Student-Centered Literature Strategies - Josh Coval

Teacher

Josh Coval is an English Language Arts teacher at Kennedy High School. His students engage with literature through lessons that put students at the center of their learning and encourage them to develop their own ideas and connections with the stories they read in class.

Instructional Strategy

Through lesson designs that include experiences like literature circles, Socratic seminars, fishbowl discussions, and world cafes, students are given numerous ways to become involved with literature and make connections with each other and the world around them.

The Six Thinking Hats strategy utilizes physical hats to support critical thinking and higher order comprehension. Explicit questions are provided to each of the six thinking hats to encourage students to think deeply about the text. This strategy encourages students to make connections with one another and beyond the classroom. Built into the strategy are opportunities for accountable talk, critical literacy, and inquiry.

The different hats and the “powers” each hat gives to the students when wearing the hat are listed in the image below. After reading “The Sniper” by Liam O'Flaherty, Josh’s students used this activity to analyze, discuss, and connect ideas. The story was used to talk about life’s challenges and how overcoming them can help a person become stronger.

See What It Looks Like

Take a visual tour of Josh’s classroom as he implements the Six Thinking Hats strategy.