Chelsea Meyer

5/4/14

EDOK: Text Comprehension

Article: Think-Tac-Toe, a motivating method of increasing comrehension
APA reference:
Samblis, K. (2006). Think-Tac-Toe, a motivating method of increasing comprehension. The
Reading Teacher, 59(7), 691-694.
Main Idea: Think-Tac-Toe boards allow students to choose the reading activities that they will
complete.
Summary: The article talks about the concept of Think-Tac-Toe boards. The teacher comes up
with nine tasks that the students will then get to choose from. By choosing the three activities,
the students get to work on comprehension strategies and get to do a variety of tasks. The teacher
is also able to easily differentiate the instruction/ tasks to the different ability levels and interests
of the students.
Important points:
The teacher presents nine different activities for the students to choose from.
o Each activity allows student to develop a reading skill.
o The skills can be adapted for different interests and reading targets.
o The activities range from drawing a picture, to writing activities, to creating a
timeline.
By providing a wide range of activities, the students are able to choose what interests
them while still developing the skill.
o The students choose an activity from each row (this ensures that the students
dont get bored)
o By incorporating student choice, the reading motivation increases dramatically.
Chelsea Meyer
5/4/14
o Because the students are motivated to read, the reading process becomes more
enjoyable for students.
Reflection:
I loved the idea of incorporating Think-Tac-Toe in my class. It is something that I have
never heard of before. I had an assignment in high school that involved picking a variety of
activities (in a Spanish class), but it was daunting and excessive. It wasnt enjoyable just because
of the sheer volume of the tasks. However, I think that this setup would suit elementary students
very well. By allowing student to choose their activity from a grid, the task wouldnt be
overwhelming. I think that I would incorporate Think-Tac-Toe with everyday reading projects as
well. Instead of doing traditional book reports, the students could choose three tasks from this
grid to present their book. This would be a lot more authentic and enjoyable approach for the
students.
The only thing that I may adjust is the amount of times that a student can do a particular
task. Although I want to encourage student choice, I wouldnt want a student to draw a picture
for every book that they read. Therefore, if I notice a highly repetitive task, I may ask the student
to try something new. I would also have the students combine all of their projects into a binder
that they could look through throughout the year to see how far they have progressed in their
comprehension and presentation skills.