Byrdseed Gifted

The first grammar lesson in our reading program is titled “types of sentences.” Since nothing excites gifted 11 year olds less than the difference between interrogative and declarative sentences, I knew I needed to spice up grammar. Rather use direct instruction, I used another model of instruction: concept attainment.

Concept Attainment

A concept attainment lesson utilizes inductive thinking and encourages students to construct their own understanding. Used  strategically, concept attainment causes student engagement to skyrocket.

STEPS

I began with a chart: two columns and a drawing of a brain.

I explained that I was thinking of a concept and the students’ job was to determine what this concept was.

I labeled the two columns: “examples” and “non-examples.”

Under “examples” I put three sentences that exemplified my concept “imperative sentences.” I then wrote three declarative sentences under “non-examples.” During this time, students were copying my notes down and silently determining patterns, rules, and parallels.

Naturally, some students understood (or thought they understood) the concept already. I warned them to remain silent. No blurting allowed yet.

On post-it notes, I then wrote three more sentences on post-it notes, but did not place any in the columns yet. Some of these sentences were examples and some were non-examples. Students determined which column each post-it belonged to by writing in their own copy of the chart. I walked around to check my classes’ understanding.

I then called on students to help me place the post-its in the right categories. At this point, I put the post-its in the correct categories – hopefully confirming students’ predictions.

Next, students determines the rules that the examples shared. I allowed them to collaborate. We then wrote these rules under the respective columns.

At this point, students attempted to create their own “example” sentence. I walked around and got an idea of their understanding.

I then asked if anyone knew the name of the concept that the examples represented.

Once the class named it, I wrote the concept in the brain drawing.

Students then practiced using the concept in an authentic situation.

Further Reading

I certainly did not invent this model, so I wanted to pass along some other resources to get a more formal description of the process:

• An explanation of the steps of the model of instruction
• Another explanation.
• A sample concept attainment lesson for a French class
• An excerpt from Teaching On Target, a book about models of instruction.

Have any experience with this model of instruction? Share your thoughts in the comments!