Using SAFARI Montage to Support Developing Readers

We’ve heard from science teachers, special education teachers, media specialists and technology coordinators, and we know that there are many different ways educators use SAFARI Montage in the classroom. Recently we were asked by a reading coach how SAFARI Montage might be used to help support struggling readers. Here is our top 10 list.

Do you have any ideas to add?

1. Repeated viewings of a video/video clip using closed captioning.

• Start with video, sound and closed captioning on to follow along with the content.
• Repeat the video but turn off the sound and play at a reduced speed so students can read the closed captioning along with the video.
• Turn off the sound and the closed captioning and have students create their own captioning based on what they see onscreen and their previous viewings of the clip. Be sure students include any key vocabulary presented on screen!

2. Present key vocabulary terms on the board or on cards to activate prior knowledge and then have the students "hunt" for those vocabulary terms in the video (can be done with or without closed captioning).

• After viewing a video or video clip, students can define the key vocabulary terms based on their usage in the video.

3. Create "Anticipation Guides," which contain a series of agree/disagree statements about a video

• Have students read and discuss the guide and decide if they agree/disagree with the statements. After viewing the video content students can revisit their answers and explain why they changed their opinions, if in fact they do.

4. Hand out "KWL" (What I KNOW; What I WANT to Know; What I LEARNED) guides for a video.

• Use the multiple-viewings strategy with the closed captioning on to help students complete their charts. This activity can be scaled for differing ability levels.

5. Have students retell or summarize what they saw in the video, using key vocabulary terms and ideas presented before the clip and featured in the video.

• Depending on students’ ability level, summaries can be oral only, written only, or a combination of both.

6. After watching a clip, have students identify the correct content summary (a few words, a sentence or full paragraphs, depending on students’ ability level) from a series of choices.

7. Watch clips from an adaptation of a work of literature with closed captioning on, and then provide students with a passage from the original text to compare and contrast.

8. Use content on SAFARI Montage to activate prior knowledge or establish background knowledge prior to reading content area materials.

9. Build a playlist that consists of bookmarked clips of relevant subject area key vocabulary terms; playlist can be played back either in manual mode (one clip at a time, allowing for sounding out and reviewing words) or as a slideshow (clips in succession for spot recognition).

• Multiple-viewings strategy can be used here, especially in manual mode.
• Key vocabulary playlist can be used both pre- and post-viewing of a longer video on the topic to check for student comprehension.
• Students can create sentences with each of the key vocabulary words (orally, written, or both).
• Key vocabulary playlist can be used for a number of activities: crossword puzzle, word search, fill-in-the-blank sentences, etc.

10. Use specific Schlessinger Media programming, like Grammar for Children, Grammar Tips for Students, Reading for Children, Literature for Students, Writing for Children and Writing for Students to reinforce key reading and literacy concepts.

 Please help us grow our list with any ideas, suggestions or sucess stories! 

For in-depth discussion on this topic, please visit the forum:

• Best Practices [1]