Instructional Strategies - Teach Britannica

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Britannica Studio: Your teacher-first AI workspace where trusted content transforms into classroom-ready materials.

Britannica Studio: Your teacher-first AI workspace where trusted content transforms into classroom-ready materials.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Analyzing Images

Students analyze images to activate prior knowledge, elicit interest in a unit of study or topic, and deepen understanding and connections.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Summarize & Synthesize

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Build a Summary

Students unpack a text’s content by pausing after each section to think about, discuss, and write a one-sentence summary of the main ideas.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Cause and Effect

Students use a cause and effect graphic organizer to demonstrate analytical understanding of the impacts of events, policies, or people.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Communication in Practice

Students plan, create, and deliver presentations that strengthen communication skills and encourage collaboration and reflective learning.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Conversation Circles

Conversation Circles facilitate discussion of text-inspired ideas in a structured format through movement and dialogue with peers.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5

Draw It, Write It

Students use this multimodal method to acquire new vocabulary by drawing a picture and writing a sentence to foster vocabulary retention.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Draw to Understand

Students use this strategy for reflection, processing new information, recalling key details, and identifying and organizing relevant information.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Four Corners

Four Corners promotes listening, peer communication, and decision-making through movement as students take stands on controversial statements and ideas.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Frayer Model

Students use a Frayer Model, a four-square/quadrant graphic organizer, to activate background knowledge and foster vocabulary acquisition.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Gallery Walk

Students explore teacher-displayed prompts in groups, fostering active learning, critical thinking, and peer discussion on course topics.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Give One, Get One

Students engage in the reciprocal exchange of ideas by sharing their insights and observations with multiple partners about a question, image, or text.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Guided Image Observation

This directed visual analysis tool requires students to critically examine image components such as objects and lighting to form ideas.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Hexagonal Clusters

This strategy helps students link key terms visually, promoting vocab growth, critical thinking, and collaboration both pre- and post-reading.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Human Continuum

This metacognitive discussion tool asks students to be flexible and reflective listeners and thinkers and evaluate their statements about topics.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Question & Inquire

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

K-W-L

K-W-L is a graphic organizer/chart system students use to determine what they already know, what they want to know, and what they learned during a lesson.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Develop Language (MLL)

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Language Domain +1 Matrix

Teachers use a structured matrix to plan comprehensive language supports across receptive and productive domains for MLL student success.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8

Linked Words

The Linked Words strategy connects new vocabulary to familiar terms. Students create thematic links and draw on personal knowledge.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Mini Glossary

Mini glossaries are used to foster vocabulary comprehension and retention so that students can integrate learned vocabulary into their written expression.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5

Picture Glossary

This vocabulary-strengthening activity connects pictures and words whereby students draw visuals for new vocabulary words they encounter while reading.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Portrait Sorting and Analysis

Students develop visual perceptual skills by analyzing and sorting portraits to uncover meaning behind artistic renderings of individuals and groups.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Roll and Practice Vocabulary

This game-based vocabulary strategy requires students to take turns rolling a die; the number they roll determines the vocabulary task they will perform.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Question & Inquire

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

See-Think-Wonder

See-Think-Wonder graphic organizers help students unpack visual stimuli by documenting their observations, interpretations, and questions about images.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Semantic Feature Analysis

Students build vocabulary by examining how words and related traits connect to one another by charting their relationships on a provided matrix.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Discuss & Collaborate

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Think-Pair-Share

Students adequately develop ideas independently by being given ample time to consider a question or topic before pairing up to share ideas.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Organize Thinking

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Visual Concept Mapping

Students create visual diagrams with drawings and labels to map relationships between concepts to help them understand and retain complex content.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Vocabulary Cloze

This strategy helps students use context to infer missing words, boosting vocabulary, comprehension, and language skills.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Vocabulary One-Pager

Teachers can use this visual technique to build students’ vocabulary by pairing words with student-created symbols, pictures, and phrases.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5

Word Categories

This word-sorting exercise encourages students to group new vocabulary based on thematic concepts to deepen their understanding of a topic or text.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5

Word Friends

Students are given a list of preselected vocabulary words to group and label with appropriate headings that reflect definition-based connections.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Acquire Vocabulary

GRADE: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Word Sketch

Students personalize their understanding of new vocabulary by drawing pictures and writing words, phrases, and names they associate with new vocabulary.