Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a thinking strategy allows students to quickly generate what they know about a given key concept by activating their prior knowledge. Brainstorming can be done as an individual, in small groups, or as a large/whole group activity and works well as an activating strategy. It lets students focus on a topic and contribute to a free flow of ideas to explore what they know and might want to know more about. The teacher should maintain a classroom environment that encourages risk-taking and the sharing of ideas/feelings.
Steps:
1. Teacher identifies a key concept that reflects a main topic to be studied in the text.
2. Students work to generate and record a list of words related to the concept (individually or in groups).
3. Encourage and praise contributions and model a non-judgemental attitude.
Extend the activity using the list-group-label strategy. Once students have created lists of words, have students form into groups and form the words into logical arrangements and have them label each arrangement.
Possible Curricular Connections:
GLO 1: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to explore thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
1.1 Discover and Explore
1.1.1 Explore diverse ideas to develop predictions, opinions, conclusions, and understanding.
GLO 3: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to manage ideas and information.
3.1Plan and Focus
3.1.1 Determine personal knowledge of a topic to generate possible areas of inquiry or research.
3.1.3 Contribute ideas, knowledge, and strategies to help identity group information needs and sources.
GLO 4: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to manage ideas and information.
4.1 Generate and Focus
4.1.1 Experiment with several ways to generate ideas and focus in on a topic.
Steps:
1. Teacher identifies a key concept that reflects a main topic to be studied in the text.
2. Students work to generate and record a list of words related to the concept (individually or in groups).
3. Encourage and praise contributions and model a non-judgemental attitude.
Extend the activity using the list-group-label strategy. Once students have created lists of words, have students form into groups and form the words into logical arrangements and have them label each arrangement.
Possible Curricular Connections:
GLO 1: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to explore thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
1.1 Discover and Explore
1.1.1 Explore diverse ideas to develop predictions, opinions, conclusions, and understanding.
GLO 3: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to manage ideas and information.
3.1Plan and Focus
3.1.1 Determine personal knowledge of a topic to generate possible areas of inquiry or research.
3.1.3 Contribute ideas, knowledge, and strategies to help identity group information needs and sources.
GLO 4: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to manage ideas and information.
4.1 Generate and Focus
4.1.1 Experiment with several ways to generate ideas and focus in on a topic.