DOK Level 2 – Skills & Concepts – Page 4 – Wildcat Teacher Resource Center

Picture Notes

Picture Notes can provide an excellent way for students to stop and process what they have learned. They are meant to accompany written notes, not to completely replace them. During selected pause points, students create a picture that illustrates the concepts being learned.

Confer, Compare, and Clarify

This activity allows students to read each other’s notes, make comparisons, and add their own notes. This gives them the opportunity to pick up tips by seeing how their peers take notes. It also allows them time to reflect on the content, compare understandings with their peers, and ask questions that can be the difference between comprehensions and lack of comprehension.

The Ripple

In the traditional question-and-answer approach, a teacher poses a question to the class as a whole and a small handful of eager students respond while everyone else remain disengaged. In this “beach ball scenario”, the teacher doesn’t get an accurate assessment of what the others are thinking or what they have learned until it is too late. Calling on an individual student should be a teacher’s last resort when it comes to classroom discussion.

Feature Walk

The Feature Walk allows students to get out of their seats and work in small groups as they analyze important features presented in their textbooks or in related online resources. This technique is excellent when you don’t want students to overlook important images or text features that can support their understanding of content.

Bounce Cards

Bounce cards are a way to help students who struggle to get academic conversations started. They give students, especially those who are more reserved, something to say.

Appointment Agendas

This is a fun way to get students out of their seats and interacting with others throughout the classroom. Students create appointments with peers by writing each other’s names in a specific time slot. When the teacher selects a time, students meet up with the person indicated on their appointment schedule.

Categorizing & Sorting

Categorizing and sorting can be used to help students understand a wide variety of unique characteristics and concepts. This interaction provides students with opportunities to see how items can sometimes be sorted in different ways and still be correct.