes a sequence of 7 or more words from
another source, but fails to identify the quoted passage, fails to provide the full in-text citation
crediting the author(s), and fails to provide the bibliographic reference.

Read the example carefully!

Original Source Material: An important characteristic Source: Reigeluth, C. M. (1999).

of instructional-design theories is that they are design What is instructional design theory
oriented (or goal oriented). This makes them very and how is it changing? In C. M.
different from what most people usually think of as Reigeluth (ed.), Instructional-
theories. Theories can be thought of as dealing with design theories and models volume
cause-and-effect relationships or with flows of events in II: A new paradigm of instructional
natural processes, keeping in mind that those effects or theory, (pp. 1-29). Mahwah, NJ:
events are almost always probabilistic (i.e., the cause Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
increases the chances of the stated effect occurring) rather
than deterministic (i.e., the cause always results in the
stated effect).

Plagiarized Version Correct Version

Whether they are probabilistic (i.e., the cause
increases the chances of the stated effect
occurring) or they are deterministic (i.e., the
cause always results in the stated effect), we
can think of theories as dealing with cause-
and-effect relationships or with flows of
events in natural processes.
References
Reigeluth, C.M. (1999). What is instructional
design theory and how is it changing? In C.
M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-design
theories and models volume II: A new
paradigm of instructional theory, (pp. 1-29).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Reigeluth (1999) states that we can think of
theories "... as dealing with cause-and-effect
relationships or with flows of events in natural
processes," and goes on to say that they may be
"probabilistic (i.e., the cause increases the
chances of the stated effect occurring) rather
than deterministic (i.e., the cause always results
in the stated effect)" (p. 7).
References:
Reigeluth, C. M. (1999). What is instructional
design theory and how is it changing? In C. M.
Reigeluth (ed.), Instructional-design theories
and models volume II: A new paradigm of
instructional theory, (pp. 1-29). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Explanation: This version is word-for-word
plagiarism. The student re-organized the
original material, and inserted portions of the
original material in different places within the
student's writing, but it is still word-for-word
plagiarism. Since, the original author was not
cited in the student's text and quotation marks
were not used, these words appear to be those
of the student.
Explanation: Note in this example that the
passage begins by citing the author and year of
the publication. Quotation marks are used to
indicate that the several passages are taken
word-for-word from the original document. The
reference tells us where to find the original
author's work; and the page number at the end
of the quote locates exactly where these words
came from.

A reader cannot tell that some of the words in Therefore, a reader can tell whose words are
the passage are Reigeluth's, let alone where to whose, and where to find the original author's
find them in the reference provided. ideas and words.
5 Common Types of Plagiarism
Date published January 17, 2018 by Lorenza Shabe. Date updated: May 23, 2018

Introduction
There are many types of plagiarism, but the most common forms are direct plagiarism, paying for
work, self-plagiarism, paraphrasing without a source, and copy-and-paste plagiarism.

Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. What all types have in common
3. Direct Plagiarism
4. Paying for Someone Else’s Work
5. Self-Plagiarism
6. Paraphrasing Without a Source
7. Copy-And-Paste Plagiarism
8. Checking for Plagiarism

What all types have in common

All types of plagiarism have one central thing in common: The act of taking someone else’s work
and passing it off as your own. There’s a vast variety of ways that you can do this, but every way
is dishonest and ethically wrong.

If you want to know more, be sure to refresh your memory of what plagiarism is.

Did you know?

You can check your thesis or essay for plagiarism in less than 10 minutes? It is safe and reliable!

1. Direct Plagiarism
Direct plagiarism is the most obvious form of plagiarism. This means taking someone else’s ideas
or work and claiming it as your own without citation. Even if you delete or change a couple words
here and there, if the majority of the structure and words are the same, this is direct plagiarism.

Direct plagiarism is one of the worst types of plagiarism. It often results in expulsion and, if it also
violates copyright, possible criminal charges.
Example of direct plagiarism
Original (Operario, 2008) Student A

“Whereas some men mentioned keeping their Some men mentioned keeping their sexuality
sexuality concealed from friendship acquaintances concealed from friendship acquaintances or work
or work colleagues, all participants consistently colleagues, but all participants consistently
acknowledged experiences of stigma against acknowledged experiences of stigma against
homosexuality within traditional Asian Pacific homosexuality within traditional Asian Pacific
Islander cultures and most adapted their self- Islander cultures. Most adapted their self-
expression to fit those parameters. As such, expression to fit those parameters. As such,
compartmentalization of homosexual identity in the compartmentalization of homosexual identity in the
family context was common. However, respondents family context was common. However, respondents
did not view compartmentalizing their sexual did not view compartmentalizing their sexual
identity from their ethnic identity to be ‘closeting’ identity from their ethnic identity to be ‘closeting’
themselves. They viewed the action as protecting themselves. They viewed the action as protecting
family members from having to confront the taboo family members from having to confront the taboo
subject of sexuality.” subject of sexuality.

2. Paying for Someone Else’s Work

This one is self-explanatory. If you pay someone to write an essay for you, it is plagiarism. The
words submitted are not yours and are therefore plagiarized. This also includes having a friend or
family member write your essay for you and handing it in with your name on it.

3. Self-Plagiarism
Self-plagiarism can be tricky and is frequently unintentional. There’s a couple different versions
of self-plagiarism, the more serious version being turning in a paper you already handed in for a
grade to another class. Because you have turned this paper in already, it is no longer new and
original work.

It can also occur when you use ideas or phrases from your previous papers or assignments. Like
with paraphrasing, using pieces of essays you have already completed is not inherently plagiarism.
As long as you consult your professors to check whether doing so falls within your institution’s
policies, citing previous papers you have written is not considered self-plagiarism.

For more information about the ethics of self-plagiarism, be sure to read read our article on self-
plagiarism.

4. Paraphrasing Without a Source

Paraphrasing itself is not plagiarism so long as you properly cite your sources. However,
paraphrasing becomes plagiarism when you read different sources, pull out some key points and
then rewrite these points as if they were your own ideas.

If you do not cite your sources for all the non-original ideas referenced in your paper, then you are
committing plagiarism.

Accidental plagiarism is frequently caused by paraphrasing without a source. It’s simple and easy
to avoid. Just remember to properly cite your source.

