Essential Lesson Structures: Comprehension Card Sort

Essential Lesson Structures: Comprehension Card Sort:

Part One: Exploration and Gathering Information

1. Scan the material for headings, topics, highlighted words, boldfaced words, italicized words, etc.
2. (For nonfiction) Prioritize the sections in the material. Which sections of the text seem to  have significance or importance to you personally? Scan these sections for specific information.(For fiction) Read through through the text as a whole. Then go back to sections that surprised you, confused you, or confirmed what you already knew.
3. Using note cards, write one thought, definition, important point, etc., per card from the information you are reading.
4. If time permits, read sections you have not perused.

Part Two: Consolidation and Collaboration

1. Collect the cards from those in your group.
2. Stack, shuffle, and deal the cards to each member until they are all gone.
3. One at a time, read aloud what is written on your card. Lay the card face up on the table. Do not stack the cards. All cards should be exposed so they are visible to everyone at the table.
4. Categorize the cards into major topics by similarity or main idea.
5. Using a different color of note card, label the categories. Make a table display so that all information can be viewed.
6. 

Part Three: Refining and Reflecting

1. Working alone or as a table group, visit the other tables to see their displays.
2. Discuss and annotate your document for key ideas new to your group or your own thinking.
3. Reflect: What information did you see on most tables? What information did you see what was not included at your table? What is/are the most important thing(s) that you learned?

Part Four: Whole Class Debrief

1. As a class, debrief the content of the text. Consider using the What, So What, Now What Format.
2. As a class, debrief the experience in terms of social and behavioral collaboration. Consider: What worked well? What needs improvement?

Adapted from Robert J. Garmston and Bruce M. Wellman Presentations that Teach and Transform ASCD (1992).

NOTE: Aimee Coates and I adapted this strategy for the Anne of Green Gables text. We decided that we would give the labels that we wanted to give the kids to use in categorizing their ideas from the text. Technically, this is called a "closed sort."

Then we had the kids take the stack with the exposition and compare them with other elements. I think it would be really easy to make a T chart and list piece of text evidence that could be directly traced back to something that was introduced in the introduction. We thought of a new question too: How do Anne's character traits complicate the problems with her aunt?