Identifying Critical Content What is this element about? What do I need to consider when introducing this to my students?

Where does this fit? You’ve selected your standard, created your scale with learning targets and designed your DQ 4 event. Now is the time to inform the students of the key learning(s) for this chunk of new content.

Even though… The elements are separate and unique, they do not work in isolation. The teacher will skillfully blend the strategies they select for each element to achieve the overarching desired effect. Today we will focus on identifying critical content, we will make natural connections between this and other elements in the DQ 2 lesson addressing new content…. With the ultimate goal of helping students get to that DQ 4 event.

Remember… You may have taught this content many, many times…. But it is their first exposure with this content Not everything in the lesson is of equal importance Some students inherently understand that, but most do not. Signaling to students what is critical information is key to implementing an effective lesson

First steps… As you prepare to present the information to the students: Identify a lesson, or part of a lesson the students should pay particularly close attention to. This element is integral to helping your students understand knew knowledge, make connections to prior learning, and ultimately retain new content.

Identify Critical Information Organize Students (7) Preview (8) Content Chunk (9) Process (10) Elaborate (11) Record (12) Reflect (13) Identify Critical Information (6) This is a teacher dominated element… meaning you are most likely doing the majority of the work, but there will be a desired effect the students must exhibit after the information is shared with them. Gradual Release All should be utilized, but not necessarily in number order nor in one period of instruction. This could take multiple days to go through.

Desired effects… Students can identify the critical information addressed in class. Students can explain the difference between critical and non-critical content. Students can describe the level of importance of the critical information addressed in class. Formative data from the lesson show that students attend to the critical content (for example…questioning or artifacts) Students can explain the progression of critical content in the lesson.

As you prepare the lesson for the students… What are the ways you expect students to react to the critical information? What actions should they immediately take? Are there specific note-taking routines that were taught on how to do this? Do you expect students to give hand signals or write answers on small white boards to indicate their understanding of critical content?

Model, Model, Model… Students will not know what action(s) to take unless you have explicitly stated, modeled and practiced your expectations and followed up with consistent monitoring of their understanding of that information.

Effective Communication Assemble a toolbox of ways to cue or prompt your students that you are about to introduce skills or knowledge of critical value and importance. Think about how to further develop those that are already your favorites, as well as how to become more skilled in employing different techniques to target subgroups of students you may not be reaching.

Behaviors associated with identifying critical content: Highlight critical information that portrays a clear progression of information related to standards or goals Identify differences between critical and noncritical content Continuously call students’ attention to critical content Integrate cross curricular connections to critical content

Common mistakes… Failure to identify the critical content from a unit of instruction before you begin teaching Failure to communicate its importance to your students in an effective or memorable way Failure to communicate to students the kind of action or response their attention requires for certain types of important content

Analogy of importance… If someone were to convince you of a certain key bit of information that is critical to your health, you are more inclined to figure out a way to remember that information. You might make a special note of it or ask for additional information to clarify what is the most important aspect to remember. Help them realize that hearing the critical content is only the first step; they need to do something with it for it to be effective.

Ask yourself… Did the students know what content was important? Did they learn or master the information taught? The most elaborately planned lessons have no meaning unless they focus on the critical content outlined in the standard and are monitored for the desired effects of the implemented strategies.

Different strategies… Verbally cue Explicit instruction Dramatic instruction Advance organizers Visually cue Storytelling What students already know

In the next segment, we will look at several of the strategies listed on the previous slide. Select strategies that speak to you and begin to utilize them during your lessons to help students identify the critical content.