Example of paraphrasing

 Incorrect
 Correct

Original (Operario, 2008) Incorrect (no citation)

“Whereas some men mentioned keeping their

sexuality concealed from friendship acquaintances
Some men said they concealed their sexuality from
or work colleagues, all participants consistently
acquaintances or colleagues, but all the participants
acknowledged experiences of stigma against
acknowledged experiencing some sort of stigma
homosexuality within traditional Asian Pacific
against homosexuality in their traditional cultures.
Islander cultures and most adapted their self-
Most said they adapted their self-expression to fit
expression to fit those parameters. As such,
those parameters. So they compartmentalized their
compartmentalization of homosexual identity in the
homosexual identity when around family. However,
family context was common. However, respondents
many participants did not view this as ‘closeting’
did not view compartmentalizing their sexual
themselves; rather, they viewed it as a way of
identity from their ethnic identity to be ‘closeting’
protecting family members from having to dealing
themselves. They viewed the action as protecting
with taboo subjects.
family members from having to confront the taboo
subject of sexuality.”

5. Copy-And-Paste Plagiarism
(Also known as Mosaic Plagiarism or Patchwork Plagiarism)

Copy-and-paste plagiarism is similar to paraphrasing with one very important difference: It is

when you copy and paste different texts together to create a new text. This sometimes includes
rewording pieces of sourced material while keeping the structure of the original texts.

This type of plagiarism requires a little more effort and is more insidious than simply paraphrasing
a source. But it ultimately isn’t worth the effort since plagiarism scanners can easily detect this
kind of plagiarism.
Example of Copy-And-Paste Plagiarism
Original Student B

“Whereas some men mentioned keeping their

sexuality concealed from friendship acquaintances
or work colleagues, all participants consistently
acknowledged experiences of stigma against
homosexuality within traditional Asian Pacific
Some men said they concealed their sexuality from
Islander cultures and most adapted their self-
acquaintances or colleagues, but all the participants
expression to fit those parameters. As such,
acknowledged that spoken and unspoken issues
compartmentalization of homosexual identity in the
with sexual orientation was pervasive in their
family context was common. However, respondents
traditional cultures. In response to this stigma, they
did not view compartmentalizing their sexual
adapted their self-expression to fit the situation
identity from their ethnic identity to be ‘closeting’
they were in. As such, compartmentalization of
themselves. They viewed the action as protecting
homosexual identity in the family context was
family members from having to confront the taboo
common. This was probably due to the fact that
subject of sexuality.” (Operario, 2008)
they did not have the luxury of openly
communicating about their sexual identity with
“The second theme, unspoken issues with sexual
their parents. However, respondents did not view
orientation, was also pervasive throughout male
compartmentalizing their sexual identity from their
and female focus groups. The majority of
ethnic identity to be ‘closeting’ themselves. They
participants shared that they did not have the
luxury of openly communicating about their viewed the action as protecting family members
sexual identity with their parents. There seemed from having to confront the taboo subject of
to be a cultural nuance of silence among sexuality.
Filipinos; they do not create conflict among the
family by talking about one’s sexual orientation
and the experiences that coincide (i.e., dating or
reactions to discrimination).” (Min Zhou &
Ocampo, 2016)

Checking for Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. Most universities use plagiarism scanners that check for
these issues. If your paper is found to have been plagiarized, it’s likely that you will receive a zero
on the work and disciplinary action. But as long as you keep these common five types of plagiarism
in mind, you will be able to avoid plagiarism.

Always check your university’s academic code of conduct if you’re unsure whether or not you’re
plagiarizing. Or you could also use a plagiarism checker, like Scribbr’s Plagiarism Check, and
easily prevent these common mistakes.
Critical Reading Activities
 Active Reading
 Appealing to an Audience
 Finding the Commonalities
 Sofa to 5k: Active Reading
 The Verbal Shove-Off: Active Reading
 How to Eat a Poem

Active Reading: Marking Up the Text and Dialogic Journals

Purpose: Helping students learn to actively read texts, how to take notes on readings, and gain an
understanding of their preferred styles for notetaking and the possible benefits of each.

Description: This exercise asks students to try two active reading strategies using the sources they
might use for their research papers. Then, they discuss in order to articulate their preferred note
taking style and the benefits of each.

Suggested Time: 50 minutes

Procedure:

Have students bring in at least two articles they plan on using for their research. Give students the
two handouts below. Give students 20 minutes to try each technique, using one article for each
technique. Give 5 minutes for independent writing in which students explain which method they
prefer and why. Then, have a class discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of each method.

Handout 1:

Active Reading – Mark up the Text

 Underline key ideas – for example, topic sentences.

 Box or circle words or phrases you want to remember.
 Place a checkmark or a star next to an important idea.
 Place a double check mark or double star next to an especially significant idea.
 Put a question mark near any unfamiliar reference or a word you need to look up.
 Number the writer’s key supporting points or examples.
 Use different color highlighters.
 Don’t be afraid to write your thoughts in the margins or on a separate sheet of paper (like the
dialogic journal).

Questions to Ask (and Answer) when Reading a Text

 What issue is the writer focusing on?

 Does the writer take a clear stand on this issue?
 What is the writer’s thesis (if there is one)?
  What is the writer’s purpose for writing?
 Who is the audience for this writing?
 What is the writer’s tone? Why do you think he/she writes with this tone?
 Does the writer seem to assume readers will agree with his/her position?
 What evidence does the writer use to support the essay’s thesis/central argument? Does the
writer include enough evidence?
 Does the writer consider, address and/or refute opposing arguments?
 Do you understand the vocabulary? If not, look the words up.
 Do you understand the writer’s references/citations? If not, look them up.
 Do you agree with the points the writer makes? Why/why not?
 What connections can you make between this article and others you have read?

Handout 2:

Dialogic Journals (also called Double Entry Journal)

Before reading, answer these questions:

 Why are you reading this piece?

 What do you hope to learn as you read it?

Fold a page in your daybook in half (long ways) and follow these steps to complete your dialogue
journal:

1. Write the title and author of the article at the top of the page.
2. In the first column, “write down anything from the reading that catches your attention, seems
significant, bores you silly, confuses you, or otherwise causes you to take note (or stop taking
note).”1 Make sure to also write down the page number from which you have taken the quote.
3. In the second column, explain what made you write the quote in the first column and/or respond
to, question or critique the quote.

