Instructional Techniques File

1.

Technique
Quick Write

Description
Gives students a chance
to think about what they
are reading and learning.
They have a chance to
take a minute to internally
process what they are
thinking about what they
are doing and then write
about it. This can be used
before, during, and after a
reading.

2.

5, 7, 9

3.

See, Hear, Not

See, Not Hear

4.

Evidence Bags

Students will write for 5

minutes about an article
they just read, then for 7
additional minutes discuss
with a partner what their
thoughts are. After
thinking, they will write for
9 more minutes and
incorporate their
discussion and new ideas.
This should be done after
a reading, so students
have something to initially
write about.
In this, students are
challenged to watch
something and observe
what they hear and see
and what they do not hear
and do not see. This
should be done during a
lesson, so students are
actively paying attention.
This activity gives
students a chance to be
creative. Students are
given a few pieces of
evidence and then need
to create a narrative (or
product) of some sort that
includes each of the
objects. Great for

Content Alignment
This aligns with business
content because in order for
students to stay updated on
the latest business
practices, they will need to
read about them and this
will help them to understand
what they are reading and
think about what the
readings mean for them as
students and as future
businesspersons. Universal
constructs- effective written
communication.
Students read a
controversial article about
what the best practices are
for an up and coming
entrepreneur, then they
discuss their opinions with a
partner and after continue
writing to see if their
thoughts changed after the
discussion. Universal
constructs- effective oral
and written communication.
In a lesson on interviewing,
students watch an example
of an interview and write
down what good and bad
things they see the
interviewee doing and
saying, and not doing and
not saying. Universal
constructs- critical thinking.
An evidence bag could
contain 4 pieces of paper,
scissors, crayons, and tape
and students will be
required to create an
advertisement for a product
using only the supplies
given to them. Universal
constructs- imagination.

5.

Grafitti

6.

Stoplight

7.

Save the Last

Word

changing the pace of the

class and incorporating
students creativity. This
should be done during a
lesson.
Similar to a quick write,
the graffiti allows students
to think about multiple
readings at the same
time. Students respond to
any combination number
of articles, on a forum
they all have access to,
using a different color for
each article. This can be
done so students can
respond without putting
their name on it, allowing
some to feel more
comfortable sharing their
opinions or questions. This
should be done after
reading.
Allows students to analyze
what they are reading.
Students write down in
green something they
agree with, in yellow
something they still have
a question about, and in
red something they dont
agree with. There are
many variations of this
and it can be used during
or after a reading.
This is when students read
an article and they
highlight statements they
want to talk about for any
reason- they think it is
interesting, they dont
understand it, they
agree/disagree with it, etc.
Then when all students
are finished reading, one
student starts by sharing
one statement and not
saying anything else. Then
the discussion goes
around in a circle, each

Students read 3 articles

about the latest tablet
products on the market and
are required to comment on
a large poster about how
they think each product will
fair in the market- a
separate color for each
tablet. Universal constructscollaboration across
networks.

Students read an article

about current events in the
stock market, they then
have to stoplight the article
to make sure they
understand what is going
on. Universal constructscuriosity.

This can be done for a

business law class, students
read an article about a new
law that was recently
passed and they each share
an opinion about the article
or law and why they feel the
way they do. Universal
constructs- initiative,
leading by influence.

8.

Give One, Get One

9.

Jigsaw

10
.

Double Entry
Journal

taking a turn to share their

thoughts once. When it is
back to the original
sharer, that person gets
the last word. The
process is repeated so
each group member can
share a statement they
highlighted. Students
should read before
starting this activity.
Great for students to
expand their knowledge
based and have a
discussion with people
outside of class about
what they are learning in
class. Students write down
an important idea from a
reading (article, magazine,
website, etc.) and share
with someone that does
not specialize in that topic
and get an idea from that
person. Students should
complete the reading
before talking to a thirdparty.
This strategy allows
students to work with their
peers to comprehend
information. Students can
focus on one aspect of a
topic and each of their
peers can focus on a
different one. They then
come together as a group
to share what they
learned and teach each
other. This should be used
during/after a readingstudents should read
before completing their
portion, and should
probably read again after
they hear from their
peers.
Great for students to
comprehend different
ideas of a longer text.

