People learn best from others, so we thought you’d like to hear from others who have used and support the SGM® Approach to teach reading comprehension and critical thinking.

“Scientists have long known that human beings are storytelling creatures. For centuries, we have told stories to transmit information, share histories, and teach important lessons. While stories often have a profound effect on us due to emotional content, recent research also shows that our brains are actually hard-wired to seek out a coherent narrative structure in the stories we hear and tell. This structure helps us absorb the information in a story, and connect it with our own experiences in the world.” Scientific Learning. (2012, June 14). Using Stories to Teach: How Narrative Structure Helps Students Learn [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://54.186.226.228/blog/using-stories-teach-how-narrative-structure-helps-students-learn

12 Lessons to Begin Using the Story Grammar Marker®

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Tech Tuesday: Finding Story and Other Text Structure in “Minecraft” Education

September 25, 2023

Minecraft screenshotWe have previously discussed the potential of the incredibly popular game Minecraft for developing narrative language skills through the use of Story Grammar Marker®. At that time, I had described the game as potentially too complicated to use as an actual tool in activities, but I have since rethought that. The iPad version ($5.99) will allow you to create a simple “world” (use the Creative mode) and the building interface is easy to learn, operating much like LEGOs. As a result, spaces can be used to scaffold language for describing settings. Minecraft Education, on the other hand, offers a specialized, structured collection of Worlds you can use for both narrative and expository language. The software is available to anyone with a Microsoft 365 account and usable on a laptop, desktop, or again on the iPad...

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Tech Tuesday/Summer Study Series: Narrative Language and Social Emotional Programming

August 29, 2023

Image 1 - Darn“Interjections” has always been my favorite Schoolhouse Rock song, and I am sure we have some we would like to utter about summer being (almost!) over. But it is always good to return to work with a sense of purpose, right? It has been fun writing this year’s Summer Study Series and I thought this last piece was particularly relevant to our roles in being part of a collaborative community in schools. Engaging minds and hearts: Social and emotional learning in English Language Arts (click for full free PDF article) is an honest, insightful look at SEL programming and has helpful suggestions for its integration in ELA classes. To me, though not explicitly stated here, it highlights the role of narrative language intervention and applications of Story Grammar Marker® and the Critical Thinking Triangle in helping our students unpack stories to learn from the higher level elements of feelings, plans and mental states. Though this article relates to such instruction in Canada, it is just as relevant to schools in the USA...

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HASKINS LABORATORIES at YALE UNIVERSITY used Braidy the StoryBraid® for the comprehension and expression module of a 4-year, US Office of Education Developmental Study on early literacy acquisition: “Students made an average of 1 year’s growth in reading skills after 45 hours of RtI instruction.” See Evidence-Based Research

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