Note: You will ping-pong between the two columns. When you find a quote you want to write
down, you will write that quote in column one and then respond to it in column two. Then you will
go back to reading, notice a new quote you want to write down in column one and respond in
column two. And so on…

For this assignment, I want you to choose at least two quotes per page.

When you have finished reading, answer these questions:

 How is this reading useful or not useful for my purpose (in this case, for your inquiry project)?
 If it is useful, what is useful about it, and what in the reading illustrates that use?

_____________________________
1
Adler-Kassner, Linda. Considering Literacy. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. Print. (Quote
taken from page 10)
_____________________________________________________________________________

Appealing to an Audience: How Publications Set a Tone with Content, Structure and Design

Purpose: Understanding how journals and newspapers set a particular tone for their audiences.
Description: This exercise asks students to analyze various features of publications. Homework
assignment that turns into a discussion the next class period. Often used when students are
preparing for a feature article or remediation project.

Suggested Time: 20-50 minutes (depending on discussion time)

Procedure:

Give students the following homework assignment:

Publication Analysis (2-3 typed, double-spaced pages)

For this short assignment, you will identify what specific publication you are going to write your
feature article for, and analyze the publication in four areas:

1. Content – skim through several issues of the publication, primarily paying attention to the feature
articles (i.e. usually the major articles that are listed on the front cover). What subjects/topics do
their authors write about? Make a list of the most common subjects you see.
2. Style – pay attention to the type of vocabulary used, the tone employed, the length of the articles,
paragraphs, and sentences, the persona/ethos that the writer constructs, and the overarching
themes that emerge.
3. Structure/Design – what kinds of organizational structures do the writers use? What about their
“hook”? Do they typically start with an interesting quote, a shocking statement, the posing of a
problem, factual information, an anecdote, etc.? What kinds of design elements are present? Are
there off-set quotes, images/advertisements, unique fonts, subject headings, works cited, bio of
the author, etc.?
4. Audience - On the basis of the feature articles’ common types of content, style, and
structure/design, what can you infer about the audience? Start with demographics like age,
race/ethnicity, gender, religious/political affiliations, etc. but don’t stop there. What does this
audience value? How do they perceive themselves? What kinds of weaknesses or desires do the
advertisements tend to exploit or encourage? What kinds of knowledge or background
experiences do the articles assume that their readers have?

Have students discuss what they found either in small groups, whole groups, or both.

____________________________________________________________________

Finding the Commonalities: Investing Organizational Structures and Formatting of

Academic Articles

Purpose: Helping students develop knowledge about organizational structures and formatting
common to academic articles, so that can use this information to help them read difficult texts
Description: This exercise asks students to identify and present on the features and types of
academic texts. This exercise works for particularly well for research-based classes, but can work
in other composition courses as well.

Suggested Time: 2-3 class periods and outside of class work time

Procedure:

In groups of two or three, students choose one of the types of essays or essay features from the list
at the bottom of the page and create a short presentation for the class. (The list is by no means
complete but is applicable to most of the texts students encounter in scholarly databases.)

For the article types, students should explain

1. the purpose of the article (i.e. what does a review article actually do?)
2. the kind of information in each section (i.e. what does the results section do?)
3. how each section is connected to the others (i.e. how is the lit review connected to the
argument?)
4. and how knowing this information helps readers understand the text (i.e. how can you read
differently knowing the purpose of a lit review?)

For the features common to multiple article types, students should focus on

1. the purpose of those features (i.e. what do notes do?)

2. the kind of information in the features (i.e. what kind of information would you find in notes?)
3. how the features are connected to the content of the article (i.e what is the relationship between
the subject heading and the actual text?)
4. how knowing about these features helps readers understand the article (i.e. how might you read
differently knowing about subject headings?)

Each group creates a PowerPoint or similar artifact that can be distributed to the rest of the
class. After the presentations, discuss what the students learned and then, during the next class
period, apply this knowledge to a course reading.

List of Article Types and Features

 IMRAD Articles (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion)

 Review Essays (Introduction, Methods, Article Discussion, and Implications)
 Humanities Essays (Introduction, Lit Review, Body/Argument, and Conclusion)
 Book Reviews (Introduction, Summary, Critique, and Implications)
 Abstracts
 Subject Headings
 Signposts / Forecasting Moves
 Notes/Endnotes/Footnotes
 Works Cited Pages

____________________________________________________________________
Sofa to 5k: Active Reading

Purpose: This exercise demonstrates the relationship between active-reading and efficient-
reading. Students should learn that attentive reading habits can increase their retention and
comprehension. It is well-suited for the beginning of the semester, or in conjunction with a
research-based assignment.

Description: This exercise prompts students to reconsider quick and non-interactive reading by
comparing the processes. It should demonstrate that retaining information is more difficult and
time-consuming from a passively read passage.

Suggested Time: 40 minutes

Procedure:

1. Ask students to read an excerpt of your choice projected on the board.

2. Remove the projection and ask them to write short answers to a series of questions referencing
specific content, as in phrasing or numerical details.
3. Discuss their answers, and draw extra attention to their (in)ability to quote exactly from memory.
4. Project the excerpt again and ask them to double-check their answers.
5. ...Did it require them to essentially read the entire passage again?...
6. Provide a second excerpt on a printed hand-out and ask them to read the material with a pencil
in hand. Encourage them to mark the passages they think are important, especially the author’s
thesis or relevant / convincing facts. Ask them to anticipate as they are reading which details you
may have chosen for questions.
7. Project a new set of questions for the second excerpt, and ask them to write their short answers
on the same sheet of paper as the first excerpt.
8. Discuss their answers. How did engaging with the text affect their ability to find the specific
answers? How well did they understand the second text? Did they need to completely re-read to
find the answers?
9. Start a discussion about which process seemed "better" to them, or more useful for writing with
research.
10. Be sure to question which factors might prohibit them from physically writing in their books (they
want to sell them back?), and address possible solutions (post-its).

____________________________________________________________________

The Verbal Shove-Off: Active Reading

Purpose: This exercise compels students to engage with authors in an exaggerated take on the
“talking back to the text” reading strategy; and serves as a nice precursor to an opinion-
editorial. Students should be motivated by the outlandish or absurdly biased (poorly researched)
essays to challenge the author with questions in the margins of their essays. Comments like, “say
what?!, seriously?, really?, says who?,” are what we want.

