Amanda Felts
Strategy: Sticky Notes
Before-During-After (BDA) Reading Strategies
Link: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/reading_writing/cwp/view.asp?a=196&q=98157
Summary: This allows students to write down thier thoughts as they read. Since they are not allowed to write in the book, this is a way for students to be fully engaged while they read. It is kind of like when teachers show a movie or a documentary in class and have the students write down interesting facts about what they saw or heard. With the sticky notes if a student had a question about something, they could write down thier question, place the sticky note where thier question is and when the reading is gone over in class they will be able to point out directly where thier question is and ask it.
NCSCOS: This strategy can be used with any topic on the standard course of study. When you assign anything for the the students read you can be sure they are engaging in the assignment by watching them stick thier sticky notes to the text or what they are reading.
How will this help students learn? This will help students learn by them being engaged in what they are reading. I do this myself, and since I have strated doing this I have gained so much more information and comprehension from what I have read. Some of the note I may write could be, “Thats just wrong” or “I need to look up more information about this topic”. By doing this students will be looking at what they believe and what they may have questions about, but do not relieze it until they read it.
I think this will work because I have seen it work. I have seen this same technique used, but the students were allowed to write in the book. When I went back and looked at what some of the students had written, I saw how they were bringing in old knowledge and applying it to what they were reading to come up with questions. On some of the articles that the students were assigned they would write, “I do not think that was nice” or “Global warming is a problem, that we need to fix.” When students are asked to put in questions, or describe how something makes them feel as they read they pull out all sorts of things, rather than just skiming through what they are assigned to read to answer the worksheet with ten questions before the end of class.
chrissmithey said,
May 29, 2008 @ 4:29 pm
Great Idea!
I use post-its myself to mark pages (and write on them) in literature books I am studying (also write in the margins).
Never occured to me to let my students use the same technique I’ve used successfully…dumb.
Thanks for the reminder.
…Chris.
rbwilson0824 said,
May 29, 2008 @ 9:56 pm
I use this technique myself, but have never considered having students use sticky notes to make notes about the text. This has added benefits: no notes written in the margins of books and no damage to expensive text books, resulting in student fines. Plus, sticky notes come in so many fun colors and patterns now. That has to help make the process more enjoyable too. Roberta Wilson
Rodney Pyatte said,
May 30, 2008 @ 3:47 am
I think using post it notes are a simple idea that can go a long way for students
Rodney Pyatte
Kirsten said,
May 30, 2008 @ 5:01 am
This is a great strategy. I think it is awesome that it is also a strategy that you have used with success!
Kirsten Schmidt
Rueben Helton said,
May 30, 2008 @ 2:32 pm
This will give them bookmarks also that they can refer back to in their book when they need to apply the concept to something else.
trathenwr said,
May 30, 2008 @ 9:13 pm
Sticky notes work great–for all kinds of things. So simple, so cheap.
Woody Trathen
Rachel Eisenhower said,
May 30, 2008 @ 11:04 pm
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE STICKY NOTES!! LOL! I use them at work for everything! Thank you for the cute strategy.
Rachel Eisenhower
katiebrigman said,
May 31, 2008 @ 12:24 am
Sure wish I’d invented sticky notes. I am also a sticky note user. Love them and can’t live without them. Definitely a good strategy.
flilly said,
May 31, 2008 @ 2:13 am
The kids will love the post-it notes. At my wifes suggestions I sometimes use post-t notes in creating lesson plans. They can be rearranged so easily. This is an untapped resource.
Thanks,
Frank Lilly