Name of Strategy: Alpha-boxes
Grade Level & Content: Can be adapted for K – 12 and used in all content areas
What is the Purpose?
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Students use Alpha-boxes to think through what they have learned from reading a
text (works with all genres and content areas). Students can use Alpha-boxes while
reading or after reading to record their thinking and learning.
Alpha-boxes can also be used as a pre-reading activity to access prior knowledge
How To Use Alpha-boxes:
Pre-Reading Activity:
 Students are given a copy of the Alpha-boxes worksheet.
 They are asked to think of as much as they know about the topic at hand.
 The challenge is to think of enough information beginning with each letter of the
alphabet to fill in each box labeled with a letter of the alphabet.
During Reading Activity:
 Students are given a copy of the Alpha-boxes worksheet along with information to
read.
 While students are reading, they are thinking about what they are learning. Once
they discover a fact, they write the fact in the appropriate box depending on the first
letter of the fact.
 Students are challenged to fill up as many of the boxes as possible with facts they
are learning while reading.
After Reading Activity:
 The teacher teaches a lesson while guiding students through reading and discussing
the topic at hand.
 When finished learning, the teacher gives a copy of the Alpha-boxes worksheet to
each student. The students are to think about what they just learned and write facts
in the boxes according to the first letter of the fact.
 Students are challenged to fill up as many of the boxes as possible with facts they
just learned.
All three activities work well as an individual, group, or partner activity. I find the group or
partner options to be most effective with this strategy.
Assessment:
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Informal Assessment - walking around the classroom, looking at Alpha-boxes to
assess understanding
Formative Assessment - Alpha-boxes can help guide/inform instruction because
they reflect student understanding and learning
Summative Assessment – Alpha-boxes can be graded as a representation of student
knowledge and understanding.
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Provides opportunities for instructive feedback
ALPHA-BOXES
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