Students take ownership of their learning through Reciprocal Teaching

I want to focus on my craft to be inspired and to inspire excellence in educators in order to cultivate and motivate inquisitive students through collaboration and positive conversations. 

I like to begin my posts with my purpose, my why. Unfortunately educators are leaving the profession in droves. According to a February report by the National Education Association, "A staggering 55 percent of educators are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than they had planned." There are many reasons for this exodus; from uncontrolled student behaviors, lack of support, and financial. I just completed my 25th year of teacher and have no plans leaving this profession. As I reflect on the question "why" I quickly respond with "because I still get excited when I see the light bulb go off in a student". How do I keep excited and focused on my purpose, my why? I focus on the positive, build relationships with my students, parents, and colleagues, and I strive to learn something new every year. The last point is the purpose of these blogs. I plan to share one strategy, best practices, classroom "idea", a month with the hopes that you try them. In turn, I would love for you to share what works for you!

This month we will focus on Reciprocal Teaching.

Reciprocal Teaching is an activity where students "teach" in a small group setting. Each student takes on a role: Predictor, Clarifier, Questioner, and Summarizer.

Day 1  

The first day of Reciprocal Teaching is reserved for reading and recording. Prior to students reading the text, we box in the title and turn it into a question.  This sets the purpose of reading.  We then number the paragraphs and write "ST" at the end of each paragraph.  "ST" stands for "Stop and Think".  I will also pre-teach specific vocabulary words prior to students reading the text independently. Once vocabulary words are explicitly taught students make a prediction about what they will learn while reading the text and record it their prediction in their recording sheet.  Students then read the text independently and record at least 3 words or phrases they need clarified and at least 3 questions that could lead to a group discussion.  The last step calls for students to write a short summary.

Day 2

The second day of Reciprocal Teaching is reserved for group discussions. Students sit in groups of 4 and each student is given one of four roles: Predictor, Clarifier, Questioner, and Summarizer. The predictor shares his/her prediction then calls on teammates to share their predictions. Students use this opportunity to use accountable talk and agree or disagree with evidence. The Clarifier facilitates the discussion by sharing a word or phrase he/she needs clarifying (including the paragraph where the word can be found). The facilitator reads the sentences that include the word or phrase and the surrounding sentences. He/She then leads a conversation to determine the meaning. I, as the teacher, circulate listening to the conversation, I jot down words that we need to discuss as a class. The third facilitator is the questioner. This student begins the conversation with a question beginning with why, how, or what if. The questions should lead to a conversation. The questioner asks other members of his/her team to share questions. Before the Summarizer facilitates the conversation, students are given time to revise their summaries. The summarizer begins with his/her summary. Teammates will utilize accountable talk protocols to agree, disagree, or add-on. All discussions must include evidence.

Reciprocal Teaching is just one strategy I use during my reading block. To keep this "exciting" for students we alternate this with other strategies. There are many videos to watch prior to trying this with your students. Some videos are listed below.