Zoom In

After looking at my instruction through the planning lens of UbD, I have been working on trying to infuse a little creativity into my LLI lessons rather than sticking to the lesson format provided by the program.  One way I have tried to do this is in the way I do the book introduction.  Although it took longer than the usual intro, I chose to use Zoom In with a group of 2^nd graders, one of whom is an ELA student.  It is important during the intro to be able to implant and talk about new words and vocabulary.  The nonfiction book I chose to use was titled All About Boats, and there were many concepts and words the kids may not have had any schema on.  Zoom In allowed us to take a very close look at the pictures while discussing all of the different details the kids noticed.  I was really excited at how much information the kids were able to pull from simply looking deeply at the photos.

I chose two images.  The first was of a house boat, and the corresponding discussion is next to each photo.  I noticed that as the photo expanded, the kids seamlessly synthesized the new information they were observing, with very little guidance from me.  This routine worked like a charm!

I think I see the trees.

I see the house.

Palm Trees.

The beach… Mexico.

Close up beach house.

Oh wow.

There’s another building on top of that building.

I think its going to get taller and taller and taller.

They have a lot of plants.  Their house is a plant garden.

Teacher: “How has your thinking changed?”

You can see bigger.

First I thought it was a close up beach house.  Now I think it’s an apartment.

Wait!  I think it’s on a boat.

Teacher “Why do you say that?”

From here to here it looks tilted.  On close up it doesn’t look tilted.

G was right!

It’s a house boat!

It’s on the water!

“So what do you predict the book will be about?”

Boats.

The next photo I chose was a tug boat.

 

I think this is a boat that catches crab and fish. 

It looks like it can crash through ice.

This looks like a fishing pole.

It brings up one of those cages.

Teacher:  "You have lots of schema on this."

I usually watch this show called "Deadliest Catch."

 Oh.

I think that thing is one of those things that goes down with the cage.

Maybe it is pulling a boat.  A tiny boat.  I think it’s a rope tied to something. 

I guess G was right! But it’s huge instead.

I think this big boat isn’t doing anything.  The little boat is pulling.  I think the little machine is very, very strong.

They are a very strong boat that moves the huge boat.

They are strong. Their job is to pull boats!

Teacher: “These are called Tug Boats.”

In debriefing about Zoom In, I asked the kids, “What does this routine teach us about looking at the whole picture?” and they responded:

It teaches me about how you zoom out.

So you can know what’s going on.

Its important to see the whole thing.

You have to zoom out and see the whole picture.

I really enjoyed this activity, and was really pleased by the conversation that was generated, and the synthesis it promoted prior to reading a new book.  I can’t wait to use it again in the future!

Smith / Willett        2^nd Grade

Thinking Routine:   Zoom In

Connect:  “Zoom In,” is one way of introducing a topic using portions of a photograph or picture to draw student thinking out.  It uses description, inference and interpretation at the start of a lesson or to further explore ideas.   This was one of the first routines I chose to try with the kids in order to help them connect to something known on a much deeper level.  Students would need to activate prior knowledge and prior vocabulary and connect them to new skills gained with practicing sensory word usage and identification as well as new scientific exploration vocabulary.  This routine was going to help make a solid link between the Literacy content and Science content.

What I did:

►   Prior to the lesson I carefully selected some photos of things I found in my house that would be a familiar item to the kids, but would have a solid “Zoom In” quality about them when the picture was taken in a specific way.  I wanted the kids to struggle with what the item could be and really activate their deeper level thinking skills to try to figure out what the picture is showing them, what can they access in their background knowledge to help them, and what new words learned either in Science or Literacy could help them in describing the picture and eventually figuring out the item I wanted to reveal.  I chose a clock, a 10 lb. weight, and a running shoe.  I took zoomed in pictures of each and then a zoomed out picture of each.  I also wrote clues for each item using specific sensory vocabulary to help the kids try to figure out the item.  The picture was shown first, then the kids could guess, then I would reveal one clue, then another, and another, till eventually showing the last clue.  Kids would write their guess on a post it note to discuss with a peer. 

Peers would use the Accountable Talk questions such as: 

►     What Makes You Say That?

►     Say More About That

►     Do You Agree or Disagree

►     What Makes You Say That

Once each peer showed their post it, I revealed the zoomed out picture.  I was conscious about leaving the central figure to be shown last as we wanted students to spend "think time" posing their theories about what the image was and how it made them feel. After each piece was reveled we asked them if their thinking about the image had changed. 



Zoom In:  The hands of a clock shown to students during mini-                                                                        lesson                                                                                                                    

Example Clue: “I spin around and around and never stop.”



Zoom In:  The number 10 on a dumbell shown during mini-lesson

       Example Clue:  “I can go up and down when you move me.”

Extend:

After doing this mini-lesson on the “Zoom In” images, I thought it would be a great idea to integrate the DPS curriculum writing lesson on artifacts with this routine.  Instead of the kids just writing about their artifact, I had them do their own Zoom In pictures of their artifact and write their own clues.  Kids got to choose where the camera image was taken on their artifact item.  I wanted the kids to have the power of choice and to be able to evaluate whether or not their picture image was a true “Zoom In” or not and what choices they would make differently if they could do this again.  The kids also participated in a full-image picture of them with their artifact item.  We stapled the picture of the full image and a label on the back of the zoomed in image and clue writing.  The “Zoom In” work was placed in the hallway and post it notes were provided for other kids and adults to come by and write their guess on the item and place it on the child’s work.  Kids loved this interactive writing activity and would check daily to see who was guessing on their item and if they got it right.



Student-chosen front zoomed image of the helmet with student clue writing, a student response from another grade level, and the back picture of the student with his helmet and label.  Student reflected on the activity and told me he would have chosen to just zoom in on the holes on the helmet to make it harder to guess next time. 



Student used sensory words and clues to describe the item and chose to zoom in on the knot on the front of the bow. 

He liked his picture

and thought that his clues should have included more words to help people guess his item because it was a harder zoom image.



Challenge:

I think this routine was a great way to integrate two content areas and I would like to integrate that more in my curriculum choices next year.  It would be a great idea to incorporate the Zoom In routine when Science is doing the Plant Unit and I am doing Poetry.  We could use the camera again and create zoomed images of plants and create poetry clues to go along with them.  It would be a much deeper level writing and thinking activity for the kids after having the experience with the artifacts early on.

Zooming In

Zooming In

To launch my photosynthesis unit I gave students an illustration of a chloroplast with different molecule entering and exiting the organelle. I have students work in groups to solve the puzzle without me giving any answers.  



CONNECT - I have used this strategy in the past because I know that collaboration is a good way to active a groups's combined schema.  Most students are engaged, too, by the challenge of trying to solve a puzzle together. I know, too, that a class discussion is an important step in the process. I also know the importance of informally assessing each student's level of understanding by having students do a quick write in their notebooks

EXTEND -  Over the years that I have used this lesson I have extending my thinking from have students do this alone from working collaboratively.  I have also made the lesson more engaging about making a group competition to see who can solve the puzzle first.  I have also incorporated the individual writing piece into a n informal assessment rather than ending with the class discussion.

CHALLENGE - A challenge that I am often confronted with is some students know right away what is going on. It often spoils for other students in the group. I like to give this to students before I even give a pretest because I don't want them to infer that it is photosynthesis from the pretest alone. I suppose that I could mention before we do this lesson that if they already know, that I could have them complete it on their own at a separate table.