Name of Strategy: Sketch to Stretch- After Reading Strategy
Source: All-America Reads
Link: http://www.allamericareads.org/lessonplan/wyw/after/sts.htm
Strategy and How it would be Implemented: This strategy is designed after students have read literature or certain texts. This strategy is to help students understand main ideas and themes of works of literature. With this strategy, students are asked to draw/sketch pictures that represent the main ideas of the work. Artistic ability is not required, but students are asked to think critically and deeply about different meanings of the work. Students are asked not to draw about a particular event in the story, but create a symbolic sketch of their theme.
NCSCOS: (straight from the summary of 6-8th grade NCSCOS for ELA) Students are “connecting themes and ideas in literature.”
Rationale for Strategy: This strategy enhances students’ learning in that students have to understand and learn about theme. Students have to be able to comprehend a work to the point that they can identify and pick out various themes and main ideas. This strategy asks students to not write about those ideas, but pick symbols that represent the themes, and create a sketch. This strategy is fun, because everyone likes to doodle, no matter the ability. This strategy allows students to express their thoughts of literature in a creative way, but a way that makes them think deeper about the literature.
