Identifying Critical

Content
What is this element about?
What do I need to consider when introducing
this to my students?
Where does this fit?
 Even though…
O The elements are separate and unique, they do not work
in isolation.
O The teacher will skillfully blend the strategies they
select for each element to achieve the overarching
desired effect.
O Today we will focus on identifying
critical content, we will make natural
connections between this and other elements in the DQ
2 lesson addressing new content…. With the
ultimate goal of helping students
get to that DQ 4 event.
Remember…
O You may have taught this content
many, many times….
O But it is their first exposure with
this content
O Not everything in the lesson is of
equal importance
O Some students inherently
understand that, but most do not.
O Signaling to students what is
critical information is key to
implementing an effective lesson
 First steps…
O As you prepare to present the information to
the students:
O Identify a lesson, or part of a lesson the students
should pay particularly close attention to.
O This element is integral to helping your students
understand knew knowledge, make
connections to prior learning, and
ultimately retain new content.
 Identify
Critical Organize
Information Students
(7)
(6)
• This is a teacher
Reflect Preview dominated
(13) (8) element…
meaning you are
most likely doing
the majority of
the work, but
Content there will be a
Record Chunk
(12) desired effect the
(9) students must
exhibit after the
information is
Elaborate Process shared with them.
(11) (10)
 Desired effects…
O Students can identify the critical information addressed
in class.
O Students can explain the difference between critical and
non-critical content.
O Students can describe the level of importance of the
critical information addressed in class.
O Formative data from the lesson show that students attend
to the critical content (for example…questioning or
artifacts)
O Students can explain the progression of
critical content in the lesson.
 As you prepare the lesson
for the students…
O What are the ways you expect students to react
to the critical information?
O What actions should they immediately take?
O Are there specific note-taking routines that
were taught on how to do this?
O Do you expect students to give hand signals or
write answers on small white boards to
indicate their understanding of critical
content?
 Model, Model, Model…
O Students will not know
what action(s) to take
unless you have
explicitly stated,
modeled and practiced
your expectations and
followed up with
consistent monitoring of
their understanding of
that information.
Effective Communication
O Assemble a toolbox of ways to cue or prompt
your students that you are about to introduce
skills or knowledge of critical value and
importance.
O Think about how to further develop those that
are already your favorites, as well as how to
become more skilled in employing different
techniques to target subgroups of students you
may not be reaching.
 Behaviors associated with
identifying critical content:
O Highlight critical information that portrays a
clear progression of information related to
standards or goals
O Identify differences between critical and
noncritical content
O Continuously call students’ attention to critical
content
O Integrate cross curricular connections to
critical content
 Common mistakes…
O Failure to identify the critical content from a
unit of instruction before you begin teaching
O Failure to communicate its importance to your
students in an effective or memorable way
O Failure to communicate to students the kind of
action or response their attention requires for
certain types of important content
Analogy of importance…
O If someone were to convince you of a certain key
bit of information that is critical to your health,
you are more inclined to figure out a way to
remember that information.
O You might make a special note of it or ask for
additional information to clarify what is the most
important aspect to remember.
O Help them realize that hearing the critical content
is only the first step; they need to do something
with it for it to be effective.
 Ask yourself…
O Did the students know what content was
important?
O Did they learn or master the information
taught?
O The most elaborately planned lessons have no
meaning unless they focus on the critical
content outlined in the standard and are
monitored for the desired effects of the
implemented strategies.
 Different strategies…
O Verbally cue
O Explicit instruction
O Dramatic instruction
O Advance organizers
O Visually cue
O Storytelling
O What students already know
O In the next segment,
we will look at several
of the strategies listed
on the previous slide.
O Select strategies that
speak to you and
begin to utilize them
during your lessons to
help students identify
the critical content.