How do you teach literary analysis to kids? Helping students study and analyze literature on a deeper level In our new Writing Workshop Unit this January we are going to go look at books more analytically. Some of our mini-lessons have included story structure (building to a climax, etc); finding topics to write about; looking at the opening of books (hooking the reader); using different techniques such as similes, metaphors,...
Using the icons of Depth and Complexity without a strong task statement is a mistake. The task statement needs a strong through-line to the element, as well.
Recently, a teacher emailed me if the nine Marzano instructional strategies integrate with the Depth and Complexity framework. As co-author of the book on Depth and Complexity, she assumed I would know.
The Kaplan Depth & Complexity chart is a way to promote complex and in-depth analysis of academic and non-academic content.
(I am updating this strategy with a new post here, but wanted to leave these directions for those of you who are just starting out and want to use this strategy in it's simplest form). Here are the amped up directions for those interested in using this strategy with a little more meat. Close Reading is all the rage these days. It's getting a lot of paparazzi attention in teaching circles. Or am I just late to the party? Anyways, I am currently working on helping my 5th Graders memorize the Preamble (to the United States Constitution) and my 6th graders memorize "The Gettysburg Address." We started with close reading strategies using a frame organizer incorporating the Icons of Depth and Complexity. If you aren't familiar with the Icons, it isn't necessary to "know" them to use this lesson. Download the frames here for Free from my IMS Bove TPT Store. Click on the picture below. 1. To begin with, I had previously exposed both speeches to my class by watching informational videos on Brainpop.com and listening to the songs mentioned in my blog on this page. 2. Then I passed out the frame and asked students to highlight any unfamiliar words in the passage. 3. Afterwards, I asked them to record up to 4 of the highlighted words in the Language of the Discipline Section. 4. Then they looked up the meaning of the words. We used iPads, but be careful of the word "propositioned" in the Gettysburg Address. 5. We then shared out our new vocabulary and discussed words that may have had multiple meanings. 6. Next the students read the passage again, this time recording any Unanswered Questions they may have encountered while reading. 7. Afterwards, they researched the Details for the answers of least 4 questions. 8. Finally, we read the article again looking for he Big Idea of the passage. After a discussion, students recorded their ideas. STUDENT SAMPLES I have to say, I felt like both of these Close Reads were successful in helping the students understand the meaning of the passages, making them more comprehensible for memorization. IMS Bove
Resources and ideas for using the Depth and Complexity and Content Imperative Icons as thinking tools for gifted and advanced students.
A subplot is a secondary plot within a larger narrative, often complementing and supporting the main plot. It enhances your experience as a reader.
A blog about Teaching with Technology, Inductive Reasoning, Gifted and Talented Education and what works in my 5th/6th classroom.
Most people have something they say they’d run back into a burning house for. For some, it’s photos or mementos. For others, it’s something of great monetary value.
Depth and Complexity questions are the heart of raising students' thinking levels. Having great question stems at hand makes the process easy.
A reference chart for students explaining each of Dr. Kaplan's depth and complexity prompts. This chart is perfect for notes or an interactive notebook!
Ideas and resources to differentiate math for gifted and advanced students using depth and complexity and content imperatives. Icons in math. GATE math.
How do you teach literary analysis to kids? Helping students study and analyze literature on a deeper level In our new Writing Workshop Unit this January we are going to go look at books more analytically. Some of our mini-lessons have included story structure (building to a climax, etc); finding topics to write about; looking at the opening of books (hooking the reader); using different techniques such as similes, metaphors,...
Is there a consequence for not doing something? You may have found a rule!
