Gallery Walks
Literacy Startegy #14
What is it?
Instructional focus: writing and content areas
Grade Levels: 3-8
Students move around the classroom during a gallery waltk to view, read, and respond to classmates' writing and multimedia projects. This is a whole-class activity. Students work can be completed or in progress. When the work is in progress, a gallery walk funcgtions much like a revising group to provide feedback and suggestions to authors. When the work has been completed, a gallery walk is a celebration.
Why use this strategy?
*Provides an immediate audience for students' writing, multigenre, and multimedia projects.
* Time efficient (gallery walk vs. each student presenting)
*Students may learn new ideas from peers
*Students are more motivated to provide qualtiy work
*Aligned with CCSS
How to use this strategy?
1. Display the work. Students and the teacher post the work on classroom walls or place it on desks in preparation for the gallery walk.
2. Provide comment sheets. Teachers give students self-stick notes on which to write comments or place graffiti sheets next to each student's work.
3. Give directions for the gallery walk. Teachers explain the pupose of the gallery wal, how to view and/or read the work, and what types of comments to make to classmate. Teachers also set time limits and direct students to visit three, five, eight, or more studnets' work, if there isn't enough time to see everyone's work.
4. Model how to view, read, and respond. Teachers mondel how to behave during the gallery walk, using one or two students' work as examples.
5. Direct the flow of traffic. Teacher s direct students as they lmove around the classroom, making sure that all sutdents' work is viewed, read, and responded to and that comments are supportive and useful.
6. Bring closure to the gallery walk. Teachers ask students to move to their own projects and look at the comments, questions, or other responses they've received. Often one or two students share their responses or comment on the gallery walk experience.
When to use gallery walks?
The book suggests indroducing a gallery walk by posting photos and have students move around the classroom, writing what the picture makes them think of on post it notes and sticking it to the bottom of the work.
After students learn to make postitive, supportive comments abut classmates' work, they can write questions after reading classmates' rough drafts to assist them in revising their writing. The questions ask classmates to clarify, rephrase, or extend an idea. These questions provide direction for students as they revise their writing.
Class Activity
1. Take out a sheet of paper
2. draw a picture of a bucket.
3. thumbs up when you are done.