Recognizing a Supportive Community

Session Three

Present practice challenge.

• Announce to students that because of their successful detective work the previous day, they have been asked to find out whether another group of people is a supportive community or not. Share the picture book or annotated pictures you have assembled. Distribute a copy of What We See and Hear to each pair of students.

Focus on the drawing.

• Ask students to look at the first picture for information about the people, places, things and activities. Encourage students to use their tube to help them notice details about the people. Instruct students to record this information in words or simple drawings–one piece of information per box–on What We See and Hear. After a short while, invite students to share their information about the people, places, things and activities with the rest of the class. As was done previously, record their suggestions on cards or paper and attach to a chart on the wall. Invite students to add new information on the class chart to their sheets.

Examine the story.

• Read, with students, the text under the picture. Ask students to add any new information in the relevant boxes on their chart. As before, share these ideas with the rest of the class by pasting cards or paper with the information to the class chart. Invite students to add information to their sheets that they had not already noticed.

Model making a decision.

• Show students how to sort through their information to see which conclusion is supported by each piece of information. Distribute an enlarged copy (e.g., 11" x 17") of Is This a Supportive Community ? to each pair of students. Walk students through the procedure of cutting out the information boxes on What We See and Hear, sorting the slips of paper according to the conclusion each supports and pasting them in the correct column on Is This a Supportive Community? Model the procedure by taking a slip of information from one student's chart and showing where it would be pasted on the conclusions sheet. After sorting and pasting the relevant slips of paper, each pair of students should then decide what overall conclusion is most consistent with the clues; i.e., yes, no or maybe. Students indicate their conclusion by placing a check in the appropriate box at the bottom of Is This a Supportive Community? Remind students that everyone does not need to reach the same conclusion.

Debrief practice session.

• Ask several students to explain their conclusion and to give a reason. Discuss any difficulties experienced during this activity. Collect the completed charts on Is This a Supportive Community? to determine how well students match clues to the implied conclusion.