Teaching strategies
Gradual Release Model
One of the teaching strategies Chinle Unified School District implements is the Gradual Release Model. This model is a release of responsibility from teacher to student. It begins with the teacher modeling the content standard being learned, to teacher and student learning together, to student individually working on the content standard with some observation from the teacher, to total responsibility of student learning. The Gradual Release Model shows interaction of the teacher providing appropriate instruction that helps to target the specific learning. The Gradual Release Model has four components. They are focus lessons, guided instruction, productive group work and independent learning.
When using this strategy I find that it helps to keep focused to the objective and students are able to take ownership of the learning. With good modeling from the teacher of the content, this strategy works. During the focus lessons, students are able to see the teacher’s modeling of their thinking process and how to use background knowledge. In the guided instruction process, students and teachers are able to work together. The teacher ask and prompts questions while facilitating students during their learning. During guided instruction, it can be individual one on one, small groups or whole group. When students are in a productive group, they are taking the content learning and working collaboratively to solve, apply and practice their learning. When students move on into independent learning they use what they learn and independently work on the problem given. The Gradual Release Model does not have to be done in order. It does not need to start with the teacher, I do, teacher and students, We do, and Student independence, You do.
Using this framework of the Gradual Release Model, students will be getting new information about how climate change is affecting the Navajo Nation. Students will take the information and have discussions with their peers to create solutions for the Navajo agriculture. Students will also take data given to them and create a plan of how to grow crops in a drought.
Graphic Organizers
In this curriculum students will be using graphic organizers. Graphic organizers help to identify main concepts, categorize ideas, help to compare and contrast topics and you can use illustrations to help students who are visual learners. Graphic organizers make connections and help to keep information organized. They help with new information being stored in the short term memory to long term memory. When learners use graphic organizers they are able to understand their new knowledge using prior knowledge.
One of the graphic organizers students will use in this curriculum is the KWL (already Know, Want to know, and ultimately Learn) chart. They will start with identifying what climate change is. They will give their prior knowledge of what they know it is and what it is they would like to know. After information and research is given, students will give information about what they have learned.
The next graphic organizer students will use is a Learning Map. Students will learn about Navajo agriculture. They will map out ideas as to what makes an effective agriculture. Students will then be given facts and begin to make connections as to how to create an effective crop while the Southwest is in a drought.
After students have learned about drought in the Southwest, I want them to use a Math graphic organizer where they will chart precipitation, temperature and water levels on the Navajo Nation. Using this data, they will then use their final graphic organizer of Problem-solving organizer. Students will identify the problem of agriculture, and find solutions with their pros and cons. They can work together or individually to create a final project of a type of crop they would have.
The 3 Whys
The 3 Whys strategy is an intrinsic, inquiring strategy that helps a student to achieve a deep level of learning. It is to get them to think about a situation, topic or issue that is global, local and personal and to make connections of them. The 3 Whys are: Why might this matter to me? Why might it matter to the people around me? Why might it matter to the world? These 3 whys get a learner to investigate the topic in a multiple context.
Along with the KWL, this strategy will help learners to dig deep into learning about Climate change and human impacts it creates. The hope is to have students to be able to come up with solutions that will benefit them and their future on Earth. This strategy allows for images, videos and text to help the learner to think about the topic and dig into the 3 whys. There will be images, text and videos students will watch as a hook to the objective.
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