“Scaffolding” is an educator term to describe teacher actions to help students learn something new. Scaffolding could be a series of questions meant to prepare students for what they are to read. Scaffolding could be a timeline of a topic—say American history—to show where a subtopic—say the Civil War—fits into the big picture.
Scaffolding can also be simple diagrams to help visual learners understand what they are about to read or write. These diagrams help students “see” the organization of a reading passage, or they help students “see” the structure of a paragraph or essay they are about to write, providing clarity.
For example, suppose a student needs to write a biography of Coretta Scott King. Maybe the student has written a list of ideas related to Mrs. King’s life, from her education to working with her husband on Civil Rights matters to promoting his legacy. But this brainstormed list seems to be without order. The student doesn’t know what goes with what or how to begin. How could a diagram help? Take a look.
This diagram is a simple visual pattern following Mrs. King’s life, more or less in chronological order. With a little help, the student might see that Mrs. King’s life was private until she married; then her life became public as she worked with her husband on civil rights matters; then her life became even more public after his death as she led efforts to honor him and she spoke and wrote about ongoing civil rights matters. These insights could provide transition ideas from one paragraph to another.
If each box of the diagram is outlined in a color which corresponds to a portion of Mrs. King’s life or activities, the overall organization of the essay becomes clear.
A student can make a diagram like this after he creates a prewriting organizer such as a mind web or a brainstormed list. Or this diagram can take the place of that prewriting organizer. Color-coding the information is important because it helps visual learners “see” how the essay breaks down into smaller chunks.
A similar diagram can be made by a teacher to preview what students are about to read. Whether it is Junie B. Jones’ fear of school buses or why polar bears face a bleak future, a diagram showing students what they will read before they read it allows them to see the big picture and each subtopic in the order in which they will read about it. For children with reading comprehension problems, a diagram can help them understand and remember what they read.
English Writing Teacher 