Helping Students Make Literary Connections

Helping Students Make Literary Connections  

Depth and Complexity Cross Curriculum Connections Matrix

Over the years we have heard it over and over again, "You must get your students thinking deeply and critically". This is true and is vitally important, so before you decide to stop reading this post, please consider learning about Depth & Complexity Right Angle Curriculum Connections. Many teachers across OMSD are very familiar with Depth & Complexity Thinking Prompts, but using the prompts to help students make Deep & Complex  Right Angle Curriculum Connections takes the thinking prompts to the next level! 

YOU WILL BE SURPRISED HOW MANY TEXT CONNECTIONS YOUR STUDENTS WILL MAKE WHEN THEY LEARN TO USE RIGHT ANGLE CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS MATRIX.

To begin with, you must have already taught your students the Depth & Complexity Thinking Prompts, these prompts are also called "GATE Icons". There is a plentiful amount of information in regards to the Gate Icons online. Once students become familiar with GATE Icons, you can begin helping the students make Right Angle Cross-Curricular Connections. 

The whole idea is for students to combine a deep prompt with a complex prompt. For example, below you will see two black x's on the Right Angle Matrix. The first black x is marked in the box where the thinking prompts "impact", & "change over time" intersect. This would prompt the students to make a connection where, for example, a character's actions impacted the plot of a story that has changed over time. These connections are powerful because the can relate to everyday life, If you think about it, we have been impacted over time with many life choices we have made. When students begin to understand how multiple  Thinking Prompts, and content can be combined to relate to "real life", learning takes place, and deeper and complex thinking naturally occurs. 

Furthermore, illustrating how the Right Angle Curriculum Connections matrix works, please note that there is a black x where "ethics" and "judgment" intersect. Think about it! How many times has your class been reading an informational article and an ethical dilemma has caused some kind of judgment? There are ethical decisions made every day in our world that involve judgments, and once students begin to make these connections, literature can come to life!

INCORPORATING THINKING PROMPTS OF DEPTH & COMPLEXITY, COUPLED WITH RIGHT ANGLE CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS, WILL PROVOKE IN AND OUT OF THE BOX THINKING THAT CONNECTS TO OUR WORLD.

I would highly encourage you to take some time and learn how to incorporate Depth & Complexity Right Angle Curriculum Connections into your instructional lessons. Yes, they may be designed for GATE students, but they can be used with any student. Over the past few years, I have seen how these thinking prompts have opened up a whole new avenue of students thinking in more "deep" and "complex" ways. click here for the pdf

Uniquely Teaching, -Carlos Gonzalez carlos.gonzalez@omsd.net