Instructional Playbook

Scaffolding for WISR

Using WISR as a lens to plan instruction allows educators to incorporate engaging learning tasks that provide high challenge and high support which creates a safe learning environment for students to take ownership and agency of their thinking and learning. All students are academic language learners and need to be explicitly taught how to use language specific to the discipline or content (Zwiers, 2014). Writing as a learning skill is a personal and public communication tool, a record of a learner’s thinking, and a way to make learning visible. WISR Learning

Inquiry is uncovering one’s understanding, asking questions, and building connections and provides the purpose for writing, speaking & listening, and reading & viewing. Speaking & Listening are essential for learners to build understanding and exchange ideas, information, and opinions through collaboration and engagement. Reading & Viewing empowers learners to strategically gain meaning, understanding, and knowledge to contextualize learning from text and other media.

Writing

Inquiry

Speaking & Listening

Reading & Viewing

Writing Scaffolds

Inquiry Scaffolds

Cornell Notes Graphic Organizers Sentence Stems/Word Banks Quick Writes

Costa’s Levels of Questions Claim, Evidence, Reason Discussion Diamond Share Trade Conversation Board

Speaking Scaffolds

Reading Scaffolds

Dyad Reading Close Reading Reading in 4 Voices Reading Activities/Tasks Scaffolds for Accessing Text

Novel Ideas Signals and Cues Choral Response Think Pair Share Sentence Frames Novel Ideas