In her fourth-grade class last week, Mrs. Harris used *WICOR to increase students’ academic achievement while reading the nonfiction book, Who would win: Alligator Vs. Python. Mrs. Harris facilitated class discussions about the characteristics of each contender; then students organized the information into a comparison chart and wrote about the similarities and differences between the two reptiles. Afterwards, students engaged in a Socratic debate, wherein they picked a side and defended their points of view with evidence from the text. Students used their accountable talk to express their opinions and request more information which revealed that the use of WICOR and Socratic debate was a success toward student learning.
*WICOR stands for Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading. WICOR is an AVID best practice that is used to help students learn at higher levels and increase rigor in the classroom.
