Concept+and+Attributes

Ability to use keen powers of observation and filter relevant details making connections to the big picture. 1.  Understand the attributes of someone who is attentive to detail 2.  Appreciate the value of being attentive to detail 3.  Understand strategies to develop one’s ability to be attentive to detail. · Provide students with pictures of magnified parts and pictures of wholes. Ask them to group the pictures and define them as those focused on details and those focused on the big picture. Concept attainment activity. · Ensure students justify their categorizations · Discuss the positive and negative implications of being attentive to detail. Can it be bad to be too attentive or not attentive enough? Explain to students they will be doing activities to develop through observation skills to inform the big picture to increase depth of knowledge to be able to distinguish pertinent information and to evaluate it based on criteria Refer students to the literal meaning and encourage them to reflect on their own definition. Ask students to come up with characteristics of students who are/are not attentive to detail. Using the activities that follow introduce the basic attribute of attentive to detail. 1.  Individuals who are attentive to detail have keen powers of observation. 2.  Individuals who are attentive to detail carefully and systematically observe and examine all details; information is then sorted by relevance to the task at hand or the “big picture”. 3.  Individuals who are attentive to detail pay closer attention to clues within details in order to make connections to the task at hand and inform their understanding of the underlying messages or hidden motivations within the big picture. **Attribute #1:** Individuals who are attentive to detail have keen powers of observation. Warm up activity - Quick Eye Exam to get students in the frame of mind for the discussion and activity to follow. __ Quick Eye Exam __ Count how many F’s are in the following passage FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS (Answer: Total is 6 but most people recognize 3. The F’s in the word OF are most often overlooked.) · Write attribute #1 on the board. Invite students to do Activity 1 – Barrier Game. After the activity invite students to discuss the characteristics of a person who is attentive to detail and strategies they used that would transfer to other situations. · Decode the picture Show a nondescript picture. Pose the question what happened in the picture. Get students to work in groups to find evidence to support their answers. Describe the technique of quadrangle observation by focusing on 4 equal sections of the picture. Invite students to inspect each section to gather more evidence. Invite students to consolidate their findings to create their hypothesis regarding the meaning of the picture. Woman without her man is nothing. Woman, without her, Man is nothing. **Attribute #2:** Individuals who are attentive to detail carefully and systematically observe and examine the information presented then sort details by relevance to the task at hand or the “big picture”. Solve the Puzzle using a Jigsaw strategy. · Activity 2: Divide a picture, puzzle or written passage into 4 pieces. Divide the class in groups of 4. Each member of a group assigned a numbered head A, B, C, D. All A’s from each group examine 1st piece of the puzzle. All B’s from each group examine the 2nd piece of the puzzle. Continue for the 3rd and 4th piece. After examination members of each group reconvene and try to solve the puzzle with the information they gathered. Allow 10 minutes for this stage. Next provide a systematic approach to examine the pieces and explain the logic for this strategy. Have the A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s reexamine their puzzle pieces again using the systematic strategy. Members of each group reconvene for the final time to solve the puzzle. Encourage students not disregard information before discussion with their teams. Suggest that a systematic approach allows the detail to be gathers and sorted more efficiently and completely. · Activity : Multiple meanings to the same passage. Invite students to read the following passage and determine what different messages could be interpreted by emotion by changing punctuation marks. **Attribute #3:** Individuals who are attentive to detail pay closer attention to clues within details in order to make connections to the task at hand and inform their understanding of the underlying messages or hidden motivations within the big picture. · Suggest to students that the skill of being attentive to details requires more than finding minutia. The details need to be sorted and be relevant to the task at hand. Refer to Activity #1 and point out items form the picture that do not support the student’s hypothesis. Ask students why they would or would not use those details to support their case. Invite students to reflect on the process they use to determine whether the details are relevant to the big picture. Suggest that having criteria and always referring back to the criteria helps to organise and sort details. · Activity 4: Use Media literacy to get students to think about the underlying messages in advertisements. Decode the picture – Present either a video clip or a visual of a popular product. Have students examine the visual and write down their perceptions and feelings as they view the visual on the surface. Suggest to students that the images within the visual have deeper meaning that is designed to excite their subconscious. This results in hidden suggestions that encourage the students to the product or suggests to the student that the product will give a certain image to the student if chosen. Explain to the students that these hidden messages may not be noticed unless the student is attentive to the details. Introduce Student Resource #1, //Attentive to Detail//. Review each of the elements: key attributes of the concept, reasons for developing the attributes of attentive to detail, similar and potentially confusing terminology, and the sefl-assessment rubric. Help students create their own example for each attribute by asking them to think of a time when they demonstrated the attribute. Encourage students to refer to this resource when using the concept in the future.
 * __ Attentive to Detail __**
 * Objectives: **
 * Introduce the Term **
 * Identify the Attributes of the Concept **
 * Warm up activity **
 * Reinforce the Concept **

Distribute a copy of Assess Attentive to Detail (Activity Sheet 5) to each student. Present students with the following challenge: Given a group of people, use the attributes on the activity sheet to determine who is most curious or inquiry minded. Provide students with a list of characters. The list might include: · Characters from TV shows such as CSI. · Characters from stories or novels students are reading or have read recently Model the activity with the class, if necessary. Read (or review) the story; model the task when you arrive at the first “incident” that might demonstrate keen observation. Stop and think aloud about whether the incident demonstrates any of the attributes. As you continue through the story, invite pairs of students to discuss each incident to decide whether the character demonstrates the attributes of keen observation. Once students have completed the story, invite them to decide which of the characters demonstrated the greatest level of keen observation. Extension Activity 3 – Design to Specifications Wonderland wants to add another ride that is accessible to visitors of all ages. There is a design competition where the students will submit their designs for review. Have students determine the criteria for the amusement ride. Students then determine the elements of the amusement ride they will need to incorporate in their design to support their criteria. Students must justify their reasoning for their decisions. Try to draw out relevance vs non-relevance to criteria they chose. At appropriate times over the ensuing following weeks, ask students to use this concept in regular classroom situations, including the following: · When reading newspapers or watching the news on television; · When presented with a perplexing or challenging problem; · When reading information from a text, viewing a visual piece of work · When developing or assessing solutions to a problem In addition to inviting students to recognize when they and others exhibit attentive to detail encourages students to develop the habit, in appropriate situations, of becoming more observant of the world around them. Encourage students to refer to the rubric found in the Student Resource #1 when self-assessing their understanding of the concept. <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msolist: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol;">· Allow students opportunities to apply the concept two or three times without evaluation. <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msolist: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol;">· Guide students in interpreting and using the rubric to assess their own responses. <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msolist: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol;">· Encourages students to use the rubric whenever they use this concept. <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msolist: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol;">· To use the rubric for teacher evaluation of student work, remove the first person (student) reference from each descriptor.
 * Apply the Concept in everyday teaching **
 * Assessing Student Understanding **