One great comprehension strategy is to activate and build schema before reading or introducing a topic. Schema is defined as all of the background knowledge we have about a particular topic. When students learn, the brain attempts to make connections to prior knowledge, and the more background knowledge a student has, the easier it is for the brain to "organize" new knowledge.
In my Accelerated Language Arts class this week, students began reading an Agatha Christie short story, and I expected some schema gaps. Since the story "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat" is part of the Poirot Investigates collection, I wanted students to read a little bit about both Christie and the collection. To help find information, I showed students how to use the Wikinodes app, and they had a great time finding information. Wikinodes, powered by Wikipedia, is a great resource for students to use to get basic information. The presentation of information is in the form of webs, and students who are visual learners get to interact with a web and make it as complicated or as simple as they would like. Here's a screenshot of a search:
After students were finished reading, they were instructed to use Today's Meet to share new learning with their classmates. Here's a sampling of their activity:
The way the students would use Today's Meet is to start at the bottom and follow along as new messages are posted. It takes a little getting used it, but the students have gotten much better at posting, reading, and even responding to each other. Overall, combining these two apps in a matter of ten minutes was quite successful! It also provides a way to backchannel when needed.
We should more today's meet more often. It's fun to talk about the articles we just read in class
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