Instructional Strategy

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Read-Play-Connect: Whole Class

Grade:

K-2

Type:

Discuss & Collaborate

/ Read Actively

20-30

Minutes

When:

During and after reading

Materials:

Britannica School Early Elementary article with interactive, classroom display or interactive whiteboard, digital devices, supporting handouts, writing utensils

Description

The Read-Play-Connect: Whole Class instructional strategy engages K–2 students in a collaborative reading and discussion experience using a Britannica School early elementary interactive paired with an informational text. Through teacher modeling, close reading, guided discussion, and interactive participation, students build vocabulary, strengthen comprehension, and deepen content knowledge. Using a classroom display, teachers model how to identify important details, annotate information, and ask questions while reading. Students then reinforce learning through a corresponding supporting handout and independent practice, supporting both whole-group instruction and differentiated small-group learning opportunities.

Procedure

Prior to the lesson, select an informational text that includes an accompanying digital interactive. Use the interactive browse feature in Britannica School to support this search, ensuring the content aligns with current learning objectives.

Introduce the topic and preview key vocabulary words that students will encounter in the article and interactive. Activate prior knowledge by inviting students to share what they already know about the topic.

Display the article on a classroom screen or interactive whiteboard. Model a close read by thinking aloud while reading portions of the text. Demonstrate how to identify important vocabulary, highlight key details, ask questions, and make observations while reading.

Guide students through the accompanying interactive as a whole class. Encourage participation by inviting students to respond to prompts, predict answers, discuss ideas with peers, and explain their thinking throughout the activity.

Pause periodically while students engage with the interactive to reinforce comprehension and vocabulary. Ask guiding questions such as: “What did we learn from this part?” or “How does this connect to the article?”

After students complete the interactive, review the corresponding supporting handout together as a class. This handout can be accessed on TeachBritannica.com. Clarify vocabulary, revisit key concepts, and model how to complete portions of the handout when needed.

Note: The handout is available in three versions to aid with differentiation (see below).

Provide students with time for independent practice related to the article and interactive. This may include finishing the supporting handout, providing a written or drawn response, or completing other activities.

Conclude the lesson with a brief reflection discussion. Invite students to either share one new fact they learned or explain how the interactive helped them better understand the informational text.

Differentiation

Guided Support: Pause frequently during the close read and interactive to explain vocabulary, model thinking, and check for understanding. Provide visual support, sentence stems, or partner discussion opportunities to scaffold comprehension and participation.

Extended Thinking: Encourage students to make connections between the interactive and the informational text by explaining how details from each source support understanding of the topic. Invite students to generate additional questions or share related experiences.

Interactive Handout Support: Provide students with the version of the supporting handout on Teach Britannica that best meets their learning needs: the circle 🔴version, the triangle🔺 version, or the square 🟥 version. Designed to support a range of learners, these differentiated handouts help all students meaningfully engage with the content at an appropriate level of support and complexity while strengthening their understanding of the informational text and interactive experience.

Multilingual Learning Support

Beginning Proficiency: Use visuals, gestures, modeling, and simplified language to support comprehension during the whole-group lesson. Allow students to respond verbally, point to images, or discuss ideas in their home languages before sharing in English.

Intermediate Proficiency: Provide sentence frames such as “I noticed…” or “I learned that…” to support discussion and participation during the interactive and close read. Reinforce vocabulary using repetition and visual context.

Advanced Proficiency: Encourage students to explain ideas using complete sentences and academic vocabulary. Prompt students to support their responses with details from the article or interactive.

Variations

Partner Discussion Focus: Pause throughout the close read and interactive to allow students to turn and talk with a partner about key ideas, vocabulary, or predictions. This variation encourages oral language development and collaborative thinking.

Small-Group Instruction: While students work independently, pull a small group for targeted instruction, reteaching, vocabulary support, or guided reading connected to the lesson topic.

Interactive Review Lesson: Revisit the article and interactive during a later lesson as a review activity before an assessment or new unit of study. Students can reflect on previously learned vocabulary and concepts while strengthening retention and comprehension.

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