Description: While this exercise aims to generate a conversation between the student and the
author, it invites students to scrutinize the resources used within the text. It prompts students to
challenge claims in a colloquial manner, and then provides the opportunity to discuss varied
viewpoints and draft a counterargument. This is aggro active-reading, or active reading with a
purpose.

Suggested Time: 60 minutes

Procedure:

1. First, you need to find an “article” which presents opinion as fact, and refers to questionable
sources like Wikipedia. Here is one, for example: Interest Convergence, FSU, and the Seminole
Tribe of Florida.
2. If you’re in a computer-classroom have your students respond in a document as they read the
article. If not, and preferably, provide copies.
3. You’ll also want to offer a brief introduction to the topic.
4. Ask the students to decide—as they are reading—if they “agree” or “disagree” with the
statements being made—considering a decision, means thinking.
5. Liken it to the way a lawyer collects a defense.
6. When they are done reacting to the piece, facilitate a discussion of the essay.
7. What points did the author make well? Where did they fail? Do you agree? Etc.
8. Ask them to write a response.
9. Resume discussion for another 10-minutes.
10. Last question, did having your paper written out help you articulate your thoughts?

____________________________________________________________________

How to Eat a Poem

Purpose: When reading poetry, students so often feel pressure to find the “deeper” or “underlying”
meaning. This exercise is meant to demonstrate that they can read poetry and get meaning from it,
and that they don’t need to feel pressure about it.

Description: This exercise provides one way for students to “eat” a poem, meaning to digest a
meaning from a poem for themselves. Basically, you’ll choose a contemporary poem and explain
how to read a poem, then have students read according to that protocol.

Suggested Time: 35-50 Minutes

Procedure:

Step 1: Prepare for Lesson

 For this lesson, you’ll need to pick out a poem to read to the class. I recommend picking out
something contemporary that easily connects with students. Examples of this could be Tony
Hoagland’s “Poor Britney Spears,” Kim Addonizio’s “First Poem for You,” Matthew Dickman’s “V,”
Dorriane Laux’s “Facts about the Moon,” or Sherman Alexie’s “Heroes.” Obviously these are just
examples -- there are tons more out there. The point is not to pick something too archaic or hard
to understand; rather, choose poetry that is contemporary and digestible.
  Make copies of the poem so that each student has one to read in class. Make sure that students
have writing utensils ready.

Step 2: Dispell the Myth of the “Underlying Meaning”

 To start this exercise you’ll need to give a brief talk or have them read something that dispels a
myth that has been instilled in many young adults, the myth that poetry has some “hidden
meaning.” Here’s an example of what I tell my students:

People often offer me this complaint when I talk to them about poetry: ‘I don’t understand poetry.
Why do poets hide meaning? I wish they would just say what they mean!” Perhaps you’ve thought
this (I did when I was in college).

But thinking that poets are trying to “hide” their meaning is misleading, and hiding meaning is not
what poetry is about. If the best poets could hide their meaning the most, then the “best” poetry
would be unreadable to anybody else. Instead, poetry is more exact in meaning than prose or plain
speech.

Let me explain: if I say “I love you,” you have some vague idea of what I mean. But I’ve said that
phrase to my parents, sister, brother, ex-girlfriends, former classes I taught, pet bird, favorite book,
etc. The phrase has little meaning on its own. Sometimes it means “I want to get in your pants;”
others it means “I commit my life to you,” or “you birthed me, that was pretty cool,” “I grew up
with you and we are linked that way forever,” “you were the best classroom I‘ve taught,” “you
whistle the Mardi Gras Mambo, that’s pretty cool.”

What I’ve just done is made my language more specific to its audience and to the rhetorical
situation. Poetry is that magnified times 10 -- it is the most specific form of expression. Sure, there
are many kinds of poetry, some easier and some harder to understand. Sometimes you will be able
to verbalize a meaning, and sometimes you won’t, and that’s ok. Sometimes, maybe, you’ll feel
like you know what the poem means, but won’t be able to describe it. But what makes poetry hard
to understand is that you are zooming in to unpack the specific meaning of each word when you
read it.

Step 3: Instruct Students on How to Read a Poem, They Read Chosen Poem

1. Read the poem first with your pen down. Read at a moderate pace -- slow enough to enjoy the
language, but fast enough to follow the meaning of the sentences.
2. As you read the first time, try to play a video in your head of the images in the poem. Reading a
poem should be like experiencing your own personal movie. This may not work for the entire
poem, but do it as much as possible.
3. Reread the poem, this time with a pen in your hand. Underline your favorite images, and make a
short note about why you connect with them. Put a star next to any parts you don’t understand.
4. Also, on this second read think about the tone of the poem as you read. Is the poem traumatic?
Hilarious? Is the speaker yelling at you? whispering? Try to see if you can hear those things in your
head.
5. Finally, let the poem affect you and write down how it makes you feel. Allow yourself to be moved,
or to take something from the poem, or even to get angry with the poem. This requires letting
 your guard down and believing that a poem can do this. People have different “readings” of
poems/literature - some will find the same poem offensive as another might find beautiful.

Step 4: Class Discussion of the Poem

 Have a conversation about the poem with the students. Make sure to have the conversation on
the student’s terms -- this means you should start by asking them what the poem meant to them,
what images or lines they particularly enjoyed, or what video they saw in their heads while
reading.
 As you discuss with them, be sure to ask abou the poem’s rhetorical situaton, the audience of the
poem, etc.
 Also, be sure to ask them about the process of reading -- did it work for them? Did it not? Why or
why not?

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10 Great Critical Thinking Activities That Engage Your Students

by Lee Watanabe-Crockett | Mar 31, 2016

How can students own their learning with critical thinking activities they’ll really love? Allowing
our students to take stands on issues that matter to them engages the classroom in a way that fosters
great critical thinking. Who? What? Why? When? Where? How? When they can relate these
questions to themselves and exercise personal self-reflection, we build community and “heart-
centered” learning.

Let’s get to the critical thinking skills that really matter. From www.facinghistory.org, here are
some amazing critical thinking activities that you can do with your students.
10 Great Critical Thinking Activities
Attribute Linking—Building Community by Taking Perspectives

Students pair up according to similar physical attributes determined by the facilitator. These
include hair color, eye color, hand size, and height. For each attribute, students discuss times when
they were discriminated against because of it. They then take on the roles as victim, perpetrator,
or bystander and discuss.

