Makes Sense Strategies
Created for Lauderdale County
Professional Development Training
November 2010
By L. Stamps, C. Heaps, and J. Lundin
Developed by
Edwin Ellis, PhD
Professor,
University of Alabama
Makes Sense Strategies are scientifically research-based
SMARTsheets™
– interactive graphic organizers with prompts designed for teaching
receptive and expressive language, vocabulary, reading, writing,
science, social studies, math, and social /behavior literacy
Makes Sense Strategies were designed to
– help students make sense of complex information
– integrate critical, analytical and creative thinking skills into the
curriculum
– facilitate students’ use of information processing strategies and
thinking skills
– integrate strategic instruction, differentiated instruction, standardsbased instruction and the use of graphic organizers (SMARTsheets)
to form an effective means of teaching.
– make information more “learnable”
Makes Sense Strategies can be used in primary, intermediate, middle,
high school and college levels and are validated for use in general and
special education
SMARTsheets™ are research based teaching
tools based on 3 fundamental principles-
1. Students learn better when they are actively
engaged in processing new information in
meaningful ways.
2. Increasing the learn-ability of information or
skills is preferable to dumbing them down.
3. Students should focus on understanding big
ideas rather than memorizing trivia.
MakesSenseStrategies
Strategic Instruction Routines
Specific research-validated instructional strategies designed to maximize
student engagement and elaboration of concepts, skills, and learning
strategies
Three categories of Strategic Instructional Routines
Activation Routines employed at lesson beginning for preassessment, activating background knowledge, and reviewing critical
prerequisite knowledge
Scaffolding Routines for scaffolding the development of new
knowledge and skills during a lesson.
Reflective Review Routines for reviewing and reflecting on new
knowledge and skills at lesson end.
Organizer SMARTsheets
Graphic organizers enhanced with embedded
semantic higher-order thinking, elaboration, and
structural cues
Can be used for science, social studies,
literature, writing, vocabulary and math instruction
Essential Understanding SMARTsheets
Genre-specific specialized visual tools
enhanced with embedded semantic prompts
focusing on specific “essential understandings” of
high-frequency topics in comprehension, writing,
vocabulary, math, etc…..
Instructional Design SMARTplanners
Used by teachers to differentiate curriculum,
plan instructional units and lessons using MSS
Strategic Instructional Routines
Implementation SMARTplanners
Used by teachers, instructional leaders, and
professional development teams to plan,
implement, and evaluate Makes Sense Strategies
Some Examples
For Elementary
Grades
Some Examples for
Junior High
and
High School
1. Utilize in learning centers or learning stations
2. Review for tests
3. Use as an assessment of student learning
4. Use on SMARTboard, ELMO, Mobi, for WG
guided practice
5. Note-taking (especially for Visual or Kinesthetic
learners)
6. Use in your computer lab (students type in
information as you teach)
Go to your Novell window and open the Making
Sense icon. Read the fine print. DO NOT put any
of these sheets on a website or share them with
teachers outside of Alabama. This product is
copyrighted. It may be used by any Alabama
public school teacher. All others must pay for a
license. Explore.