One World Foundation®

Global Education for World Peace

Open Response Strategies
Whether in a classroom setting or outside of school, we are required to make decisions in a logical manner on a daily basis.  In doing so, we observe, analyze and process information relevant to the subject.  This often requires us to either activate our own background knowledge on a topic or acquire information through research.  Each step in the problem solving process depends upon the ability to communicate effectively.
            When equipped with a strong foundation to communicate, children are able to use their existing knowledge and thinking skills to derive and support inferences from their reading.  Teaching students to read like a scientist in turn builds upon their foundation for comprehension, thus further developing their critical thinking skills.  When students are able to relate a concept to its basic origin, they are then able to think on a more advanced level. 

Attend our workshop and learn how to help students effectively answer open response questions!
 

8:30AM - 3:00PM


*ENCOURAGE your students to tackle Open Response questions with CONFIDENCE


*CREATE Life Long, Successful Learners


*LEARN and APPLY EFFECTIVE Open Response Strategies


*Take the "FEAR" out of Open Response Problems


*DEVELOP a strong foundation for problem solving


*TEACH your students HOW to READ, EVALUATE, INFER and ORGANIZE information in a methodical manner

Sample pages from the Oen Response Strategies workbook

Table of Contents
Introduction .......................................................................1
What Does “Open Response” Mean?...............................2 - 4
Language Acquisition:  A Repetitive Process……............5 - 7
How Do Children Acquire Language?………..……………….8 – 9
Open Response Lesson Goals…….………………………………10
An Integrated Approach…………..……………………………….11
Open Response Strategies…………………………….…………..12 - 13
Math Open Response…………….......…...….……………………..25
Science Open Response………………………….......................26 - 29
Social Studies Open Response……………………..………...……30 - 33
Using Graphic Organizers………………………………..……………34 – 39
Applying the Scientific Method………………………..……….....40 - 45
Lessons Plan Templates…………………….………………………….46 – 48
MASS & RI State Frameworks – ELA ………………….....…..49 - 58
 

Open Response Strategies ฉ2008
One World Foundation™
All Rights Reserved




What Is An “Open Response” Question?

 

Open-ended questions, aka “Open Response Questions,” focus on our students' understanding, ability to reason their ability to apply knowledge in a progressive manner.  Such questions enable students to communicate their knowledge and achievement more clearly than in a multiple-choice format.  Students are able to make inferences using their background knowledge and ability to support their responses in more detail.  Students are made aware there is more than one way to solve a problem, prompting them to engage in a higher level of thinking.  There is a process that must be followed which assists our students in effectively organizing their thoughts prior to responding.  This organization process is commonly known as “pre-writing.”

Students are provided with a rubric on which to base their responses.  This provides our students with clear expectations AND gives them the tools they need to succeed.  The rubric ranges on a scale of 1 – 4, with the criteria for each score being made available to them.  In order to achieve a score of  “4,” all components must be met in their entirety. 

Open Response questions address the essential concepts, processes and skills that go beyond the specifics of instruction to define a content area.   In general, they require more critical thinking and yield multiple solutions.  Open Response questions also require teachers to interpret and use varied criteria in evaluating their students’ responses.  These types of questions also require our students to LEARN concepts as opposed to simply memorizing facts.