1.

Alphabet Brainstorm
2. Purpose: Alphabet brainstorm Is a comprehension strategy most effective when students have
extensive background knowledge. Students use it to review previous instruction and learning.
The chart serves as a tool for rigorous class review of terms, facts or event related to any given
topic.
3. Audience: Any content, any ability level, any grade level.
4. Text: Any text.
5. Guidelines for Implementation:
Divide students into collaborative groups
Provide each students with a blank Alphabet Brainstorming Chart
Select a broad topic, such as: The civil war, The great Gatsby, Climate change, differential
equations, Spanish Culture, Ceramics
Give students a 5-7 minute time limit
Students generate a meaningful related term for each letter in the alphabet.
Have groups share their charts with the class. Students must justify their generated terms by
making direct connections to lesson and text.
Students can complete the remaining of the chart while listening to their peers present their chart.
After all groups have presented their brainstorming, students can return to their chart and add
new terms in a different color.
6. Modification and Accommodations: Accommodations are made when students are
divided into collaborative groups. Using collaborative groups allows students to work
together and learn from one another. Teachers can also provide student with a
selection of terms for each letter. Students can then decide to choose one term and
they can justify why they chose it and why they feel it was the most important. The
chart can also be used to engage in background knowledge before teaching a lessons.
At the end of the lesson students can then use a different color to document new
knowledge.
7. Strengths:
generates background knowledge
great review tool
great tool for students to learn from one another
rigorous
creates meaningful learning
students can return to their list and remove or add terms
8. Weakness:
May be a bit more difficult to use with kindergartners or first grade students.
May be time consuming
Standards that could be met by using this strategy:
R.7, R.9, R.10
L.5, L.6
SL.1
W.2
Presented by: Evelyn Firman
April 30th, 2015