The column notes format has many variations. It may be used as a note-taking guide for textbook reading; if so, then main ideas or headings would be listed in the left column, and details or explanations for each would be written in the right column. Alternatively, you might be reading for cause and effect; if so, then causes can be listed in the left column and the effects in the right column. This format shows the organization of information more clearly.

Determine what you know about subtopics within a larger topic in groups of 3 or 4. Each group gets a sheet of chart paper with a different subtopic written on it. One student serves as the recorder and has a particular color of magic marker. You will have a short time to write down all the terms you can think of that associate with the topic. You will then rotate to the next station, which has a new topic with the previous group’s results for you to build on. You will rotate to all of the stations, receiving a little more time at each one as the easy ones are used up right away. In the final rotation you review what others wrote after you.

Comparison-Contrast Chart

Useful for determining how two items are similar and how they are different.

Reciprocal Teaching: Summarizing, Questioning, Clarifying and Predicting

1. Work in groups of four.
2. Determine each person's role: summarizer, questioner, clarifier and predictor
3. Read a few paragraphs of the assigned text selection. Use note-taking strategies such as selective underlining or sticky-notes to better prepare for your role in the discussion.
4. At the given stopping point, the Summarizer will highlight the key ideas up to this point in the reading.
5. The Questioner will then pose questions about the selection: unclear parts, puzzling information, connections to other concepts already learned, motivations of the agents or actors or characters, etc.
6. The Clarifier will address confusing parts and attempt to answer the questions that were just posed.
7. The Predictor can offer guesses about what the author will tell the group next or, if it's a literary selection, the predictor might suggest what the next events in the story will be.
8. The roles in the group then switch one person to the right, and the next selection is read. Students repeat the process using their new roles. This continues until the entire selection is read.

Reduce longer text selections to the main points that are worth remembering. Remove all the extra verbiage and examples. Find the key words and phrases that capture the main ideas and the details necessary for supporting them.

A Thesis-Proof chart is used to help identify and record the supporting ideas that are found in the process of research. It can be a tool for gathering evidence to support a single thesis, or it can be used to look at competing sides of a single thesis. Begin with a separate sheet of paper to do a Thesis-Proof activity. Across the top, convert the guiding question into a thesis statement. Underneath this, make two columns. Label one SUPPORT and the other OPPOSITION. As you conduct research you'll jot down the key ideas from the various sources, making certain they fall either under supporting or opposing your thesis.

1. Thesis-Proof

A cooperative discussion strategy to structure your thinking and discussion about topics: 1) Think. Begins with a teacher prompt and you have a little time to just think about the question. 2) Pair up to talk about the answer you each came up with and to identify what you think are the best answers in a short amount of time. 3) Share your thinking with the rest of the class. Often the responses will be recorded in some manner.

3-column chart that helps capture the Before, During, and After components of reading a text selection. K stands for Know: This is the prior knowledge activation question. W stands for Will or Want: What do I think I will learn about this topic? What do I want to know about this topic? L stands for Learned: What have I learned about this topic?

1. Draw 3 columns
2. Label Column 1 K, Column 2 W, Column 3 L.
3. Before reading (or viewing or listening), fill in the Know column with words, terms, or phrases from your background or prior knowledge.
4. Predict what you might learn about the topic, which might follow a quick glance at the topic headings, pictures, and charts that are found in the reading. This helps set your purpose for reading and focuses your attention on key ideas.  Alternatively, you might put in the middle column what you want to learn about the topic.
5. Fill in their new knowledge gained from reading the content after reading.
6. Fix your mistakes about the topic you might have shown in the Know column before the reading.

This technique helps activate what you already know so you can build on it. It is a group instruction activity developed by Donna Ogle (1986). It serves as a model for active thinking during reading. K - Stands for helping students recall what they KNOW about the subject. W - Stands for helping students determine what they WANT to learn. L - Stands for helping students identify what they LEARN as they read. H - Stands for HOW we can learn more (other sources where additional information on the topic can be found). Use the categories to create additional graphic organizers and to review and write about what you’ve learned.

The Three-Minute Pause provides a chance for you to reflect on new concepts and ideas, make connections to prior knowledge or experience and seek clarification. You have three minutes for the entire process. 1) Focus on the key points of the lesson up to this point and summarize key ideas so far in small groups. 2) Add your own thoughts. Consider any connections you can make with what you already knew. 3) Pose Clarifying Questions. For example, are there things that are still not clear? Are there confusing parts? Are you having trouble making connections? Can you anticipate where we're headed? Can you probe for deeper insights?

3 - 2 – 1 gives you a chance to summarize some key ideas, rethink them in order to focus on the most intriguing, and then pose a question that can reveal where your understanding is still uncertain. Fill out a 3-2-1 chart with something like this: 3 things you found out, 2 interesting things, 1 question you still have.

Venn Diagrams are a visual representation of the similarities and differences between concepts created by two or three overlapping ovals. Record features or characteristics of the concepts in the respective ovals, making sure that any shared characteristics are written in the overlapping portion of the ovals. Venn diagram’s help structure the way you think about the similarities and differences between concepts. A fun group modification is to use hula hoops and slips of paper.

1. Exploring How Section Headings Support Understanding of Expository Texts
2. Building Reading Comprehension Through Think-Alouds
3. Reading for Meaning (PDF) – Teacher guide but useful for creating your own lessons
4.