Lesson 1: Providing Support for Our Struggling Readers and Writers
Overview
In this lesson you will learn how to...
- reflect on ways to provide support for students who have difficulty designing questions.
Read/View
* Case Study #1
Background Info: Cindy is a transitioning ENL student. Like most ENL students, sometimes she has difficulty articulating her thoughts out loud and in writing. Cindy benefits from using sentence frames to help ease the anxiety of organizing her thoughts. In addition, vocabulary definitions are provided for important concepts and/or academic vocabulary terms. Visuals help to pique interest and make connections to language that is unclear for Cindy.
Scenario: Cindy's class is using QFT for the first time. Their Qfocus is a quote from a book called, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Students will be reading this book throughout their upcoming unit. The quote says, “Other countries (not including America) eat traditional foods, following customs that haven’t changed for hundreds of years.” She is seated with a group of students whose native language is English. Keep in mind that this is the first time everyone has been exposed to this quote. As an ENL student, Cindy struggles with understanding academic vocabulary and articulating her thoughts out loud. Phrases and words such as "traditional foods" and "customs" are difficult for Cindy to grasp. Without understanding these terms, Cindy is unable to create an effective question that is aligned with the Qfocus. Instead, she stays quiet and lets her group members take the lead in designing questions. Because Cindy does not have the background knowledge needed to follow through with the task, she is unable to take part in the most important step of the QFT.
* Case Study #2
Background Info: Andrew is a student who has an IEP. Similar to ENL students, he has difficulty articulating his thoughts in an organized manner. In addition, he is easily distracted if the topic does not interest him. Andrew responds best to visuals and different types of media. Like Cindy, he also benefits from using sentence frames to help ease the anxiety of organizing his thoughts. In addition, vocabulary definitions are provided for important concepts and/or academic vocabulary terms.
Scenario: Andrew's class is using QFT for the first time. Their Qfocus is a quote from a book called, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Students will be reading this book throughout their upcoming unit. The quote says, “Other countries (not including America) eat traditional foods, following customs that haven’t changed for hundreds of years.” He is seated with a group of students that do not have IEPs. Keep in mind that this is the first time everyone has been exposed to this quote. Andrew has no interest in even thinking about this quote. There is nothing about the Qfocus that engages him. If Andrew is not engaged, he will not be able to create authentic questions. Phrases and words such as "traditional foods" and "customs" are critical for Andrew to analyze in today's QFT task. Without understanding these terms, Andrew is unable to create an effective question that is aligned with the Qfocus. Instead, he loses focus and tries to peek at other Qfocus posters around the room. His group members take the lead in designing questions.
* Case Study #3
Background Info: Jon is a general ed student. He struggles with literacy, but always tries his best. He excels in Science and Math, but has difficulty when it comes to reading and writing. Jon seems to benefit from the scaffolds and support provided to ENL students or students with IEPs. Although Jon is not classified as either category, once in a while he appreciates the little extra support to guide him in the right direction. There are many students like Jon who have similar needs.
Scenario: Jon's class is using QFT for the first time. Their Qfocus is a quote from a book called, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Students will be reading this book throughout their upcoming unit. The quote says, “Other countries (not including America) eat traditional foods, following customs that haven’t changed for hundreds of years.” He is seated with a group of students with mixed abilities. Keep in mind that this is the first time everyone has been exposed to this quote. Jon is able to discuss the meaning of this quote with his group, but he is having difficulty with the concept of designing questions. Instead, he is providing answers. One of the rules in Step 1 says to "change any statement into a question".
Note
Since this is a collaborative class, everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts, ideas, and/or questions through our discussion board on Google Classroom!
Click here to access our discussion board
Reflect
- What type of support would you provide for these students?
- How might providing support help the process to flow much easier?
Do
- Click the link below that will bring you to our Google Classroom.
- Complete Unit 3: Enhancing the QFT by Implementing Best Practices / Lesson 1: Activity 1 - Review of sample QFocus posters that are differentiated for all learners
- Complete Unit 3: Enhancing the QFT by Implementing Best Practices / Lesson 1: Activity 2 - Analyzing question stems to guide students in the right direction when designing questions
Look Forward
Next lesson, you will reflect on ways to enhance student assessment with the support of the “Designing Thoughtful Questions” rubric.
Move on to: Lesson 2:Enhancing Student Assessment: Designing Thoughtful Questions Rubric
Go back to: Stimulating Student Curiosity with the QFT (Question Formulation Technique)