Explanation of Identified Instructional Strategies

1. Bottoms Up, Heads Together - Other a. Why was this specific strategy selected? i. This strategy was selected because it is an easy and effective way to get the students discussing a topic that is pertinent to the lesson. Is this lesson, the students were discussing how to help me convince my sister to purchase me a coffee with her money which connects directly with the topic of persuasive writing and opposing views. The students are given the opportunity to review the various way to convince someone of something before diving even deeper into argumentative writing. b. Benefits of this strategy? i. This strategy allows students to talk and discuss ideas without the noise level in the classroom getting out of control. It is researched based and can easily be adapted for various student needs. c. Possible Cons of this strategy? i. As with any group work, there is always the possibility that one student dominates conversation or other students are not given the opportunity to share their ideas with the group. 2. Action Thermometer Nonlinguistic Representation a. Why was this specific strategy selected? i. This strategy was selected because it allows the students to get up and moving. Studies have been done that show that when students are up and moving, they are more likely to remember the concepts that are taught. As a teacher, the ultimate goal is to help students not only learn, but remember the material in order to apply it in other aspects of their lives. ii. Students are also given the opportunity to take a side on a statement. By having the sides of the room being for and against the topic [students answering yes or no to a statement] it helps the students visually see that each statement has at least two possible sides. This visual representation will hopefully help them be better iii. This is also a nonlinguistic representation of a T-Chart with the two sides representing the two sides of the chart. b. Benefits of this strategy?

i. Benefits of this strategy include getting the students up and moving with not only helps with memory, but can also prevent behavior problems. Students can only sit for so long during a lesson and this simple instructional strategy allows time for movement and learning. c. Possible Cons of this strategy? i. If a student is torn between sides, this strategy may be difficult for the students to participate in. this strategy could also be a problem if effective classroom management skills are not put in place because the students are up and moving, providing ample opportunity for them to goof off and cause trouble. ii. This strategy can easily be changed into an organizational/management strategy if not implemented right and requires the teacher to be intentional about how they use it. iii. Peer pressure and the desire for acceptance could also pose a problem. Even though the statements are simple, students may simply follow their peers even if that is not what they truly think. By simply following the leader students would be hindering their thought processes and individual thought. 3. Think-Pair-Share Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers a. Why was this specific strategy selected? i. This strategy goes well with the Action Thermometer which gets students into groups that think along the same lines. Once the students have picked their side [made their claim] they are given the opportunity to pair with a peer and come up with a reason for the teacher to pick that side. This gives them practice creating claims which must be in place before they can come write the opposing view. b. Benefits of this strategy? i. This strategy gives the students a chance to come up with their own idea and share it with one peer before sharing it with the whole class. This often helps the more reluctant/shy learners feel more comfortable sharing their opinion by providing them more think time. ii. When students discuss ideas with their peers, it allows them to evaluate and process their own thoughts, which does not always happen when working individually. c. Possible Cons of this strategy?

i. Like the first strategy, the biggest con with this is that some students may dominate conversation, preventing others from contributing and actually having to think about why they picked the side that they did. ii. If not properly managed, a Think-Pair-Share can get loud and out of control. iii. Think-Pair-Share can be easily implemented, which often results in it being poorly used and not enhancing a students understanding of a concept. 4. Two Column Notes Summarizing and Notetaking a. Why was this specific strategy selected? i. Cornell notes are well researched and allow the students to record notes in a variety of ways including words and pictures. These notes can be used with any size group and are easily differentiated based on a students needs. This set of notes will be used throughout the process of teaching about argumentative writing, allowing the students to have one consolidated set of notes to reference when needed. b. Benefits of this strategy? i. All students take notes differently and this lets them address their individual note taking preferences while making a cheat sheet of how to write an argumentative essay. c. Possible Cons of this strategy? i. With any not taking strategy, students may not write down the material or the strategy may not be the one that best suits their learning style. 5. T-Chart Identifying Similarities and Differences a. Why was this specific strategy selected? i. Using a T-Chart allows the students to not only organize their thoughts but to see the visual comparison between two arguments. Once the T-Chart is complete, it can easily be transferred to a graphic organizer that will assist students in writing about the topic at hand. ii. T-Charts are an effective and logical way for students to organize the different sides of an argument. By using different colors to represent the claim and the opposing view, the students are given even more ways to see the differences. b. Benefits of this strategy?

i. By having the students use this graphic organizer, it helps them organize their thoughts on a topic. For some students they need to see the differences/arguments written down in order for the concept to make sense. c. Possible Cons of this strategy? i. The T-Chart can be a difficult concept for students to grasp and if not explained properly, the students may become confused about what is being expected of them.