sos packet 10 - wordpress.com5. combine each group’s list of 5 things you didn’t know to create...

Simple instructional strategies that incorporate digital media in meaningful, effective, and practical ways.

Access more of these strategies at links.DiscoveryEducation.com/sos

SOS Packet 10Six Word StoryTweet Tweet

25 Things You Didn’t KnowGet VeNN-Y with It



Materials: A sample image for practice; an image, video segment, or article from Discovery Education that reinforces a concept in the curriculum; paper for images; markers

1. Introduce the strategy to your students by selecting an image from the media search. Have the students describe what they see. Then, ask them to predict what happened before and after the photo was taken. Students should provide a reason or use evidence from the image for their shared response.

2. Students will create their six word stories from the first practice image. Afterwards, they will share their stories with partners to discuss the similarities and differences between their stories.

3. Next, have students read an article, examine an image, or view a video segment. Have them create three different versions of a six word story to see how they can capture the concept in different ways.

4. Have students work in pairs to share their stories and select one final version. They should explain their thought process in the creation of their story.

5. To finish up, students will create a visual for their six word story.

Six Word StoryBy writing a summary with a limited number of words, students must focus on the important ideas and become thoughtful in their word choice. The purpose of this strategy is for students to discern the most important ideas and summarize information for any topic by studying an image, video, or article.



This strategy is a great way to encourage students to creatively select important ideas and summarize.

Another option for using this lesson might be to use an online art or photo editing tool like Sumo Paint or Pic Monkey to have students layer their six word stories to an image. When students use images from Discovery Education, the citation information is available to give proper attribution.



Materials: 5-10 minute video segment, sticky notes, writing utensil

1. Introduce the activity by reviewing the elements of a tweet:• Username: also known as a “handle”• Brevity: tweets are limited to 140 characters in length with enough

information for readers to understand the idea you want to convey2. Provide each student with at least 3 sticky notes and ask them to determine

their “handle” and write it at the top of each note.3. Play a video segment, pausing occasionally to allow students to “tweet”

something they learned on their sticky note. 4. Have students post their sticky notes around the room. 5. Conclude by having students participate in a gallery walk and create reply

tweets to at least 3 other students.

Tweet TweetThe purpose of this strategy is for students to focus on important details and summarizing. This is a great way for teachers to get instant feedback about what content students are learning using Discovery Education media.



This strategy is an effective way to encourage students to pay attention to important details that support their deepening knowledge of the concept. Allowing them to retweet engages them in rich classroom discussion.

1. Group similar tweets to create a graphic organizer or mind map.2. Have students develop their tweets into a blog post.3. Continue tweeting by creating a classroom “Tweet Board.”



Materials: large pieces of paper, markers, collection of media from Discovery Education relating to a current topic in your curriculum

1. Explain to students that they will be creating and collaborating on a “25 Things You Didn’t Know” list about a unit of study. Emphasize that the list they will be creating should contain facts that are new pieces of information – not information that they already know.

2. Divide students into five groups. Assign each group one topic related to the unit of study. Provide groups with a series of images, videos and articles about their topic. Hint: You can create folders for the assets using Discovery Education’s My Content feature. After adding videos, images, and articles to the My Content folders, you can assign the created folders to a student or a group of students.

3. Using their assigned resources, each group will develop a list of 5 “Things You Didn’t Know” about their assigned topic. To create their lists, students can use large sheets of paper and markers.

4. When groups finish creating their lists, have each group share their five facts. Ask groups to provide evidence as to why the facts they chose are important to know.

5. Combine each group’s list of 5 Things You Didn’t Know to create a collaborative list of 25 Things You Didn’t Know.

25 Things You Didn’t KnowOpen any entertainment magazine and you will inevitably find a page that shares “25 Things You Didn’t Know” about a certain celebrity. They often reveal surprising facts that give you a better idea of who they are as a person. In a world where students are constantly surrounded by different types of information, a 21st century learner must be able to filter information. The purpose of this strategy is for students to select and share what details are most important to a big idea of the unit.



This strategy is a great way for students to explore resources and filter out what information is most important.

Have groups create their “Things You Didn’t Know” lists using Discovery Education’s Board Builder tool. Board Builder allows students to create interactive boards using media resources.



Materials: 2 images that align with your curricular goals, a large Venn diagram with writing tool, paper and pencil for students

1. Display 2 images side-by-side. 2. Ask students to compare and contrast images, citing evidence to support their

observations.For example:

• “I think ___________, because I see _____________.”3. Record student responses in the Venn diagram. Remind students to cite

evidence to support their observations.4. Guide students to look closely at the images by asking guiding questions, such

as:• What are the differences in lighting in the two pictures?• How does the difference in lighting affect how you see the picture?• What mood was the artist of each picture trying to capture? How do you

know?• Are the images more alike or more different? Why do you say that?

Get Venn-y With ItAccording to Robert J. Marzano, one high-yield instructional strategy is to help students identify similarities and differences. And Harvey Silver states, in his book Compare and Contrast, that this strategy "strengthens students' memories by focusing their thinking on analyzing pairs of ideas, enhances their ability to remember key content and improves comprehension by highlighting important details.” By using digital resources, educators are able to level the playing field for students who may not have had real life experiences on which to base their reasoning.



1. Have students use the Venn diagram notes to generate a written analysis of the 2 paintings.

2. Reverse the strategy: Rather than providing students with the 2 images, start with a concept or vocabulary word. Have students search for 2 images that represent that concept in some way and create a Venn diagram that compares the images. For example:

word: erosion

Looking closely at an image provides students with the opportunity to practice locating details to back up or justify claims that they make about an overall piece of work. For students who find text analysis difficult, this can provide a friendlier way to practice analyzing and providing feedback about a topic.

sos packet 10 - wordpress.com5. combine each group’s list of 5 things you didn’t know to create...

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