1, 2, 3: Gradually Releasing Responsibility

     The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model has been around for quite some time as a model of best practices.  I use it on a regular basis with my students.  But lately I have been thinking about how I have them be a part of this method.  I feel it's important to let students in on the "secrets" that make good teaching and learning.  For example, I already let students know when I am doing a formative assessment ("I can't help you with this assignment because right now I need to see what you can do by yourself.  This will tell me what and how I need to teach in the future.") and why I am using the results of that formative assessment to guide my instruction. (Today, friends, I am putting you into groups based on your score on that formative assessment you took last week...") . 

     The new Common Core standards ask us to increase the text complexity in our classrooms.  It is not enough just to have complex text for high stakes assessment.  Our students need to "wrestle" with highly complex text routinely in their classrooms.  We need to model how we attack a text that students have absolutely no background knowledge about.  We need to hold them accountable for the strategies we have taught them no matter what type of text they encounter.

     I decided the gradual release of responsibility model needed a catchy name and make-over.  GRR has become 1-2-3 in my classroom.  When I say:  "Today you have a 1-2-3 assignment."  or "Today's work in class is getting you ready to do a 1-2-3 assignment tomorrow.".  For a 1-2-3 assignment, students attack the text in three ways:

1-  Activate Thinking (gesture:  point to head with pointer finger).  At this point in the year my students know all the pre-reading strategies.  Instead of choosing one for them, I ask them to choose and share with a buddy.  Along with sharing the strategy, they also must share why they picked that particular one.  I also have them write this down.  It is important for students to remember that they must engage their brains before reading and that engagement can take many forms depending on their purpose as a reader.

2-  Read through the entire selection (gesture:  point to your eyes with two fingers).  Students need to read the assignment all the way through in order to get the "big picture".  Reading all the way through includes titles, captions, and headings.  

3-  Selective Reading (gesture:  left hand- hold up three fingers with one hand, "pick" them with the other)  Students should answer as many questions as they can.  Then they should look at the choices (if questions are multiple choice) and reread the selection selectively just to find the answer to these questions.  If you are asking the students to do short answer questions, have them start the answer (even if they don't know it) by turning the question around (also called TTQA).  Simply by writing down the words of the question, students will be able to know what key words they will need to focus on during the test.