Enhancing Possible Sentences through Cooperative Learning

Author(s): Sharon J. Jensen and Frederick A. Duffelmeyer

Source: Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy , May, 1996, Vol. 39, No. 8 (May, 1996),
pp. 658-659
Published by: International Literacy Association and Wiley

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40015659

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alternative ways of organizing the by nication students
moving the in the process of or-
stud
statements and other students must reading the
ganizing outline
information for their speech-
be persuaded. The class then decidesClass discussion will determine if it es, but outlining is a beneficial tool for
the most general main point before makes sense. By building the human all students.
outline as a class, the students are
organizing the more specific, subordi-
Metzger teaches at San Diego State
nate statements. After each outliningable to experience the maneuvering of
University in San Diego, California, USA.
symbol is decided, a student is choseninformation to find the most coherent
to represent that statement by holdingorganization. Students are tangibly in-
a sign on which the statement is troduced to the idea that information
written. is presented in support of other state-
Each representative is then used to ments, while becoming familiar with
build a human outline, like building a the symbols of a formal outline.
pyramid from the top down. The stu- If the students require additional
dent representing the main point practice, have them outline personal Enhancing Possible
stands or sits at a stable higher eleva- information such as favorite foods or
tion, such as on a table. The students pastimes. The students provide the
Sentences through
holding the signs of the statements statements of information and decide cooperative learning
that directly support the main point their individual organizational schemes.
stand on the ground in front of the Give each student 10 to 15 blank index Sharon J.Jensen
student. The representatives of state- cards upon which they write each piece Frederick A. Duffelmeyer
ments that support the second level of of information. Have them arrange the
subordination then sit in front of the cards according to an organizationalTeaching the meanings of unfamiliar
people holding the statements to format on their desks so you can pro- words before students encounter them
which they relate. This provides a vi- vide help and comments during the ac-in their reading is a widely advocated
sual representation of an outline for tivity. If time permits, students canpractice. In addition to promoting
the students to see. form dyads to try alternate organiza- vocabulary development, prereading
You can demonstrate how informa- tions of each others' information. vocabulary instruction also enhances
students' ability to construct meaning
tion can be organized in different waysThese activities help my oral commu-
from text. Although this practice is rec-
ommended in conjunction with both
narrative and expository text, it is par-
ticularly beneficial with expository
text, which typically exhibits a greater
Factual statements to be organized into an outline
incidence of unfamiliar vocabulary.
Read the following statements and decide the best way they fit in the outline One highly recommended preread-
structure provided.
ing vocabulary strategy for use with
1. There are fiction books. middle and secondary students in
2. There are many sections of books in the library. content area classes is Possible Sen-
3. These include bibliographies. tences (see D. Moore and S. Moore in
4. They may be organized according to the readers' age group. Reading in the Content Areas, Kendall-
5. Technical books are also in this section.
Hunt, 1986). Briefly, a Possible Sen-
6. Another section is periodicals.
7. There are nonfiction books. tences activity consists of the follow-
8. They are organized by type of content. ing phases:
9. Reference books may be shelved here, too.
> Key vocabulary. The teacher dis-
Outline structure Key plays a list of 6-8 words or terms that
I. Statement 2
are critical to constructing meaning
A. Statement 1
from the text selection.
1 . Statement 4
2. Statement 8 > Sentence generation. The teacher
B. Statement 7 elicits sentences the students think
1 . Statement 3
they might possibly encounter in the
2. Statement 5
text selection, with the stipulation
3. Statement 9
that each sentence must contain at
C. Statement 6
least two words from the list. The

