What the Heck is the Super Six? Simply put, the Super Six are 6 simple, yet powerful strategies to help readers navigate and understand a text. The Super Six are, in no particular order, Making Connections, Monitoring, Predicting, Questioning, Visualising and Summarising. When these six, super easy to implement strategies are used while teaching, they help students in ways beyond the page! If …. “the purpose of reading is to obtain meaning from text”, then using the Super Six helps students access text, in all its forms from visual to audio to written to spoken.
So why would you want to use the Super Six? Well, I like to think of like this-
Good Teaching = Learning
Learning = Comprehension
Comprehension = Understanding
Understanding = Knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer = Retention of information in long term memory
Simple, isn’t it! Of course, there is much more to this, but in essence, if you “teach” with good methods and strategies, then the child learns, if they learn and can access information, they can comprehend, if the student can comprehend they then understand, if they understand the information then that knowledge is transferred and retained into their long-term memory. I can certainly attest to this, I see it every day, and I see it even years after I first initially taught a new concept or idea to a student!
The Super Six are great strategies that have no limit of age, subject or text for them to be useful. As a Music teacher, I use these strategies with all my classes from Years 7 through to Year 12. The strategies are not meant to be confined to the English or Language Arts classroom. They can be used in all subjects, at any stage of learning, and with all types of text. As a Music teacher, I use them when looking at written text, visual images, film clips, and even musical scores. Some strategies I do use more than others, but that has come down to more of a personal preference than anything else! For example, I use “Predicting” with my Year 12 music students when they are in the Aural (Listening) exam. I ask them to read all the information and “predict” what they think they might hear in the music by “Making Connections” to what they already know about the music/composer/style/genre. This simple technique helps them enormously as they have an idea of what they should be listening for in the music sample. However, with my year 7 classes, I tend to use “Making Connections” more than anything else – I ask them how the text might connect or relate to other things that they know? Is this information they have heard before in History? Science? Maths? English? If you would like more detailed information, tips and tricks about how I use each of the Super Six in Music, click on the different strategies out find out more here – Making Connections, Monitoring, Predicting, Questioning, Visualising and Summarising.
The Super Six do have other benefits beyond the text though! I have found over the last few years of using these strategies, that other pleasant things have happened. One of the best things I have found is that because my students are comprehending and learning, they tend to be more focused during the lessons. This has meant that with better engagement, there has been a reduction in behaviour problems. I am not saying the Super Six are a “magic behaviour pill”, but I am saying that when students are “getting it” or they finally feel like the “penny has dropped” and they understand, they then start to enjoy learning and forget about making a nuisance of themselves. Using the Super Six has certainly made me a better teacher, and I do feel that more often than not, I am actually “teaching” and not spending all my time and energy managing difficult behaviours! And isn’t that what we want? I know I do. I want my students to learn, and if they are enjoying the lessons, that is certainly a big bonus for me!
Are you convinced about the Super Six yet? I hope you are! I love them. They make sense, they help both the teacher and the student, and who could ask for more? If you would like to start your own Super Six journey, there are few things that you should try. There is a stack of information out there, but first do yourself a favour and check out this link first. But, if you can’t wait to start, then save yourself a stack of time looking for resources to try because I have the best collated collection of resources for you to use today! My Super Six Bundle is perfect for you to start, or even continue your journey with the Super Six. The Bundle is great value, at only $10 (US). In it you get 160 pages of resources that you can choose, print and use in your classes straight away! Below are a few comments from some of my very happy customers:
If you are new to the Super Six, and would love some FREEBIES to help you, I have several different Super Six classroom posters for you to download. Click the link here to check them out! If you have liked what you have read, sign up for another fantastic freebie that is only available to my email subscribers! Click the link below to get a FREE Super Six Mini Bundle PDF with some samples from the value packed Super Six Bundle. As an email subscriber, you will get a newsletter, news of upcoming sales, as well as some great FREEBIES that are sent straight to your inbox! Woohoo, who doesn’t love a freebie? Go on, click to sign up.
Until next time
Happy Teaching
Julia form Jooya