A step-by-step guide on how to use Depth and Complexity frames in math and how to incorporate cooperative learning structures
Hello Friends. This seems like the common theme among bloggers these days.... neglecting their poor little blog. School has started in full swing and sports and homework have taken over our house...mainly my living room. Every spare moment that I've had has been dedicated to finishing my 2nd grade Houghton Mifflin: Theme 2 unit on TPT. I've had such a great response to Theme 1 that I decided to make the next theme. When I first started taking on this HUGE project (Theme 1 took 200+ hours!!!) I told myself that I would decide to create the next themes by judging how well the sales go for the current theme. I mean, I do love creating resources but it has to be worth my time, too. Well, I've gotten really great responses from it and people even asking for theme 2!!! Wow! I was seriously humbled to think that my resource would be used in so many different classrooms. I mean, YOU think your resources are good, but will others? Ok, more on this resource later. Today I am linky up with Doodle Bugs for her Five For Friday Party. Okaaay.... I KNOW that I'm a little A LOT late, but better late than never, right? :) I'm gonna zip right through #1-4 so that I can spend some time on #5. You'll see. :) 1. Kids went swimming A LOT this week! It was nice to stay cool! 2. Went to the beach on Monday for Labor Day. SO fun!! 3. Short work week since Monday was a holiday! I job share so I only worked Tues and Wed. :) 4. My sweet mother in law took my little girl overnight so that I could get some TPTing done and finish my crazy long unit (260+pages!!!). Which brings me to #5..... Why yes. I WILL skip a line to write #5 because it deserves it. I want it to be all alone to highlight my next TPT product. (drum roll pleeeease.....) 5. JUST last night, I finished my TPT unit that I was just talking about in the beginning of this post. I am SUPER excited because this theme is PACKED with cool projects and activities that make learning FUN! Here are some snapshots of what is inside this unit: Click on the image to take you to my store There are word wall resources for every story in this theme: Vocabulary concentration card game. Story unscrambling and sequencing activity Take it to summary writing A neat class book to store student samples of compound words with templates included. I saw this at a teaching workshop over 10 yrs ago and I cannot remember from who. If you know, please let me know so that I can give credit where credit is due. A SUPER fun fishing game to teach soft/hard g sounds. A backpack activity where students decide what they would take to go camping. These are the items they can choose from. Students then write a reasoning for why they chose to take these items. SUPER ADORABLE!!!! This goes with one of our stories that talks about animal tracks. Gotta throw in some Depth and Complexity here for deeper learning. *** UPDATE: If you are interested in this Thinking Map (above pic) and MANY more with Depth and Complexity icons, please take a look at my Print and Go Thinking Maps with Depth and Complexity unit. ALL maps come with samples and are EDITABLE so that you can tailor it to the needs of your classroom. :) SO.MUCH.FUN! Seriously! I'm VERY excited to get to this theme with my students!!! I will be taking snapshots of the class when we get here in about 2 weeks or so. I am really looking forward to them trying out all the fun things I have planned for their learning. Hope you have a wonderful start to your week! Blessings,
Resources and ideas for applying icons of Depth and Complexity and Content Imperatives. Support for differentiating for gifted and talented students.
I am still working on getting the icons to show up next to their descriptions, but here is an overview of the Icons of Depth and Complexity as well as how we recently applied some of the icons to the story The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I recorded the scholars' ideas on the chart paper as we read the story together and they recognized how different story elements could be understood better through application of the different icons. A Brief Explanation of Kaplan’s Icons of Depth and Complexity Dimensions of Depth Language of the Discipline: Indicates identification and usage of appropriate language relative to the discipline. Details: Indicates elaboration and description of an idea or event. Patterns: Indicates recurring elements or repeated factors of an idea or event, as well as the order of events. Identify & predict. Trends: Indicates identification of changes throughout a period as well as the factors, influences & forces. Note causality & predict. Unanswered Questions: Indicates unclear ideas & information as well as what is unknown, unexplored, unproved. Identify & guess. Rules: Indicates organizational elements relevant to curriculum. Note order, determine relevance, organize, & identify learnings. Ethics: Indicates possible rights & wrongs of an event, idea, or issue. Reflection on bias, prejudice, discrimination. Draw conclusions, argue, and prove with evidence. Big Idea: Indicates a generalization, principle, or theory about the curriculum being studied. Identify theory, state principle. Dimensions of Complexity Over Time: Indicates a change over time where changes are identified and causality examined. Predict, order, & sequence. Points of View: Indicates multiple perspectives. Examine ideas and events from different perspectives. Think like a . . . Interdisciplinary Connections: Indicates a connection between the curriculum under study and other. Associate, integrate, & link.
