Number of words
exposed to
Economic
group
13 million words
Welfare
26 million words
Working class
45 million words
Professional
Fostering Student Engagement
What can teachers do to foster student
engagement and create positive peer culture?
Recent Research on the Achievement Gap with Ronald Ferguson. Harvard Education Letter. November/December 2006.
www.edletter.org/current/ferguson.shtml
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Research shows
children from
poverty do not
understand the
“abstract”.
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Allow the student to
sketch his/her
understanding of a
story, concept,
vocabulary word or
what they think
about a person or
idea.
Mental Model
Beginning
Learner
•Sensory-based,
situated learning
•Tied to what is
already known
Skilled Learner
•Abstract
respresentational world
– formal schooling
•Expertise
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1.
2.
3.
SCIENCE QUESTION/WRITING STEMS
How for the Student
Question Stem
Defining and
describing
Knowledge
• What is (are) ...
• Where is (are) ...
• Which is (are) ...
• How is (are) ...
Comprehension
• What conclusions can you draw from ...
• What observations did you make?
Application
• Why does ... work?
• Sketch your mental model of ...
Analysis
• Explain how ...
Synthesis
• How could you explain ... to your friend?
• Design a model of ... to represent ...
• Write a letter to ... giving a summary of ...
• What facts can you compile about ...
• Rewrite the definition of ... in your own words.
Evaluation
• Describe the importance of ...
SCIENCE QUESTION/WRITING STEMS
How for the Student
Question Stem
Representing data
and interpreting
representations
Knowledge
• Describe what happens when ...
Comprehension
• Describe what happens when ...
• Construct a model to explain your data ...
Application
• How could you organize your data to help you draw your
conclusion?
• How could you change the process/procedure to
increase/decrease the ...
Analysis
• How can you sort the parts of ...
• What order can you place the data in to make them easier
to interpret?
Synthesis
• How could you compile the data/facts for ...
• What plan do you have for collecting your data?
• What format will you use to represent your data?
Evaluation
• What data will you use to evaluate ...
• How could you verify the interpretation of your
graph/table/map?
• What is your interpretation of your data?
QUESTION STEMS FOR
FIFTH- AND NINTH-GRADE READING
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
In paragraph _____, what does _____ mean?
Paragraph _____ is mainly about _____.
From the article, the reader can tell …
From the passage, the reader can tell …
From the paragraph, the reader can tell …
From what the reader learns about _____, which statement
does not make sense?
7. How does _____ feel?
8. Why is it important …
9. Which of these is the best summary of the selection?
10. Look at this web (flow chart, graph, charts, etc.). Which
detail belongs in the empty space?
11. An idea present in both selections is …
12. One way these selections are alike is …
13. One way these selections are different is …
14. Paragraph _____ is important because it helps the reader
understand …
15. The reader can tell when _____, he/she will probably …
16. How does _____ feel?
QUESTION STEMS FOR
FIFTH- AND NINTH-GRADE READING
(continued)
17. In paragraph _____, why is _____ sad? (happy, confused,
angry, etc.)
18. What is this article mainly about?
19. What can the reader tell about _____ from information in
this article?
20. The author builds suspense by …
21. One way this story resembles a fable is that …
22. In paragraph _____, the author uses the word _____ to
emphasize _____.
23. Which of the following words is a synonym (antonym) for the
word _____ in paragraph _____?
24. What is the overall theme expressed in this article?
25. Which of the following sentences from the article explains
the author’s primary conflict?
26. The audience that would probably relate most to the article’s
central message would be …
27. Why …
28. How ...
SOCIAL STUDIES QUESTION STEM STARTERS
Elementary (K–4)
1. What does the map (chart, drawing, timeline, graph)
illustrate?
