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    What? So What? Now What?

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    Subject: ELA (English Language Arts)

    Lesson Length: 30 - 45 mins

    Topic: Comprehension of Nonfiction Text

    Grade Level: 6, 7, 8

    Standards / Framework:

    Brief Description: In this lesson students will learn to better comprehend and check their understanding of nonfiction text by asking reflective questions. 

    Know Before You Start: This lesson uses the reflective thinking strategy "What? So What? Now What?" Students will use the questions to guide their analysis of a historical or social studies text. Two preselected social studies texts will be needed.

    Hook:

    • Introduce a selected text on a social studies topic.
    • Display the sample comic. 
    • Model how to reflect on the content by asking the questions:
      • What?
      • So what?
      • Now what?
    • What? Prior to reading, students can make predictions about what they anticipate learning through the text. 
    • So what? Read the text together and discuss new information learned and personal connections with the text.
    • Now what? Reflect after reading the selected text and consider how the information applies to the world today or additional questions posed in the text.
    • Explain that using these reflective questions helps to better understand the facts of the text, our connections with it, and how to apply the information.

    Activity:

    • Provide students with another social studies article or selected text related to the same topic.
    • Have students independently read the text using the "What? So what? Now what?" strategy. 
    • Using the sample comic as a guide, have students create a three-panel "What? So what? Now what?" comic to demonstrate their understanding.

    Closure:

    • Allow students to share their comics with the class or in groups.
    • Discuss how using the "What? So What? Now What?" strategy can be used with all types of texts to better understand the content.

    Differentiation:

    • Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
    • Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
    • Adjust the selected text based on a student’s reading level.
    • Provide an audio recording of selected text. 
    • Allow students to use a graphic organizer.
    • Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.

    Resources:

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