Differentiated Strategy 101: Cubing a Lesson

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Differentiated Strategy 101 Cubing a Lesson

• Barbara Ewing Cockroft, M.Ed. NBCT, presenter
• Visit http//www.cdeducation.org/ocea/handouts/39
  20-20Differentiation20Strategy20101-20Cubing
  20a20Lesson/
• For more activities and lessons using cubing

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• Be not afraid of going slowly. Be only afraid of
  standing still.-Bertie Kingore

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What Is Cubing?

• A technique that helps students consider a
  subject from six points of view
• Different commands or tasks appear on each side
  of a cube

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What Is Cubing? (continued)

• Cubes may vary with commands or tasks appropriate
  to the level of readiness of the group.
• Cubes may also be constructed with tasks relating
  to different areas of intelligence, such as
  verbal/linguistic or bodily/kinesthetic.

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What Is Cubing? (continued)

• In its most sophisticated form, it is a technique
  that helps students think at different levels of
  Blooms taxonomy.

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Cubing Tied to Blooms Taxonomy

• 4. Analysis
• How many elements are present?
• 5. Synthesis
• Combining Change to a new scenario.
• 6. Evaluation
• Rating Rank solutions in priority order.

• 1. Knowledge
• Recall What is this about?
• 2.Comprehension
• Understanding Why did this happen?
• 3. Application
• Transfer Use the information to predict.

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Examples of Cubing Statements

• Describe It. Look at the subject closely, perhaps
  with your physical senses as well as your mind.
• Compare It. What is it similar to? What is it
  different from?
• Associate It. What does it make you think of?
  What comes to your mind when you think of it?
  People? Places? Things? Feelings? Let your mind
  go and see what feelings you have for the subject.

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Examples of Cubing Statements (continued)

• Analyze It. Tell how it is made. What are its
  traits and attributes?
• Apply It. Tell what you can do with it. How can
  it be used?
• Argue For or Against It. Take a stance. Use any
  kind of reasoning you want logical, silly,
  anywhere in between.

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Why Do We Use Cubes?

• To differentiate learning by readiness
  (familiarity with content or skill level)
• To differentiate learning by interest

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Why We Use Cubes

• To differentiate learning by student learning
  profile (visual, auditory, kinesthetic multiple
  intelligences)
• To add an element of novelty to classroom
  instruction

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Getting Started

• Step 1. Identify the general concepts, skills
  and content, aligned with the state standards,
  that will be the focus of the activity as it
  pertains to different learners.
• What do you want your students to know,
  understand, and be able to do?

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Getting Started (continued)

• Step 2. Provide extended opportunities,
  materials, and learning situations that are
  appropriate for a wide range of readiness,
  interests, and learning styles.
• Does what you are teaching align with your short
  and long-term goals?

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Getting Started, continued

• Step 3. Pre-assess student readiness, interest,
  or learning style!
• Group students according to their readiness, with
  different colored cubes or task cards that match
  students level of understanding and ability
  level.

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Getting Started (continued)

• Step 4. Make sure the students understand the
  verbs and directions for each task.
• Offer choices!

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Getting Started (continued)

• Step 5. Students complete the tasks according to
  the directions.
• Allow sufficient time.
• Ask one or two students from each group to share
  their groups findings/project/task with the
  class.

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Helpful Hints

• Design the task cards to look basically the same
  among all of the groups.
• Use the cubing technique sparingly, so that the
  novelty does not wear off.
• Coordinate cubing activities with other teachers
  if you are in a team-teaching situation.

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Helpful Hints (continued)

• Use colored paper to indicate various interests
  or learning styles (not readiness-based
  grouping).
• Students begin by sitting with other students
  using cubes of the same color.

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Helpful Hints (continued)

• If the first roll is an activity that the student
  does not want to do, a second roll is allowed.
• After students have worked on their activity
  individually, have them come together in groups
  to synthesize.

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Variations on Cubing

• 1. Number the list of tasks to be completed.
  Roll the die to select the item on the list to
  complete.
• 2. Write each task on a tongue depressor and
  let students select one.

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Variations (continued)

• 3. Incorporate learning styles in the cubed
  activity, such as visual/spatial
  bodily/kinesthetic, etc.
• 4. Design a cube for reading nonfiction (Who?
  What? When? Where? Why? How?) especially
  powerful in content areas.

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Helpful Tools
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Knowledge

• Knowledge - factual answers, recognition, testing
  recall
• Process Words who, how why, what, tell, know,
  where, name, label, omit, when, list, define,
  select, choose, specify, match, record, identify,
  numerate, describe, recount, memorize, recall
• Products/Outcomes list, definition,
  recitation, lecture, worksheet, chart, facts

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Comprehension

• Comprehension - translating, interpreting,
  extrapolating
• Process Words cite, tell, infer, report, show,
  explain, identify, locate, discuss, classify,
  describe, indicate, translate, recognize,
  summarize, paraphrase
• Products/Outcomes summary, discussion,
  explanation, report, review, puzzle, game, lesson

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Application

• Application - to situations that are new,
  unfamiliar, or have a new slant apply rules,
  laws methods, theories
• Process Words use, solve, select, teach, show,
  collect, relate, explain, transfer, exhibit,
  predict, informs, practice, classify, compute,
  illustrate, determine, produce, establish,
  develop, simulate, experiment, demonstrate,
  discover, dramatize
• Products/Outcomes map, model, diagram,
  illustration, interview, experiment, drawing,
  collection, chart, timeline, mobile

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Analysis

• Analysis - breaking down into parts, forms
  identifying motives or causes, making inferences,
  finding evidence to support generalizations
  clarifying, concluding
• Process Words probe, survey, dissect, outline,
  contrast, identify, compare, examine, discover,
  organize, correlate, illustrate, prioritize,
  combine, separate, diagram, differentiate,
  distinguish, categorize, investigate, subdivide
• Products/Outcomes graph, diagram, survey,
  questionnaire, plan, research paper, outline,
  attributes, goals/objectives, chart, mind map

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Synthesis

• Synthesis - combining elements into a pattern not
  clearly there before, ability to put parts
  together to form a new whole
• Process Words make, plan, adapt, invent,
  create, develop, translate, design, initiate,
  generate, make up, compose, propose, predict,
  integrate, originate, rearrange, assemble,
  collaborate, categorize, hypothesize, formulate,
  incorporate
• Products/Outcomes song, play, newspaper, film,
  mural, story, advertisement, poem, invention,
  formula, solution, art product

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Evaluation

• Evaluation - evaluate according to some set of
  criteria and state why ability to judge value
  for purpose judging the value of something
• Process Words rate, judge, revise, choose,
  critique, defend, justify, decide, assess,
  contrast, support, compare, criticize, support,
  validate, determine, recommend, appraise,
  conclude, interpret
• Products/Outcomes panel, discussion, judgment,
  evaluation, opinion, editorial, verdict, rating
  scale, debate, court trial, ranking

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Examples (refer to this website
http//www.cdeducation.org/ocea/handouts/3920-20
Differentiation20Strategy20101-20Cubing20a20L
esson/

• Grade 3 Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes task card
• Grades 6-8 Task cards to correspond to The
  Outsiders (easy and difficult readiness levels)
• Grades 6-8 Revising cube (easy and difficult
  readiness levels)
• Grade 10 Stereotyping (English or Social Studies)

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Social Studies Level 1
For a blank template of a cube, visit
http//www.cdeducation.org/ocea/handouts/3920-20
Differentiation20Strategy20101-20Cubing20a20L
esson/