How does teach-okay compare to a graphic organizer? They both provide a visual cues: gestures to look at on the one hand vs. a graphic representation on the other. However, teach-okay lends itself more to providing lots of opportunity to practice without having to risk a low grade or experience the tedium of filling out a worksheet. We used teach-okay to make inferences (one finger pointed up, arm partially outstretched, big grin - as if saying, "Ah ha! I'm brilliant! I thought of something.") This is followed by the text evidence, indicated by making a squiggly motion across the palm of the hand as if tracing a line of text. This was so much more effective than the herring-bone graphic organizer suggested by the text book. After practicing with me, students were working in small groups: reading and making inferences. They were engaged and eagerly helping each other. The culminating activity was students writing a short paragraph about inferences they could draw about one of the passages in the story we were reading. The writing was pretty good overall and the reading period was quite enjoyable.

There is definately a place for the graphic organizer, but you're right in that the Teach/Okay is such a key piece to kids being able to take the knowledge that they have just heard from you and put into their own words for the synthesis part. Oh and by the way...enjoy the lesson all the more!

Power to the Teacher!
Chris