Instructional Strategy

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Read-Play-Connect: Solo or Partners

Grade:

K-2, 3-5

Type:

Acquire Vocabulary

/ Read Actively

< 20

Minutes

When:

Before and after reading

Materials:

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

Description

The Read-Play-Connect: Solo or Partners instructional strategy engages K–2 students in using a Britannica School early elementary digital interactive alongside an informational text to build background knowledge, develop vocabulary, and reinforce key concepts. Through gamified learning, immediate feedback, visual supports, and a corresponding supporting handout, students deepen comprehension and make connections between ideas while strengthening literacy and independent learning skills.

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.

Briefly introduce the topic and key vocabulary. Activate prior knowledge by asking students what they already know about the article topic.

Model how to navigate the interactive, demonstrating how to read prompts, interact with features, and respond to questions or tasks.

Invite students to read the article and engage with the interactive either independently or in pairs. Encourage them to pay attention to key ideas, vocabulary, and feedback provided within the interactive. Students may use the read-aloud feature to support comprehension as needed.

As students work, circulate to provide guidance, ask questions, and support comprehension. Prompt students with questions such as: “What did you learn from this part?” or “How does this connect to what you already know?”

After completing the interactive, direct students to revisit the informational text. Encourage them to identify ideas they recognize from the interactive experience.

To reinforce key concepts in the article and the interactive, provide students with the corresponding supporting handout. This handout can be accessed on TeachBritannica.com and may be completed independently or in pairs.

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

Facilitate a brief reflection by asking students to share one new fact or concept they learned and how the interactive helped them understand it.

Conclude by reinforcing key vocabulary and concepts, connecting the interactive experience back to the informational text.

Differentiation

Guided Support: Provide a structured viewing guide or checklist to help students focus on key information while engaging with the interactive. Pause periodically to discuss important concepts as a group. This supports student learning by breaking down information into manageable parts and reinforcing understanding through guided practice.

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.

Extended Thinking: Challenge students to explain how specific parts of the interactive connect to details in the informational text or to generate their own questions about the topic for further exploration. This supports student learning by promoting deeper comprehension, critical thinking, and the ability to make meaningful connections across sources.

Multilingual Learning Support

Beginning Proficiency: Provide visuals, gestures, and simplified instructions to support understanding of the interactive and the informational text. Allow students to discuss ideas in their home languages before sharing in English.

Intermediate Proficiency: Offer students sentence frames (e.g., “I learned that…” or “This part shows…”) to use in response to questions about the interactive and the informational text. Encourage use of bilingual tools and support vocabulary development through repetition and context.

Advanced Proficiency: Encourage students to explain connections between the interactive and the informational text using complete sentences and academic vocabulary. Prompt them to elaborate on their thinking and support their responses with evidence.

Variations

Early Finisher Exploration: Use the interactive and text as an extension activity for students who complete work early. Students choose a topic connected to current classroom learning or independent reading interests, complete the interactive, and read the accompanying article independently. Students may then complete the supporting handout or share a new fact they learned. This variation promotes independent inquiry, reinforces content-area learning, and provides meaningful academic enrichment through digital exploration.

Award-Winning AI by Britannica

In the News