Barometer—Taking a Stand on Controversial Issues

When posed with a thought-provoking prompt, students line themselves up along a U-shaped
continuum representing where they stand on that issue. The sides of the U are opposite extremes,
with the middle being neutral. The teacher starts a discussion by giving equal opportunity for
individuals in each area of the continuum to speak about their stand. The students use “I”
statements when stating their opinion.

Barometer: Taking a Stand on Controversial Issues

Rationale

The Barometer teaching strategy helps students share their opinions by asking them to line up
along a continuum based on their position on an issue. It is especially useful when you want to
discuss an issue about which students have a wide range of opinions. Because a Barometer activity
gets many arguments out on the table, it can be an effective pre-writing exercise before an essay
assignment.

Procedure

1. Prepare the Space

Identify a space in the classroom where students can stand in a line or a U-shape. Place "Strongly
Agree" and "Strongly Disagree" signs at opposite ends of a continuum in your room. Alternatively,
you can post any statement at one end and its opposite at the other end of the line.
2. Contract with Students
Set a contract for this activity. Since it deals with students literally putting themselves and their
opinions on the line, it has the potential to promote outbursts that result from some individuals
not understanding how classmates can hold whatever opinion they hold. Reiterate your class rules
about respect for the opinions and voices of others, and call for students to be honest but not
insulting. Re-address ways to constructively disagree with one another, and require that when
students offer their opinion or a defense of their stance, they speak using "I" language rather than
the more accusatory "you."
3. Students Formulate an Opinion
Give students a few minutes to reflect on a prompt or prompts that call for agreement or
disagreement with a particular statement. You might have students respond to the prompt(s) in
their journals.
4. Students “Take a Stand”
Ask students to stand on the spot along the line that represents their opinion, telling them that if
they stand at either extreme, they are absolute in their agreement or disagreement. They may
stand anywhere between the two extremes, depending on how much they do or do not agree
with the statement.
5. Students Explain Positions
Once students have lined themselves up, ask them in turn to explain why they have chosen to
stand where they are standing. Encourage students to refer to evidence and examples when
defending their stance. It is probably best to alternate from one end to the middle to the other
end, rather than allowing too many voices from one stance to dominate. After about three or four
viewpoints are heard, ask if anyone wishes to move. Encourage students to keep an open mind;
they are allowed to move if someone presents an argument that alters where they want to stand
on the line. Run the activity until you think that most or all voices have been heard, making sure
that no one person dominates.
6. Debrief
There are many ways you can debrief this exercise. You can have students reflect in their journals
about how the activity changed or reinforced their original opinion. Or you can chart the main
“for” and “against” arguments on the board as a whole-class activity.

Variations

 Forced Decision: Yes, No, or Undecided: Read a statement aloud. Rather than have a continuum
for agreement, require students to make a decision about whether they “agree” with the
statement, “do not agree,” or “are unsure” about their agreement. If students agree with the
statement, instruct them to move to one side of the room. If students disagree with the
statement, instruct them to move to the other side of the room. Designate a place for students
 to stand near the middle if they are undecided or unsure. Have students explain why they are
standing where they are standing. If after hearing another student’s position a student would like
to move across the room, allow for this movement.
 Post-It Notes Barometer: Draw a continuum on the board. Ask students to place a sticky note on
the spot along the continuum that represents their opinion. Then have students discuss what they
notice about the collection of notes. This variation is less about individuals explaining their point
of view than about illustrating the range of agreement or disagreement in the class.
 Presenting Different Perspectives: The Barometer strategy can be used to present the different
perspectives of historical figures, schools of thought, and literary characters. Assign students a
perspective to represent. Then give them time to research or study the ideas of this person or
group in relation to the question being studied. When you frame a statement, ask students to
stand along the line at a position that represents how their assigned individual or group would
respond. For example, you could use this activity to show how different philosophers or groups
have responded to the statement “Individual freedom is more important than protecting the
needs of the larger community.”

Big Paper—Building a Silent Conversation

Writing (or drawing) and silence are used as tools to slow down thinking and allow for silent
reflection, unfiltered. By using silence and writing, students can focus on other viewpoints. This
activity uses a driving question, markers, and Big Paper (poster-sized is best). Students work in
pairs or threes to have a conversation on the Big Paper.

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Students can write at will, but it must be done in silence after a reflection on the driving question.
This strategy is great for introverts, and provides a ready made visual record of thought for later.

Big Paper: Building a Silent Conversation

Rationale

This discussion strategy uses writing and silence as tools to help students explore a topic in depth.
In a Big Paper discussion, students write out their responses to a stimulus, such as a quotation or
historical document. This process slows down students’ thinking and gives them an opportunity to
focus on the views of others. It also creates a visual record of students’ thoughts and questions that
you can refer to later in a course. You can use this strategy both to engage students who are not as
likely to participate in a verbal discussion and to help make sure that students who are eager to talk
and listen carefully to the ideas of their classmates. After they participate in this activity several
times, students’ comfort, confidence, and skill in using this method increases.

Procedure
 1. Select a Stimulus for Discussion
First, you will need to select the “stimulus”—the material that students will respond to. A stimulus
might consist of questions, quotations, historical documents, excerpts from novels, poetry, or
images. Groups can all be given the same stimulus for discussion, but more often they are each
given a different text related to the same theme. This activity works best when students are
working in pairs or triads. Each group also needs a sheet of big poster paper that can fit a written
conversation and added comments. In the middle of each of these, tape or write the “stimulus”
(image, quotation, excerpt, etc.) that will be used to spark the students’ discussion.
2. Prepare Students
Inform the class that this activity will be completed in silence. All communication is done in
writing. Students should be told that they will have time to speak in pairs and in the large groups
later. Go over all of the instructions at the beginning so that they do not ask questions during the
activity. Also, before the activity starts, the teacher should ask students if they have questions, to
minimize the chance that students will interrupt the silence once it has begun. You can also
remind students of their task as they begin each new step.
3. Students Comment on Their Group’s Big Paper
Each group receives a Big Paper and each student gets a marker or pen. Some teachers have each
student use a different color to make it easier to see the back-and-forth flow of a conversation.
The groups read the text (or look at the image) in silence. After students have read, they are to
comment on the text and ask questions of each other in writing on the Big Paper. The written
conversation must start on the topic of the text but can stray wherever the students take it. If
someone in the group writes a question, another member of the group should address the
question by writing on the Big Paper. Students can draw lines connecting a comment to a
particular question. Make sure students know that more than one of them can write on the Big
Paper at the same time. The teacher can determine the length of this step, but it should be at
least 15 minutes.
4. Students Comment on Other Groups’ Big Papers
Still working in silence, students leave their groups and walk around reading the other Big Papers.
Students bring their marker or pen with them and can write comments or further questions for
thought on other Big Papers. Again, you can determine the length of time for this step based on
the number of Big Papers and your knowledge of the students.
5. Students Return to Their Group’s Big Paper Silence is broken.
The groups reassemble back at their own Big Paper. They should look at any new comments
written by others. Now they can have a free verbal conversation about the text, their own
comments, what they read on other papers, and the comments their fellow students wrote for
them. At this point, you might ask students to take out their journals and identify a question or
comment that stands out to them.
6. Discuss as a Class
Finally, debrief the process with the large group. The conversation can begin with a simple prompt
such as, “What did you learn from doing this activity?” This is the time to delve deeper into the
content and use ideas on the Big Papers to draw out students' thoughts. The discussion can also
touch upon the importance and difficulty of staying silent and students’ level of comfort with this
activity.

