3.2 What Makes a Solid Reinvestment Task?
What Makes a Solid Reinvestment Tasks?
As we know, "Reinvesting Understanding of Texts" is not solely about comprehending texts.
Let’s examine what makes a solid reinvestment task. A solid reinvestment task:
- is meaningful/authentic;
- has a clear purpose and an intended audience;
- presents clear task requirements;
- must target the evaluation criterion “Use of knowledge from texts in a reinvestment task”;
- requires that students select relevant knowledge from the texts provided, organize this knowledge in a coherent manner and personalize/adapt it in light of the purpose and audience;
- can only be carried out using the texts that are provided, which are a rich source of information (i.e. does not rely heavily on students’ prior or general knowledge, opinions, personal anecdotes);
- requires that each student deliver a personalized final product individually.
What is meant by “personalizing” and “adapting”?
These two terms refer to the transformation of knowledge that is selected from texts.
“Personalizing” is the term generally used at the elementary level and “adapting” is the term generally used at the secondary level.
Cycle 2
The final product is personalized mostly through the knowledge that each student chooses to use from the texts and models that are provided and from available resources. It may closely resemble models of the final product.
Cycle 3
The final product is more personalized than in Elementary Cycle Two. It contains more of a student’s own ideas, more language from the student’s personal repertoire, and knowledge drawn from texts is used in a novel way (i.e. each student creates a unique text that differs from peers’ texts and from the texts and models that are provided).
For example, in an LES entitled “Which Animal Is the Best Classroom Pet?” students are presented with three texts on uncommon pets (e.g. iguana, snake, rat). Students construct meaning of the texts with the entire class (e.g. preview vocabulary, discuss preferences).
Using one of the animal texts, the teacher models how to fill in the graphic organizer (e.g. care requirements, food and eating habits, life expectancy). To demonstrate understanding, individually or in pairs, students then fill in graphic organizers for the other two animals. The teacher models how to complete a proposal form using the same animal as for the graphic organizer prior to students carrying out the task.
Finally, for the reinvestment task, students are asked to individually create a video proposal recommending to classmates and the teacher the animal that would make the best classroom pet and to explain why.
Source: Adapted from Competency 2 FAQ+ 8 Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur Winter 2016 English as a Second Language, Elementary and Secondary
Your Task
- Read the completed chart demonstrating how the reinvestment task is solid.
- Look at the suggestions of digital reinvestment activities.
- Answer the reflection question in your participant booklet.
Keep in Mind
When suggesting digital tasks to students, make sure that they are already familiar or you plan a moment to discover the tool. The digital activity must not be an obstacle to students to succeed in their final task.
Whether the task integrates technology or not, task requirements must be the same. The digital product is not evaluated, the content is.