Most Important Point
This simple protocol helps students identify and synthesize the most important point in a work. As students share their most important points with one another, they may also reflect on the role that personal values might play in identifying information as “important”.
Preparation
- The teacher chooses a text to work with: this might be a short text such as an advertisement, an extract from a text or whole work/body of work.
Process
- Ask students to individually write an answer to the questions, “What is the most important point made in this work? What makes you say that?” Reassure students there will be many credible responses.
- Ask students to stand and find an eye contact partner.
- Give students 2-3 minutes to share their responses with one another. This is not a discussion; the partner sets are to listen to one another’s responses, but not provide feedback on them.
- Give students 30 seconds to mingle and find a new partner.
- Repeat the process until students have shared their response with 3 partners.
- Ask students to reflect in pairs, small groups, as a class, or in their portfolios: Was your important point the same or different from other peoples? What did you notice about peoples’ reasons for identifying a point as “important”?
Credits
Adapted from: “The Adaptive School: Strategies and Moves for Facilitating Groups”. Thinking Collaborative, https://www.thinkingcollaborative.com/as-resources
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