658 Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 39:8 May 1 996

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teacher records the sentences on the1990, pp. 12-15) is a three-step coop- aesthetic, which Rosenblatt used in con-
board for later reference. erative learning activity designed to junction with a discussion of the
foster student involvement in a par-
> Purposeful reading. The students sound and rhythm of words, one stu-
ticular task. In the first step, students
read the text selection, paying particu- dent pair came up with two synony-
lar attention to those sections in think on their own about a question or mous clue words, beautiful and appealing.
which the target words occur. problem posed by the teacher. Next, In another instance, the key word effer-
> Sentence evaluation. On the ba- the students pair off and exchange ent (literally, carrying outward), which
ideas. Finally, each pair shares its
sis of their reading, the students eval- was used in the context of what one
uate the accuracy of their possibleideas with the entire class. carries away from text, yielded the clue
sentences. Accurate sentences (sen- I implemented Possible Sentences word Efferdent™, a denture cleanser in
tences corroborated by the text) arein conjunction with a piece by Louise the form of a tablet that fizzes (bubbles
retained, while inaccurate sentences Rosenblatt (in Literacy in Process, moving outward) when dropped in wa-
are either modified or discarded. Heinemann, 1991) entitled "The Read- ter! I pointed out these spontaneous
> Further sentence generation. ing Transaction: What For?" in which occurrences to the whole class and
Additional sentences are elicited that she sets forth her transactional model suggested that a clue words phase
express important ideas not reflectedof the reading process. After display- might be a useful addition to the
in those that survived the sentence ing the key vocabulary, I initiated a tai- Possible Sentences strategy.
evaluation phase. lor-made version of Think-Pair-Share. We found that the use of Think-Pair-
First, I allotted 2 minutes for my stu- Share during the sentence-generation
Although each of these phases isdents to individually consider the key phase and the addition of a clue words
important, the extent to which avocabulary and to match words that phase after sentence evaluation
Possible Sentences activity succeeds
seemed to be related. Next, I had strengthened an already solid strate-
in promoting vocabulary development
them turn to a partner to share their gy, and we see no reason why these
and enhancing comprehension rests matches and the reasoning behindmodifications to Possible Sentences
heavily with the sentence generation
them; this took approximately 5 min- shouldn't be equally effective with
phase. If only a few possible sentences
utes. Then I directed the partners tomiddle and secondary students who
are generated, the purpose for reading
incorporate the matched words into are reading and learning from exposi-
as well as the opportunity for sentence
sentences they might expect to en-tory text.
evaluation is greatly diminished. counter
Of in text (another 5 minutes).
equal importance, we feel, is the de- ]ensen teaches at Simpson College in
Finally, I asked each pair to share their
gree to which individual students par- Indianola, Iowa, USA. Duffelmeyer teaches at
possible sentences and recorded
ticipate in the prediction process. The Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, USA.
them on the chalkboard (10 minutes).
more students are involved, the more My students responded enthusiasti-
pervasive are the strategy's potential
cally to Think-Pair-Share, and by the
benefits.
time the sentence-generation phase
Last semester I (Jensen) taught was
an completed, the chalkboard was
undergraduate reading/language arts filled with possible sentences. The
methods course at a midwestern U.S. students' predictions and the level of
university. Because I believe that it is student involvement that yielded
important to model in my own teach-them served as an auspicious point of Review in the round
ing the strategies that I recommend to departure for purposeful reading and a
my students, I planned to implement thoughtful and animated discussionLois E. Huffman
Possible Sentences in that course, but
of Rosenblatt's ideas.
with one significant modification. In addition to confirming the poten-In an article called "Teaching College
Realizing the importance of an ample tial benefits associated with Think- Students to Teach Themselves" (College
number of possible sentences and Pair-Share and Possible Sentences, Teaching, 1987), A.D. Toppins recom-
widespread student involvement, I de-this lesson yielded a serendipitous re-
mends that "The classroom should
cided to incorporate a variation of an
sult. In conjunction with the sentencedemonstrate congruence between
instructional technique called Think-evaluation phase, I observed that sev-what is taught and how it is taught."
Pair-Share during the sentence gener-eral pairs of students were brainstorm-
In the content reading methods class-
ation phase. ing clue words to help them relate esa that I teach, I use a wide variety of
Think-Pair-Share (see S. Kagan, keyword's meaning (new learning) to astrategies to facilitate thinking and
"The Structural Approach to Coopera- known word or experience (old learn-learning with our course texts. I find
tive Learning" in Educational Leadership, ing). For example, for the key word that firsthand experience with strate-

Open to Suggestion 659

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