List-Group-Label Strategy

contributed by Jennifer Farrell

Rationale:

List-Group-Label (Taba, 1967) is a pre-reading strategy designed to activate students' prior knowledge about a topic. It is a variation on brainstorming that can be used by the whole class, small groups, or individuals. While it is designed to activate prior knowledge about a topic, it could also be used effectively to begin vocabulary instruction. In this strategy, students begin by listing  all the words they can think of associated with a new topic.  They then group the words by looking for words that have something in common. Once word groups are established,  students decide on labels for each group. Once words are labeled, students engage in whole class discussion of why words belong in each group.

Alvermann, D.E., S.E. Phelps, & V.G. Ridgeway (2007). Content area reading and literacy: Succeeding in today's diverse classrooms. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Procedure:

Resources: Pen or pencil, paper, board or flipchart to record student responses

1. Before beginning a unit on The Crucible, I would tell the students that we will be beginning a play that is set during the Salem Witchcraft Trials. I will then ask the students to brainstorm anything that they know about the Witchcraft Trials. I will give between 5-10 minutes to brainstorm by themselves or with a partner. 

2. After brainstorming, I will ask students to form a small group with other peers or with other pairs. In the small groups, students will be asked to share, compare, and combine their lists and then group the words according to similarities. Students will receive 10-15 minutes to complete this task.

3. Once students have grouped words, they will be given 5-10 minutes to come up with labels for each of their groupings and explanations for why words belong in certain groups.

4. After labeling and developing explanations, students will share their findings with their classmates. Students could be given a transparency to write down their groups, they could write on the board or on a piece of butcher paper, or, to extend the learning, they could be asked to develop a graphic organizer using software like Inspiration to share with the class.

5. After sharing, if there are still holes in the information or prevalent misconceptions, I can step in to fill and correct as needed.

OTHER PROCEDURES:

I am thinking of the numerous ways that this strategy can be applied in a social studies classroom.  With the topics of study and the many terms and labels that exist, what a great way to have students brainstorm and work with groups to create lists and labels.  Some of the topics that I can think of in my world studies classes that Think-Group-Label would work with are:

1.  Types of crimes: A. crimes against people  B. crimes against property  C. victimless crimes

2.  Elements of a culture

3. The five themes of geography

4.  World religions

5.  Types of governments

6.  Types of economies

(Contributed by Joel G.)

One of the best places I have and will continue to use the list-group-label strategy is with establishing setting and period knowledge. Before we read, it is vital that we have a sense of life for our characters by understanding what their everyday experiences looked like. Before reading a story like Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult, my students do a list-group-label (as well as a think-pair-share) on the life of Amish people. We talk about their lifestyle, values, appearance, location, etc to help them activate prior knowledge about the setting as well as bring to the surface any misconceptions that the class (or I) may be able to clarify through the reading of the story.

Contributed by Lisa Holton