Variations

 Little Paper: With a Little Paper activity, the “stimulus” (question, excerpt, quotation, etc.) is
placed in the center of a regular-sized piece of paper. Often, teachers select four to five different
 “stimuli” and create groups of the same size. Each student begins by commenting on the
“stimulus” on his/her Little Paper. After a few minutes, each paper is passed to the student on
the left (or right). This process is repeated until all students have had the opportunity to comment
on every paper. All of this is done in silence, just like the Big Paper activity. Then students review
the Little Paper they had first, noticing comments made by their peers. Finally, small groups have
a discussion about the questions and ideas that stand out to them from this exercise.
 Gallery Walk: The Big Paper activity can also be structured as a Gallery Walk. In this arrangement,
Big Papers are taped to the walls or placed on tables, and students comment on the Big Papers in
silence, at their own pace. Sometimes teachers assign students, often in pairs or triads, to a
particular Big Paper and then have them switch to the next one after five or ten minutes.

Example

In a Big Paper activity, students respond silently to a text excerpt or image by writing their
comments on a shared paper.

Body Sculpting—Using Theatre to Explore Important Ideas

Students are given time to consider their feelings on a thought-provoking abstract or concrete
image. Next, they come up with words that describe their reactions—trapped, free, angry, joyful,
etc. They are then paired up and one person is the sculptor, while the other is the “clay.” The
sculptor poses the clay into a form that artfully displays the word they wish to portray. Here are
some guidelines:

1. Sculptors can either physically mold the “clay” or act as a mirror for them to show the
“clay” the position/image they want.
2. Images can be concrete or abstract.
 3. Sculptors must treat their clay with gentleness and respect (very important!).
4. There are no wrong answers; whatever image you get is fine.
5. All body sculpting must be done in silence.

Café Conversations

Understanding different viewpoints is a great way to delve deeply into a topic. 5 to 10 students are
given character sheets. These might include gender, age, family status (married, single, how many
children, etc.), occupation, education level and significant life events. The group is also given a
historical event or similar topic.

Students can create identity charts in collaboration with each other to determine their character’s
viewpoint. When they can adequately represent their character, what follows is a “cafe
conversation.” Don’t forget to go over guidelines on how to respectfully disagree! Allow at least
20 minutes for a conversation.

Café Conversations

Rationale

Students need an awareness of different perspectives in order to understand past events. The Café
Conversation strategy helps students practice perspective-taking by requiring them to represent a
particular point of view in a small-group discussion. By engaging in a conversation with people
who represent other backgrounds and experiences, students become more aware of the role that
many factors (e.g., social class, occupation, gender, age) play in shaping one’s attitudes and
perspectives on historical events. Use the Café Conversations activity as an assessment tool or to
prepare students to write an essay about a specific historical event.

Procedure

1. Prepare Personalities and Topic for Conversation

Select five to ten “personalities” that represent different political attitudes and backgrounds
during the time period you are studying. The individuals you select to represent different attitudes
can be real people or composites of real people. For each personality, prepare a short biography
that includes information such as gender, age, family status (married, single, how many children,
etc.), occupation, education level, and significant life events. Next, you will need to select an issue
or event relevant to the time period that you want all of these personalities to discuss. For
example, they can discuss who they will vote for in an upcoming election, or they might discuss
how war is affecting their lives.
2. Students Prepare for Conversation
Assign each student a particular personality to represent. Give students the relevant background
information and/or biography to read. After they read this background information, you might
have students create an identity chart for their character. Then ask students to hypothesize how
this person would feel about the matter at hand—the event or question they will be discussing
during the Café Conversation. Often, teachers have students work on this step in small groups
with other students who have been assigned the same person to represent in the discussion. To
 ensure that students accurately represent their person’s point of view, before the Café
Conversation begins you might review a worksheet students are required to complete and/or
have a brief check-in with groups.
3. The Café Conversation
During the Café Conversation, students represent their assigned personality in a discussion about
the assigned topic. The conversation should begin with students introducing themselves. Then
one member announces the conversation starter (often a question or statement prepared in
advance). It can be as simple as, “So I heard that ___ is happening. What do you think about this?”
Conversations typically last at least 20 minutes, but they can run much longer. Before beginning
these conversations, it is important to go over norms about how to disagree respectfully and stay
on topic. Here are two main ways you can structure Café Conversations:
o Jigsaw: Divide the class into groups so that each group has students representing different
personalities. In this format, many Café Conversations will be happening simultaneously.
If one group ends early, you can let them go around the room and listen to the
conversations other groups are having.
o Fishbowl: Make a circle of chairs in the center of the room. The number of chairs should
represent the number of assigned personalities. Invite one member from each group to
join the conversation. The rest of the class watches the conversation. At certain moments,
you can announce “Switch,” meaning that a student in the “fishbowl” is replaced by
another group member. Or you can allow students to “tap” a group member on the
shoulder when they want a turn to speak.
4. Students Reflect in Journals
After the Café Conversations have wrapped up, ask students to write a journal entry reflecting on
their experience. Possible journal prompts include:
o What do you think it might have felt like for your character to hear these different
perspectives? How do you think this might have changed his/her point of view, if at all?
o How did it feel for you to participate in the Café Conversation? During what part of the
conversation did you feel most comfortable? Least comfortable? Why do you think that
is?
o What did you learn about this moment in history from participating in this activity?
o What did you learn about yourself or about human behavior from participating in this
activity?
5. Debrief
Give students the opportunity to debrief this activity. You could facilitate a class discussion,
starting with a general question such as, “What did you learn from this activity?” Or you could
begin the debrief discussion as a Wraparound activity, with each student sharing one idea from
his or her journal entry.

