Brain in the Game

Purpose

Students access content by getting their Brain in the Game (knowing how to start) as they analyze a complex assessment question.

Materials

• Assessment question
• Brain in the Game handout (printed or projected)
• Brain in the Game template (English/Spanish)
• Notebook paper (if handout is projected)

Instructions

1. Pair students with a partner.
2. Project the assessment question.
3. Students get their Brain in the Game as they work through a complex assessment question with their partners:
   • Analyze the question’s visual stimulus (chart, table, picture, word problem, genre, etc.) by completing this statement 6-8 times, “If this visual (genre) could talk, it would tell me ____________.”
   • Identify 3-5 important vocabulary terms in the question and describe them to each other.
   • Predict what the assessment question might be about by summarizing the “big idea.”
4. Using a movement and discourse strategy such as Musical Mix-Freeze-Group, have pairs compare, discuss, and justify their responses.
5. Observe students’ thinking and clarify/verify as appropriate.
6. Students answer the assessment question, justify responses, summarize what they learned, and note how to avoid mistakes in the future.

Classroom Management

• Model the tasks with a simple, fun question before using academic content.
• Ensure each student has partner.

Differentiation

• Promote access by allowing students to process questions with a supportive peer/adult.
• Provide response support by providing sentence stems to frame responses, allowing text-to-speech support as needed, and/or allowing for speech-to-text or word prediction support if using a digital version of the Brain in the Game template.

Think It Up!

• Have students think more deeply about the concept by responding to a Think It Up prompt as an exit ticket or journal entry:
  • Compare the stimuli (visuals) in 2 questions. How are they the same? How are they different?
  • Justify that there are different ways to start answering assessment questions.
• Encourage students to use lead4ward’s Thinking Stems (English/Spanish) to frame their responses, if needed.