Word Splash

 Objectives:
• Assess prior knowledge
• Provide motivation for reading
• Set a clear purpose for reading
• Decipher vocabulary
• Allow for a variety of modes of learning

Steps

1. Select seven to ten meaningful words of phrases from the reading selection. Be sure to include not only similar words that will indicate the subject of the selection but also some of the words and phrases that seem contradictory to the others.

2. Give each student a sheet and ask him/her to spend a little time thinking about what kind of story or article could include all of these words or phrases.

3. Ask students to form small groups of three to five (or you can assign them to groups). In their groups, they should decide what the story will be about. They should also create a narrative or an explanation that will include all of the words or phrases.

4. Ask each group to share their narrative or explanation. As they listen, students should look for common elements.

5. Ask student to list the common elements they heard and list these elements on the board (or you could list them if students have trouble doing this).

6. Individually, students now read a selection or an excerpt.

7. In small groups or as a whole class, discuss the similarities and differences between the narratives they constructed prior to reading the selection, and the actual selection. It is very important to discuss the reasons for the differences. This discussion can highlight the number of possible approaches authors have available to them when deciding to write about a particular subject. Students' constructions may be perfectly logical without being exactly the same as the story or explanation the author constructed.

(adapted from Donna Botbyl)