Brainstorming Bliss

Today I asked my students, "What strategies have you learned this year that help you to comment or discuss a piece of text?" Then I held my breath waiting for the group of eighth graders to give me an answer. One student said, "You make connections!" Well that is all it took we were able to fill a page with 10 or more things that students can do to comment about a text. I was so excited that they were able to name so many things.

After brainstorming, I used the Graffiti Text activity that I posted on a previous Blog. Here is the link: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/preview-challenging-topics?fd=1
This activity works great. My students were motivated and engaged the whole time. I used this activity as a pre-reading for an article about Navy SEALs. Having spent a few minutes brainstorming about the types of comments that could be made about a text really inspired the students who struggle. They were able to refer back to the list that we generated and make some awesome comments.

Thanks again to Mrs.Ochoa for posting the vidoe on https://www.teachingchannel.org. Check out the other videos there.
Also, What are some of the ways that you use brainstorming in your classroom?

Have a great day!