In reading, we are working on our reading strategies as we read various books in our versions of literature circles. So today, I decided to throw a little non-fiction into the mix. With the election coming up, we looked at an infographic on who voted in the last presidential election broken down by all types of census statistics (e.g. men vs. women, socioeconomic factors, etc.).
In order to best understand the rest of this post, step through the Prezi above that I created and look at each individual section of the infographic.
The way I did it in class was I projected the Prezi onto our whiteboard, stepped through it slide by slide, and discussed (as a whole class) the first few sections. We collaboratively analyzed each statistic and drew conclusions on why we thought they came out the way they did. After a remarkably strong classroom discussion, I stepped through the remainder of the presentation slowly and asked my students at each step to turn and tell their neighbor about why they thought the statistics were the way that they were. Discussions were intense and sustained. Kids actually built off of each other, listening to each others' ideas, making connections, and responding with counter proposals! I was very proud!
Once the infographic was finished, I had my students type one or more of their conclusions onto the comments section of the blog entry (click here to read their comments). Fair warning: Some of the conclusions sound inappropriate: racist or prejudiced against a specific group of Americans, but that is just because the infographic was constructed in that way! Perhaps we can work on "tactful wording" in the future, but for now I enjoyed reading their reasons for the conclusions that they drew. Now I will begin to expect them to do more of that in their reading during literature circle discussions!
I highly recommend using this lesson to teach students how to draw conclusions. I think it is most appropriate for 4th grade and up. I found that 50 minutes was necessary to do all that we did, but it can be done in 30 minutes if you keep a fast pace. I hope you try it & I hope it is successful. If you do try it, would you please leave a comment below letting me know how it went? Thanks!!!
(I got the infographic from a Google Images Search. I used the terms: "voting infographic." Here is the source website: http://dailyinfographic.com/who-votes-in-america-infographic/voting-infographic)
I will also be using two other infographics related to the election to teach students to make inferences and to analyze generalizations. You can find those lessons here.
In order to best understand the rest of this post, step through the Prezi above that I created and look at each individual section of the infographic.
The way I did it in class was I projected the Prezi onto our whiteboard, stepped through it slide by slide, and discussed (as a whole class) the first few sections. We collaboratively analyzed each statistic and drew conclusions on why we thought they came out the way they did. After a remarkably strong classroom discussion, I stepped through the remainder of the presentation slowly and asked my students at each step to turn and tell their neighbor about why they thought the statistics were the way that they were. Discussions were intense and sustained. Kids actually built off of each other, listening to each others' ideas, making connections, and responding with counter proposals! I was very proud!
Once the infographic was finished, I had my students type one or more of their conclusions onto the comments section of the blog entry (click here to read their comments). Fair warning: Some of the conclusions sound inappropriate: racist or prejudiced against a specific group of Americans, but that is just because the infographic was constructed in that way! Perhaps we can work on "tactful wording" in the future, but for now I enjoyed reading their reasons for the conclusions that they drew. Now I will begin to expect them to do more of that in their reading during literature circle discussions!
I highly recommend using this lesson to teach students how to draw conclusions. I think it is most appropriate for 4th grade and up. I found that 50 minutes was necessary to do all that we did, but it can be done in 30 minutes if you keep a fast pace. I hope you try it & I hope it is successful. If you do try it, would you please leave a comment below letting me know how it went? Thanks!!!
(I got the infographic from a Google Images Search. I used the terms: "voting infographic." Here is the source website: http://dailyinfographic.com/who-votes-in-america-infographic/voting-infographic)
I will also be using two other infographics related to the election to teach students to make inferences and to analyze generalizations. You can find those lessons here.
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