Free, editable frames for use with the Depth & Complexity icons are hard to find. This free, editable PowerPoint shares two free frames to use with the Depth & Complexity icons, as well as instructions and copy-and-pastable (is that a word???) icons. What are Depth and Complexity Frames? Depth and Complexity frames are activities that ... Read more
Depth and complexity in Math, Icons in math, GATE math
It's been a while Friends! Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday linky party. I've been working on Depth and Complexity with my students and it has really taken their learning to the next level. Over the past couple of years, I've been going to USC to learn about teaching gifted students from Sandra Kaplan, the creator of Depth and Complexity. The truth is, these strategies work for ALL students and allows them to understand the content much better. My students actually love it! My 2nd graders working on Depth and Complexity with their story of the week. My 1st graders working on Depth and Complexity with their story of the week. We just had Open House not too long ago and it was so much fun! Here are some things from my Open House Unit on TPT. I've compiled 19 things over my 15 years of teaching that I love to do. It comes complete with templates and detailed instructions. If you need some new projects for your classroom, I'd love for you to come by and check it out. Here are some pictures from my class: This is always a hit with my class! This picture was from my last year's class. I ran out of time and had to make my own Senior Citizen's Home sign. I was desperate. Don't judge. A closer look ... Our class read Moses Goes to a Concert. They loved learning about sign language and so I took pictures of their hands making the alphabet. We even had a "secret message" board done in sign language that the parents had to figure out what it said. A hit for sure!! :) This is my Line of Symmetry activity. The kids loved it and it was neat to see some of my students' artistic ability. This girl was amazing!!! On the other side of the symmetry picture, they wrote 10 things that they loved about themselves. I also had a surprise for my students under this sheet. I secretly sent home a sheet for their parents to fill out "10 Things I Love About YOU!", then I stapled it under this paper. Parents got to show their child their "surprise" when they came that night. Sorry that I don't have a picture of that sheet, but it's in the Open House unit. Students made invitations for their parents to come to Open House. This is one of the class favs! The silhouette wall! I have an EASY PEASY tutorial in the unit on how to do this WITHOUT tracing. Praise the Lord for not making the kids stand still in front of the projector like I used to do. Here is my unit if anyone is interested in creating MORE fun projects for their classroom. Click on the picture to take you to TPT Since summer is coming, I've been trying to work out more and eat right. I've started Kayla Itsines BBG workout and I love it. You have got to check out her Instagram or her Facebook page to see these amazing results. She has a huge community of REAL girls that have used her program and share some helpful tips and their results. AH-MAZING!!! I've been staying of track. It's only week 2 but I've been resisting my temptation to eat all things chocolately this week. Yay for me!!! I LOVE good food. I ate at the yummiest place in Orange County this past week. It was called True Food Kitchen. The place has a very clean look to it and is decorated with succulents. It really is a farm to table type of place...AND it's HEALTHY!!! This was my delicious salad! I saved the most exciting news for last.... (said in best scream voice..) ONLY A COUPLE MORE WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEEEEEFT!!!!! :) Have a wonderful Friday, Friends and thanks for reading! Blessings,
Use this frame to differentiate for your GATE students and high achievers.
Hey there, music lovers and educators! I've got some exciting news for you all. I have decided to create a brand new series of quick reference flashcards that will help you learn music theory in just 30 seconds! Yes, you read that right - no more excuses for not having enough time to learn. With these flashcards, you can easily learn on the go and expand your musical knowledge effortlessly. Sample of the flashcards posted on our Pinterest! Updated NOW: daily! Be the first to know when knew resou
This year I want my gifted kiddos taking their projects to a deeper level. I want them to examine multiple perspectives, ethical issues, and how it applies to different times, cultures, and disciplines. I made this slideshow to teach them the framework for developing and keeping up with their research questions. Click the picture to link to my TPT store and download your copy.
Ideas and resources to differentiate math for gifted and advanced students using depth and complexity and content imperatives. Icons in math. GATE math.
How do you teach literary analysis to kids? Helping students study and analyze literature on a deeper level In our new Writing Workshop Unit this January we are going to go look at books more analytically. Some of our mini-lessons have included story structure (building to a climax, etc); finding topics to write about; looking at the opening of books (hooking the reader); using different techniques such as similes, metaphors,...
You can use the prompts of depth and complexity yet still ask *very shallow* questions. Here's how to avoid this common pitfall…
Using the icons of Depth and Complexity without a strong task statement is a mistake. The task statement needs a strong through-line to the element, as well.
This document is meant to use the Depth and Complexity icon for Language of the Discipline to help your scholars take a deeper dive into language analysis. Scholars will write the focus word, identify how it is used within the context of the source, and analyze it using additional icons from the De...
A reading log perfect for homework, that allows your student to record details from their nightly reading. The log is for 4 nights. Monday they focus on the big idea of the reading. Tuesday they focus on the language of the discipline. Wednesday they focus on unanswered questions. Thursday they...
These Depth and Complexity Icons will enable your students to dig deeper in their learning and think in more complex ways. This product contains the 11 elements of Depth and Complexity that were developed by Sandra Kaplan. These visual prompts are designed to guide students to go beyond the surface ...
