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approach is to teach strategies separately from regular instructional units. Teachers offer special lessons
focused on strategy instruction, and these lessons are separate from the regular topics of the class. Using this
approach, a high-school history teacher might plan instruction in the following sequence:
2 days -- Special instruction on note-taking
2 weeks -- Unit on Explorers in the New World
3 days -- Special instruction on summarization
3 weeks -- Unit on Colonial American before the Revolution
1 day -- Special instruction on elaboration
2 weeks -- Unit on the American Revolution
2 days -- Special instruction on outlining
2 weeks -- Unit on the development of the Constitution
In this sequence of lessons, strategies are taught in special lessons that are separated from the regular topics
of history (explorers in the New World, colonial American before the revolution, and so on).
The second broad approach to teaching strategies is to embed strategy instruction in the regular units.
Strategies are taught in special lessons; strategy instruction is integrated into the regular topics covered in
the class. A history teacher using this approach might plan instruction in this sequence:
3 weeks -- Unit on Explorers in the New World. During this unit, students are introduced to note-
taking and summarization. They practice note-taking during lectures the teacher gives on
explorers and they practice summarization while reading the textbook chapter on the
explorers. Some of the class discussions focus on the students’ notes and summaries.
3 weeks -- Unit on Colonial American before the Revolution. During this unit, students continue to
discuss and practice note-taking and summarization during lectures and readings on
Colonial America. Students are also introduced to the strategy of elaboration, which they
practice while reading texts on Colonial America that are part of this unit. The teacher
continues to discuss all the strategies with the students.
2 weeks -- Unit on the American Revolution. Students continue to practice and discuss all the
strategies they have learned so far as they read these texts and watch a short film on the
Revolution.
2 weeks -- Unit on the development of the Constitution. Students continue to practice and discuss the
strategies learned so far, and the teacher also introduces a new strategy of outlining, which
students practice on the current textbook chapter.
This history teacher is focusing on multiple strategies at the same time, and the instruction is embedded
within the regular curriculum. Students are constantly using and talking about a broad range of strategies
while they study the regular topics covered in history. The teacher continues to focus on these and other
taught strategies in all history units throughout the entire school year.
There is general consensus in the research community that strategy instruction is most effective when
teachers use the second approach—embedding strategy instruction within the regular curriculum topics and
sustaining the focus on strategies throughout all the curriculum the entire year (Graham et al., 2005; Guthrie
et al., 2004; National Research Council, 2007; Pressley & Harris, 2006; Pressley & Woloshyn, 1995;
Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008). When teachers emphasize strategies constantly throughout the year, students
come to view strategies as a central part of learning—not as something mentioned briefly at the beginning of
the year and then to be forgotten or ignored. As students keep practicing the strategies throughout the year,
with teacher guidance and feedback, they will have many opportunities to attain a high level of mastery of
the strategies. By emphasizing multiple strategies, teachers can encourage students to be reflective about
which strategies to use in different situations. Teachers can discuss with students, for example, when it is
better to summarize and when elaboration is more fruitful.
Explaining What the Strategy Is, How to Use It, Why It Is Useful, and When It Can Be Used
When teaching a new strategy, effective teachers tell students what the strategy is, how to use the
strategy, why the strategy is useful, and when the strategy can be used (Duffy et al., 1986; McNeill &
Krajcik, 2008; Pressley & Harris, 2006; Pressley & Woloshyn, 1995). When a student learns what the