Whittle It Down
Grades K-12
Big Idea
With this strategy, students will synthesize by writing down 3-5 of the most important vocabulary from a selection of text or a video. Next, students will confer with a small group, and share the vocabulary they chose. In their group, students will "whittle down" their list of words, and decide on the three that they think are most important. The groups then share out the three most important words, and all of the words are recorded. Students then individually write a brief summary, using three of the words given by the class.
Directions
- Students are presented with a text selection or a video.
- After reading the text or viewing the video, students synthesize a list of five words they think are most important to the content they read or viewed.
- Within a small group, students share their individual lists of 5 words.
- The group decides on three words that were the most important.
- Groups share out their three words, and the words are recorded so the whole class can see.
- Individually, students write a brief summary of the text or video, choosing three of the words recorded.
When To Use
This is a great strategy to use for:
- Reading and summarizing social studies or science text
- Focusing on vocabulary acquisition in whole or small group settings
- Formatively assessing comprehension of any educational video
Strategy Variations
- Teachers can easily vary this strategy by either increasing or decreasing the amount of words students should synthesize.
- Rather than write a summary at the end of the activity, students can add the add the selected important vocabulary to a vocabulary journal.
- This strategy can be used in a small group setting, where each student selects several important words from a selected text, and then within the small group decides the three most important words.
Glossary Words
In the above photo, 2nd grade students brainstormed, first individually, then within groups, important words in their research on weather. The words that were commonly chosen among the students are the words the students will use in their glossary. Students are currently creating non-fiction books on weather, including text-features in their books.