Strategies
Guided Imagery
Photos evoke a sense of mood and convey meaning that penetrates deeper than conscious description can adequately convey. 68 According to Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow, "The mental work that produces impressions, intuitions, and many decisions goes on in silence in our mind," 69 yet is influenced by experience. 70 This strategy is intended to fire up the subconscious and help make it conscious by using guided imagery to trigger sensory responses that can consciously add personal meaning and understanding to the image. Guided imagery is aimed at triggering visualization for students as they read. Guided imagery can be used as a pre-or post- reading activity depending upon the intended outcome of the activity. 71
Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning is a broad term referring to the various methods of grouping students. Research has shown grouping students heterogeneously at least once a week has a positive impact upon learning. Cooperative learning promotes positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, and interpersonal skills. In forming the groups, I need to be cognizant of not grouping strictly by ability but use other criteria as well. I will have no more than fifteen students in each class, therefore I will divide the students into three groups of no more than five. I will use a reading inventory, an attitude inventory, and personal interviews and observations as vehicles to determine the base long-term groups. I will use a variety of innocuous methods (birthday months, hair color, etc…) to form the formal and informal groups necessary in implementing the daily and weekly lesson plans. 72
Inquiry-Based Instruction
In inquiry-based instruction, the teacher acts as a facilitator of the activity versus the disseminator of information. Students seek out the knowledge and then present their knowledge for assessment in a way that best fits their learning style. The purpose of an inquiry is to enable the students to develop mental programs for applying their new-found knowledge and to wire the knowledge into their long term memory. 73
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