Skagit Valley Network

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Content Enhancement Organizers and Routines

Kindergarten - 5th Grade (Arranged by Grade Level)
6th - 12th Grade (Arranged by Content Area)

Following the guidance of Dr. Keith Lenz, Skagit Valley Network 4 and 5 teachers considered the need to provide clear learning maps to best serve the diversity within their classrooms. They knew they needed to enhance the way they "...present content and improve students' ability to organize, understand, and remember critical information" (Lenz, 1998). From 1999 to 2001, they followed Dr. Lenz's suggestion and developed and piloted these graphic organizers:

Course Organizers and Maps (K-12) This graphic planner allows teachers to effectively help students understand the "big picture" of the course and the smaller units within it. Using this graphic plan, teachers "launch" a course and establish a "learning community" so students

"a) understand how the course connects the big ideas;
b) identify the central critical concepts which will be central to understanding the course content;
c) learn the ritual routines and strategies used throughout the course" (Lenz, 1998).

Unit Organizers and Maps (K-12) This continues the work of the course, this time at the level. The graphic unit organizers and maps help students

"a) relate unit content to previous and future units and to bigger course ideas;
b) understand the main idea of the content through the use of paraphrase;
c) see the structure of the unit's content;
d) focus attention on relationships within unit content;
e) generate questions that relate learning to big ideas;
f) build a schedule to plan time and task completion" (Lenz, 1995).

Lesson Organizers and Concept Routines (K-12) This continues the work of the course and unit, this time at levels which best help students understand the key concepts within lessons. The Lesson Organizer follows the pattern of the unit, with self-test questions, clear sequences, EALR-aligned tasks.

Concept Routines offer teachers a graphic method of organizing and presenting concepts to students-in an attempt to give somewhat difficult ideas a concrete map which students can follow toward deeper understanding. The four varied routines used in this project allow a teacher to select the graphic which will best "break-down" a concept for his students.

The Concept Routines are

Concept Comparison-where students identify known, like and unknown characteristics of a new concept to help them develop a richer definition and understanding;
Concept Anchoring-where students list known, unknown, and shared characteristics between a familiar and new concept;
Concept Mastery-where students examine characteristics of an introduced concept to determine characteristics which are always present, sometimes present, and never present (great for reviewing material);
Framing-which lists the absolutely essential details of a concept so students look at the core definition.

Vague ideas and maps help students

"a) relate unit content to previous and future units and to bigger course ideas;
b) understand the main idea of the content through the use of paraphrase;
c) see the structure of the unit's content;
d) focus attention on relationships within unit content;
e) generate questions that relate learning to big ideas;
f) build a schedule to plan time and task completion" (Lenz, 1995).

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Kathy Shoop, Curriculum Development
E-mail kshoop@lcsd.wednet.edu
Phone:(360) 466 - 3171
Fax: (360) 466 - 3523

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