2. Which statement BEST explains (summarizes) _____?
3. What was the main cause of _____?
4. One advantage of _____ is _____.
5. The primary function (purpose, goal, objective) of _____ is
_____.
6. Which of the following were consequences of _____?
7. What is the BEST definition of _____?
8. Which of these is a past (current) trend in _____?
9. Approximately when did _____ occur?
10. Which date is associated with _____?
11. Which of these statements explains how _____?
12. What is an example of _____?
13. Which of these would be the BEST solution to _____?
SOCIAL STUDIES QUESTION STEM STARTERS
Secondary (Grades 5–12)
1. How are different ways of life determined by location?
2. How do/did _____ adapt to their environment?
3. How are/were the roles of the _____ different from the
_____?
4. What circumstances led to changes in the lives of _____?
5. What would happen to the _____ civilization if _____?
6. How are the _____ and the _____ similar and different?
7. What connects the grouping?
8. What was the response by _____ to the _____?
9. How did the actions of _____ conflict with _____?
10. How did the _____ feel about _____?
11. What is the correct sequence for the events?
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READING STRATEGIES
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•Isosceles Triangle
•Scalene Triangle
•Rhombus
•Vertices
Different
I saw an isosceles
triangle in my
refrigerator.
I often see a
scalene triangle
on Kenny’s face.
Vertices
TOASTIES
The Cereal of
Winners!
My friend the
rhombus is known as
the
“Dancing Wonder.”
I found four vertices
on a box of cereal.
To help students pass the state assessment, a
teacher did the following and was very
successful. All of her students took a mock test
in math. Then they scored their own papers.
They made this grid:
Questions I got
right and could get
right again.
Questions I did or Questions where I
did not do correctly had no clue.
but am not sure
how to do.
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PLAN AND LABEL IN MATH
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MAKING THE GRADE
1. What work have I done well in my English class?
a.
b.
c.
d.
2. What work have I done poorly in my English class?
a.
b.
c.
d.
3. I was/was not satisfied with my grade in English III last
semester.
1st _____ 2nd _____ 3rd _____ Exam _____
Average _____
MAKING THE GRADE
(CONTINUED)
4. What grade do I realistically believe that I can earn
this semester in
English III?
5. What will I do in my English class to earn that grade?
a.
b.
c.
SPRING SEMESTER
Fourth Grading Period
I want to earn ______.
Daily 10%
Fifth Grading Period
Quiz 30%
Test 60%
I want to earn ______.
Daily 10%
Quiz 30%
Test 60%
Quiz 30%
Test 60%
Sixth Grading Period I want to earn ______.
Daily 10%
I am/am not satisfied with my grade in English III this semester.
1st _____
2nd _____
3rd _____
Exam _____
Average _____
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DESCRIPTIVE/TOPICAL
Descriptive or topical
is the hand.
•Use each finger to
sort topics or
descriptive details.
SEQUENCE/HOW-TO
For anything sequential
use a ladder.
•Label sequential
steps on a ladder
STORY STRUCTURE
What you sort for and remember in a piece of fiction
are the people, the beginning, the middle, the end, the
episode, the problem, the goal, the setting. Use the
car as a model for sorting and remembering.
Middle
Characters
Beginning
End
Problem
Goal
Setting
COMPARE/CONTRAST
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES
CAUSE/EFFECT
PERSUASIVE REASONS
Persuasive: If you use a
hamburger, the top bun
is the person's position.
Each one of those
pieces of meat is a piece
of support. The bottom
bun is a conclusion.
KNOWLEDGE RATINGS
•Using a graph like the one below, have students list the words in the first column
to be studied. They evaluate their knowledge level of each word and check the
appropriate box. If they have some idea of the meaning, they write in their guess.
• Following discussion or study, they write the definition in their own words. This
activity is particularly useful in helping students develop metacognitive (being able
to think about one’s own thinking) awareness.
Example:
Word
saline
Know
Think I
know
Have
heard
X
GUESS
DEFINITION
A liquid for contact A salt solution
lenses
macula
a spot or blotch,
especially on one's skin
torsade
a twisted cord
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PICTURE IT
Activity:
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