VIPs: Very Important Points


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40 Best-practices
Instructional Strategies

Procedures: After reading an informational selection, ask students to make a list of “Very Important Points.” “What were the most important facts revealed in this text?”

Examples: After reading a selection about animal adaptations, students create a bulleted list of the “Head-to-Toe” characteristics that help a species survive in the wild. After reading about potential threats to species, students summarize the VIPs in an essay titled, “Danger Zones: Wildlife in Jeopardy?” or “Perils of Prey.”

Variations:
1. Students summarize VIPs individually, in small groups, or as a whole class.
2. Roll out the red carpet for the VIPs! Students write ideas on a red sheet of paper.

Reading Strategies: Identify Main Ideas and Support Details, Synthesize Information, Recognize Themes, Build Vocabulary, Summarize Information, Paraphrase Ideas, Compare and Contrast Details, Sequence Events, Analyze Text Structures