Cubing

 =Strategy Name: Cubing =

Strategy Description:
Students construct meaning as they write about a specific topic from six different perspectives. Each different perspective has the student use a different thinking process.

Course:

 * 8th grade Applied Communications--a 9 week writing course.
 * 28-30 students
 * Mix of regular education, special education students with written expression and reading comprehension IEP goals, and gifted students

**Rationale: **
>
 * I want the students to experience more writing to learn.
 * The strategy has a different levels of Bloom's questions/prompts and our 8th grade students work with Bloom's as part of their independent reading program. This strategy will reinforce what they are already doing in another course.
 * The strategy allows flexibility with instructional groups--can be done alone, in partners, or in small groups (or a combinations where the student initially works alone and then comes together to create a cube). Middle school students love the opportunity to work in groups.
 * The strategy can be used as a notetaking activity and this is an area of weakness for our students.

Diverse Learners:
Well, we get to make a cube so my kinesthetic learners wil be happy cutting, folding, and pasting! There is an opportunity for gifted learners to take their learning to a higher level with the prompts higher up on Bloom's. And for learners with deficits in reading and writing, I can manage the strategy to allow for modification (of questions/prompts) or I can manage the groups to allow for scaffolding.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Procedure:
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I would first model the strategy. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Students select a topic (this could be from social studies, science, or a concept in a text selection).
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Students write for 3-5 minutes to: describe it, compare it, associate it, analyze it, apply it, and argue for or against it.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Make the cube.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">Potential Issues:
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I would probably use this strategy a more of a note taking activity where students can really search the text.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I can see students wanting to do this in small groups/partners.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I can see this working as a vocabulary activity.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I would need to adjust the prompts for struggling readers/learners.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">I can see a lot of blank looks when I ask students to associate it, analyze it, or apply it--model and scaffold to help with this issue!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">References/Materials:

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive;">**Strategy from:** Stephens, E.C. & Brown, J.E. (2005). //A handbook of content literacy strategies: 125 practical reading and writing ideas//. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.

1. Information from source ||
 * In binder:**