Variations

 Add a Research Component: Instead of preparing short biographies for students, you can assign
a historical figure and have students research this person’s background. It is helpful to provide
students with guidelines, such as a list of questions, that outline the information you expect them
to find. Students can complete this research independently or in small groups.
 Literature-Based Café: Rather than focus on personalities in a particular time period, you can
structure a Café Conversation around characters from a novel or from books you have read. The
focus of the conversation could be an event from a book or a question related to human nature.
Other Critical Thinking Activities

Jigsaw—Developing Community and Disseminating Knowledge

Students take on the role of “experts” or “specialists” of a particular topic. Then a panel of experts
is assembled to get the larger picture.

Jigsaw: Developing Community and Disseminating Knowledge

Rationale

The Jigsaw strategy asks a group of students to become “experts” on a specific text or body of
knowledge and then share that material with another group of students. This strategy offers a way
to help students understand and retain information while they develop their collaboration skills.
Because students know they will be responsible for teaching the new content to their peers, they
often feel more accountable for learning the material. The Jigsaw strategy is most effective when
students know that they will be using the information they have learned from each other to create
a final product, participate in a class discussion, or acquire material that will be on a test.

Procedure

1. Prepare the Activity

Select the material you want students to explore. It might be a collection of documents (e.g.,
readings, images, charts), or it could be a series of questions. Also, decide how many students you
would like to work together in each “expert” group. Teachers often find that groups of three to
five students work best. Sometimes it makes sense to form groups randomly (e.g., by counting
 off), while other times you might want to divide students in advance to balance strengths, needs,
and interests. You can assign the same material to more than one group.
2. Students Work in Expert Groups
In this step, small groups of students (“experts”) are responsible for reviewing specific material so
that they can share this information with their peers. “Expert” groups work best when students
have clear expectations about the type of information they are supposed to present to their peers.
Therefore, it is often helpful to provide a chart or a series of questions that students answer
together in their expert groups. It is important that all group members understand the material
they are responsible for presenting. To avoid having students present inaccurate or misleading
information, teachers can review and approve of content before this information is shared with
students in the other groups.
3. Students Meet in Teaching Groups
After “expert” groups have a solid understanding of the material they will be presenting, assign
students to “teaching” groups. “Teaching” groups are typically composed of one or two members
from each expert group. Experts take turns presenting information. Often teachers ask students
to take notes while the experts present. For greater accountability, it is best if students are
required to synthesize the material presented as part of an assignment, presentation, or
discussion.
4. Students Synthesize and Reflect
“Teaching” groups can be assigned a task that requires them to synthesize the information that
has been shared, such as answering a larger question, comparing texts, or generating a plan of
action. Students could also synthesize information individually or in pairs. It is appropriate to
structure a class discussion that asks students to draw on the material they just learned to answer
a question about history and apply this information to society today.

K-W-L Charts—Assessing What We Know/What We Still Want to Learn

Charts to document “What I Know” and “What I Want to Know” and, after learning has occurred,
“What I Learned.”

K-W-L Charts

Rationale

K-W-L charts are graphic organizers that help students organize information before, during, and
after a unit or a lesson. They can be used to engage students in a new topic, activate prior
knowledge, share unit objectives, and monitor students’ learning.

Procedure

1. Make K-W-L Charts

Pass out the accompanying handout to students. Alternatively, you can distribute a blank sheet
of paper and ask students to create their own chart.
 2. Complete Column 1
Have students respond to the first prompt in column 1: What do you Know about this topic?
Students can do this individually or in small groups. Often, teachers create a master list of all
students’ responses. One question that frequently emerges for teachers is how to address
misconceptions students share. Sometimes it is appropriate to correct false information at this
point in the process. Other times, you might want to leave the misconceptions so that students
can correct them on their own as they learn new material.
3. Complete Column 2
Have students respond to the prompt in column 2: What do you Want to know about this topic?
Some students may not know where to begin if they don't have much background knowledge on
the topic. Therefore, it can be helpful to put the six questions of journalism on the board as
prompts (Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?). We suggest that students’ responses and
questions be used to direct the course of study. As students share what they want to learn, this
step provides an opportunity for teachers to present what they hope students will learn in the
unit.
4. Complete Column 3 and Review Columns 1 and 2
Throughout the unit, students can review their K-W-L charts by adding to column 3: What did you
Learn? Some teachers have students add to their charts at the end of each lesson, while others
have students add to their charts at the end of the week or the end of the unit. As students record
what they have learned, they can review the questions in column 2, checking off any questions
that they can now answer. They can also add new questions. Students should also review Column
1 so they can identify any misconceptions they may have held before beginning the unit.

Think, Pair, Share—Facilitating Discussions in Small and Large Groups

A classic tool to guide students in relevant and meaningful discussion, and to build community.

Think, Pair, Share

Rationale

In an activity based on the Think, Pair, Share strategy, students write and discuss their ideas with
a partner before sharing them with the larger group. This format gives students the opportunity to
thoughtfully respond to questions in written form and to engage in meaningful dialogue with other
students about these issues. It is a helpful way to give students time to compose their ideas before
sharing with them with the class. The Think, Pair, Share strategy helps students build confidence,
encourages greater participation, and often results in more thoughtful discussions.

Procedure

1. Think
Have students reflect on a given question or write a response in their journals.
2. Pair
Have students pair up and share their responses.
 3. Share
When the larger group reconvenes, ask pairs to report back on their conversations. Alternatively,
you could ask students to share what their partner said. In this way, the strategy focuses on
students’ skills as careful listeners.

Town Hall Circle

Like a real town meeting, individual students are “given the floor” and a time limit to express their
views.

Town Hall Circle

Rationale

This teaching strategy mimics the process of a town hall meeting, where community members take
the floor to share their perspective on a topic of concern. Using this format, students have the
opportunity to share their different perspectives by tapping into and out of the group conversation.
Students often come away from this experience with a greater appreciation for how our perspective
can limit the facts we have at our disposal and the opinions we hold. By listening to others’ ideas,
students broaden their understanding of the world in which they live.