Students will look at the

stock market and find out
what companies are doing
well or not so well, they then
postulate on why that
company is performing that
way. Students then talk to
someone who is not
necessarily well-versed in
the stock market and find
out what they think is
contributing to that
companys performance.
Universal constructscollaboration across
networks.
Students working on a
marketing research project
together- one student can
work on each of the
following parts of
researching a product: what
the product is generally
used for and other uses for
it, who buys the product,
who uses the product, where
the product is available, and
when the product is used
the most. Universal
constructs- collaboration
across networks.

Students read from the

textbook about marketing
strategies, then they write

11
.

Vocab Tree

12
.

Paint Chips

13
.

Speak Silently

Students must pick out an

idea or quote from the
text and then react or
connect to that idea. This
gives students the chance
to form and/or share their
opinion on the article. This
should be used after a
reading, but probably can
be used during, if it is
done in the right way
(such as teaching
students to form an
opinion every so often,
based on old and new
information each time).
A word is chosen from the
content area and students
are asked to create a
tree that shows where
the word comes from and
where it leads to- through
various prefixes and
suffixes. This should be
done before reading.
A word is on a paint chip
and other forms of that
word are also on it, so
students are able to look
into a deeper meaning of
the word. As was shown in
the video for this class,
the teacher has the
students practice saying
each word out loud, so
students are more
comfortable using the
words when responding
vocally. This should be
used before reading.
Students are able to share
their opinions on a topic
through writing, without
having to speak. This
gives students who are
quiet or shy an
opportunity to share
without the interruption of
students who are not shy.
This should be done after

about 3-4 different

strategies and how they
think those would work for
marketing luggage.
Universal constructseffective written
communication.

I would give the students

the word communicate and
have them look at the roots
of the word and what can be
added to the word to change
its meaning. Universal
constructs- curiosity and
imagination.
Give students a paint chip
with different words they
can use for a resume, more
specifically words they may
not use in everyday
conversation. Universal
constructs- accessing and
analyzing information.

Given the result of a court

case, students write down
their opinion if they agree
with the conviction or lack
thereof. Students pass
around in a group and then
when it has gone around
twice they have a
conversation about it.
Universal constructs-

a reading.
14
.

Think, Write, Pair

(Authors), Share

Students read an article

then write about it. Then
students write a response
of something they would
say to the author of the
article and then share it
with a partner or group.
This should be done after
a reading.

15
.

Frayer Model

16
.

Graphic Organizer

This allows students who

have more of a creative
disposition to express
their learning and
comprehension. It also
provides some variety
than the normal think
and write that a lot of
techniques use. Students
can create a graphic of
some sort that shows how
they understand the
content. This also helps
teachers because it allows
them to see if students
understand the
information. This should
be used after a reading.
Students go through a
reading and then arrange
the information in a way
that is logical to them. It
was beneficial in this class
for us to share our
organizers, because it
allowed us students to
look at what others
thought were the
important points of
Chapter 6. Again, this
offers a bit of a change of
pace than the usual
reading and writing and
helps students who are
visual learners to process
information. This should
be used after reading.

effective written
communication.
Students read an article
about the best personal
finance practices, then
share with the author their
opinion of what they agree
and disagree with and share
that with a partner.
Universal constructs- critical
thinking and analyzing
information.
Students read about the
process of recording journal
entry (in accounting) and
can show the process in a
picture. Universal
constructs- analyzing
information and
imagination.

Similar to what our class did,

students go through the first
chapter in the accounting
book and organize the
information in a way that
seems logical to them, then
share with others. Students
can then adjust their
organizers if they think
information needs to be
added or subtracted from
theirs. Universal constructsimagination and analyzing
information.