Noticings

When you teach students about "Noticings" you are asking them to teach themselves. Students look at examples of different works and tell you what they notice. For example, when I teach dialogue, I often ask students to look at a page that includes lots dialogue and tell me what they notice about the punctuation and use of capital letters. Students will basically write the rules for you, but they find them themselves as opposed to you just telling them.

I've used "Noticings" in writing units as well. Looking at our persuasive writing stack, I ask students what they notice that all of the persuasive essays have. Then I ask them what some have. You come up with a list "All" and "Some." When students write their own essays, all of them will include things like titles, paragraphs, and examples. Some of them will include subheadings and pictures and quotes. It is student-led learning.

Noticings ask students to find the information themselves. I like teaching with Noticings because students are often surprised at how much they already know. When students feel like experts, they develop a stronger connection to the material and their learning.