Procedure

1. Select Readings
Select four to six readings on the same topic that represent different perspectives.
2. Students Read in Groups
Divide the class into four to six groups (depending on the number of readings) and assign each
group one of the readings. Give students the opportunity to read. Some groups may prefer to
read the text aloud after each student has also had the opportunity to read the text silently. Then
have students discuss the reading among themselves, answering questions such as: What is this
reading about? What are the main ideas and facts presented? Why are these ideas relevant or
important? From whose perspective is this text written? How might that influence the ideas
expressed in the text? Students appoint one person in their group to summarize their reading to
the class. (See the Assigning Roles teaching strategy for more ideas about other roles you might
assign to help students work more independently.)
3. Town Hall Discussion Part 1: Summaries
Arrange chairs in a circle, providing one chair per group. The person assigned to summarize for
each group sits in the chair. The other students then form a larger standing circle around the
chairs. Make it clear that each student in the class will have an opportunity to be heard. Students
can only speak when they have entered the circle and are seated. Then, each representative
summarizes the reading assigned to the group. It is important that no analysis or interpretation is
allowed at this point—just the facts.
4. Town Hall Discussion Part 2: Comments and Questions
After all readings have been summarized, invite students seated in the circle to comment on what
they have heard or to ask one of their peers a question. Students in the outer circle are then
 allowed to enter the conversation by "tapping" the shoulder of someone in their own group and
taking their seat. The only way to enter or leave the discussion is by this process.
5. Debrief
After the discussion, give students the opportunity to reflect on the following questions in their
journals and/or through a class discussion:
o What did you learn from this activity?
o How did your ideas about the topic change during this activity, if at all? Explain what
caused your ideas to change or why you think your ideas did not change.
o What does “perspective” mean? Where does our perspective come from? How does our
perspective shape the way we see the world? Draw on particular examples from this
activity when answering these questions.

Reader’s Theater

In groups, create a dramatic script based on the ideas within a given text. Do not script word for
word. The idea is to get off the page and represent the idea in the students’ own words.

Reader's Theater

Rationale

In an activity based on the Reader’s Theater strategy, groups of students are assigned a text excerpt
to present to their peers. As opposed to presenting skits of the plot, a reader’s theater asks students
to create a performance that reveals a message, theme, or conflict represented by the text. As
students practice this activity, they become more proficient at using the words of the text to depict
concepts and ideas. This is an effective way to help students process dilemmas experienced by
characters in a text. This is also an effective activity to use with emotionally powerful texts, such
as Night by Elie Wiesel.

Procedure

1. Select Excerpts
Depending on how many students are in your class, you will likely need to identify four or five
excerpts or “scenes” for this activity. Typically, groups of four to six students are assigned different
sections of a text to interpret, although it is certainly possible to have groups interpret the same
excerpt. When selecting excerpts for use in a reader’s theater activity, keep in mind these
suggestions:
o Shorter excerpts allow students to look more deeply at specific language than longer
excerpts do. Often excerpts are only a few paragraphs long.
o Use excerpts that contain one main action or decision-making point.
o Excerpts should address an important theme in the text; they should represent more than
just the plotline.
2. Students Read Excerpts
Before groups are assigned scenes to interpret, give students the opportunity to read the
 selections silently and aloud. This step familiarizes students with the language of the text. After
the text is read aloud, invite students to ask clarifying questions about the vocabulary or plot. That
way, students can begin their group work ready to interpret their assigned scene.
3. Groups Prepare for Performance

Assign scenes (excerpts) to groups.

In their small groups, students read their assigned scenes aloud again. As they read,
students should pay attention to theme, language, and tone. You might ask students to
highlight or underline the words that stand out to them. Groups may choose to read their
scenes two or three times and then to have a conversation about the words and phrases they
have highlighted.

Then groups discuss the scene. At the end of this discussion, students should agree on the
words, theme, or message represented in this excerpt that they would most like to share
with the class. To help structure the groups’ conversations, you might provide them with a
series of questions to answer. The following are examples: What conflict is expressed in
this excerpt? What theme is represented? What words or phrases are most important? What
is the message of this text? What is most important or interesting about the words or ideas
in this excerpt?

Now students are ready to prepare their performance. Students should be reminded that the
goal is not to perform a skit of their scene but to use specific language (words and phrases)
to represent the conflict, theme, and/or underlying message of that excerpt. Performances
can be silent, or they can use voice in creative ways, such as by composing a choral reading
that emphasizes key phrases. Students can use movement, or they can hold their body
positions to create an image frozen in time, much like a photograph. It often helps to give
students a list of guidelines or suggestions to follow when preparing their presentations,
such as these:

o Repeat key words, phrases, or sentences.

o Read some or all of your selection as a group, as part of a group, or as individuals.
o Alter the order of the text.
o Position yourselves around the room as you see fit.
o You may not use props, but you can use body positioning to achieve a certain effect.
o Everyone has to participate.
4. Groups Perform
There are many ways to structure performances. Some teachers ask students to take notes while
all groups perform. Then students use their notes to guide their reactions to the performances.
Alternatively, teachers might ask students to comment immediately after each performance. It is
best if students’ comments are phrased in the form of positive feedback rather than in the form
of a critique (e.g., “It would have been better if...”). Before debriefing performances, you can go
over the types of comments that are appropriate and inappropriate, or you can provide students
with “starters” they could use when phrasing their feedback. The following are examples of
starters that frame positive feedback:
o It was powerful for me when...
o The performance that helped me understand the text in a new way is...because...
 o It was interesting how...
o One performance that stood out to me is...because...
o I was surprised when...because...
5. Students Reflect
After presenting and debriefing performances, give students the opportunity to reflect on their
learning and participation in this activity. How did it feel to present? To receive feedback? What
would they do differently next time? Students can answer these questions in their journals, and
then you can allow volunteers to share ideas or questions from what they wrote.

Plan Your Own Critical Thinking Activities

The Solution Fluency Activity Planner was built for planning critical thinking activities. These are
lessons that will drive and engage students in meaningful PBL and inquiry learning. You can
explore the Planner tool right here.

Allowing students room to think deeply and discuss openly during critical thinking activities is the
key to them taking true responsibility for the learning. Through these kinds of activities we foster
real thinkers and life-long learners.