Wraparound Teaching Strategy | Facing History & Ourselves

Search

Give
Sign Up Log In

Search

Give
Sign Up Log In
Collection Teaching Strategies
Students and teacher engage in discussion in a classroom.
Teaching Strategy

Wraparound

Encourage all students to share their quick reactions to a question, topic, or text.

Subject

  • Advisory
  • Civics & Citizenship
  • English & Language Arts
  • History
  • Social Studies

Grade

6–12

Language

English — US

Published

Save
Print

What Is the Wraparound Strategy?

To implement the Wraparound strategy, you pose a question or prompt to the class and then have each student share aloud their quick response. This strategy provides an efficient way for all students in a classroom to share their ideas about a question, topic, or text, revealing common themes and ideas in students’ thinking. Wraparound activities can also be provocative discussion starters.

How to Use the Wraparound Strategy

Step 1: Provide a Prompt

 Any question could be used as a prompt for a wraparound activity. Fill-in-the-blank statements such as “Justice is...” are especially effective when used with this strategy. Teachers often use the following prompt with the Wraparound strategy as a way to elicit students’ responses to a particular text they have recently read or viewed: “What words or phrases come to mind after seeing/reading this text?” Students should be given a minute or two to think about their responses before being asked to share.

Step 2: Students Share Responses

One at a time, students share their brief responses. It often works best to have students simply respond in the order in which they are sitting. This way, you do not have to call on students to respond; once their neighbor has had a turn, students know it is their turn to present. In a wraparound activity, all students typically share their ideas, although it is possible to allow students to say “pass.” Be sure to tell students not to say anything except the particular response, because otherwise the activity will lose the desired effect.

Step 3: Listen for Common Themes or Surprises

After everyone has shared, you can ask students to report back on common themes that have emerged or on something that surprised them.

Variations

After reading a long text, instruct students to select one sentence that resonates with them or seems to be an important idea. Have students read that sentence aloud. Be sure to tell students to listen for common themes. It is okay if the same sentence is read more than one time. This exercise can also be done at the very beginning of a class, using the previous night’s reading assignment. In this way, everyone will be able to have some ideas about the text, even if they did not do the reading.

  1. Provide a Prompt
    Any question could be used as a prompt for a Wraparound activity. Fill-in-the-blank statements such as “Justice is. . .” are especially effective. Teachers often use the following prompt with the Wraparound strategy as a way to elicit students’ responses to a particular text they have recently read or viewed: What words or phrases come to mind after seeing/reading this text?
    If you plan to use Wraparound during a synchronous session, either provide students the prompt ahead of time or give students a minute or two to think about the prompt before asking them to share.
  2. Students Share Responses
    To use the Wraparound strategy during a synchronous session, ask your students to type their brief response and share it through the chat function in your platform. Alternatively, you can ask students to unmute themselves one at a time to share their responses orally. Call on students by name so they know when it is their turn to share.
    To use Wraparound asynchronously, ask your students to share their brief response in a shared document/forum (such as a GoogleDoc, Google Jamboard, Padlet, or VoiceThread).
  3. Reflect on Common Themes or Surprises
    If students shared their brief responses during a synchronous session, ask them to reflect together on common themes that have emerged or on something that surprised them.
    If students shared their responses asynchronously, ask them to write or record a reflection. They can post their reflection in a forum or document shared by the whole class or submit it directly to the teacher.
    The following questions can be used to guide a synchronous discussion or an asynchronous reflection:
  • What were the common themes between your classmates’ responses?
  • What, if anything, surprised you about your classmates’ responses?

Get this teaching strategy in Google Drive!

Log in to your Facing History account to access all teaching strategy content & materials. If you don't have an account, Sign up today (it's fast, easy, and free!).

Login or Signup for Free

A Free Account allows you to:

  • Access and save all content, such as lesson plans and activities, within Google Drive.
  • Create custom, personalized collections to share with teachers and students.
  • Instant access to over 200+ on-demand and in-person professional development events and workshops
Collection

Teaching Strategies

You might also be interested in…

More Like This Teaching Resources Learning & Events

Unlimited Access to Learning. More Added Every Month.

Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.

More Like This View Upcoming Events View On-Demand Events
Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools.
— Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY
Contact us