Picture Writing

Strategies

Central to this unit is getting students to talk to one another. Small student-led discussions encourage greater student achievement and higher levels of engagement. Thus the students talk much more than when they are discussing information using a whole-group instructional strategy. Students are more likely to take risks and share information in small groups as compared to sharing with the whole class. Through collaboration, the students can work through difficulties to gain a deeper understanding of the graphic novel. For The Girl Who Owned a City the students will read small sections in class. While they read, they will record questions that they have related to vocabulary, comprehension, and personal connections. These questions will drive the conversations of the students. ¹⁸

To further enhance the student-led discussions, the students will be seated in heterogeneous groups and assigned particular "table roles." Since the graphic novel we are reading is based on the establishment of government, the small groups will reflect different structures of government. Sometimes the group of three to four will represent a monarchy, in which one student, the king or queen, gets to make all the decisions during the discussion process. Other times, the group will function as an oligarchy, in which two of the three or four students are working together to lead the discussion. Finally, the groups will work as a democracy, in which students make discussion decisions by voting. These discussion structures will give the students a chance to experience the different structures of government, leading to deeper understanding of them and fostering higher-order thinking.

Another strategy to get students working together is the jigsaw cooperative learning model. With this strategy, the students have the opportunity to become an expert in one aspect of the lesson and share what they learn with their classmates. Each student is responsible for a piece of the "puzzle." The first step in the process is dividing the information that needs to be covered into logical sections. All sections should have a similar structure and difficulty level because the students need to feel as though each part is important. The next step is to divide the students into groups of the same number of sections. For this unit, the jigsaw activity will include seven sections of content and seven students in a group; this way each section has representation. Each student is assigned his or her part and given time to independently read and/or do research. When students are finished gathering information on their section, the groups will be restructured so that "expert" groups are formed. The teacher will organize the students in groups according the section they studied to discuss the information, clarifying any questions or concerns they may have. Then the students will devise a plan for sharing the information with their classmates. The students should be given time to practice their presentation with their expert group to ensure its accuracy. The final step is when the original group meets again and each student presents his or her section. Each student is responsible for teaching a portion of the information to the group. Throughout the activity, the teacher acts as a facilitator, periodically checking in on students to keep them focused and to answer questions. ¹⁹

Also, reading is a central component of this unit. To meet the common core standards, my school district is working to add more close readings to the units currently taught in English and social studies. Close reading is a technique used to teach students to carefully study a piece of writing by reading it several times, each time looking for a different bit of information. The process begins with a hook; usually the teacher asks the class a question or gives some background information. Then the teacher explains the close reading technique to the class. The students complete the first reading of the text independently and fill in a graphic organizer related to vocabulary and their understanding of the content. The second reading is done aloud by the teacher. While the teacher reads, the students are directed to listen and look for the central ideas of the text. Next, the students answer a series of text-dependent questions with a partner. To check for accuracy, the teacher conducts a whole-class discussion of the questions and passage. Finally, a short essay is completed that connects multiple sources of information to extend the students' thinking. ²⁰