The Q-SSS-A process is the most structured and equitable way to engage students in structured conversations using academic language. Even if you do not have a membership to The Visual Non-Glossary, you can still plan out an amazing Q-SSS-A for free!

To use the Q-SSS-A template:

1. Download and open the Q-SSS-A template.
2. Search for the word or filter by standard to see a selection of words. Note: the visuals for any words labeled "FREE" can be accessed without a membership to The Visual Non-Glossary.
3. Click on the thumbnail image of the visual you are interested in to load the full-size image.
4. Drag the image into the empty box on the Q-SSS-A template slide.
5. Choose the question and sentence stem you want to ask by moving the green arrow.
6. Adjust the Signal, Share, and Assess settings. Move the [ ] cursors around each Signal, Share, and Assess you want for each visual.
7. For each conversation slide, show students the slide and facilitate the Q-SSS-A using the script in the notes or according to your own style.

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These posters have been used in numerous science classrooms to help students make predictions and build meanings of words. Display them permanently throughout the year and refer back to them as new words appear in the curriculum.

Pro Tip: When introducing a new word, have the students try to guess its meaning by looking at the morphemes.

For more morphemes posters, see Fabio Di Salvo's collection.

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Sometimes the relational question, or middle question, is not appropriate for the scope and sequence of your lesson, or you want to ask students to relate a vocabulary word to a different vocabulary word. When this is true, use the following question templates with two key vocabulary words. Simply fill in the blanks with vocabulary words, show students the corresponding visuals, and ask the question!

• How is _______ related to ________?
• How is _______ different from _______?
• How is _______ similar to _______?
• What is an example of _______? Why is this a good example?
• Why is _______ important for...?
• How would _______ change when...?

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There are many symbols repeatedly used throughout The Visual Non-Glossary. While many students can infer the meaning of these symbols as they pertain to the visuals, it may be helpful to create an anchor chart specifying exactly what they mean. This downloadable anchor chart explains the most common symbols in the Science and Social Studies visuals.

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The questions and sentence stems in this resource are designed to progressively require students to think and discuss more deeply as they examine and re-examine the visuals. This table explains the different levels.

The first level is observational, so that students are simply describing what they see in the visual. The next level is relational, where students are making connections between this word and other words. The final level is inferential: what can they predict or infer about how this concept would play out in hypothetical contexts? These three levels and their alignment to Bloom's Taxonomy are described in the table above.

In a heterogeneous classroom environment, it is recommended to start students at the observational level so that they can apply and share their background knowledge about the vocabulary. When questioning students at the relational level, it will likely be important to expose the students to the other vocabulary word(s) the question is relating. For example, when exploring the visual about the word axis with the question, "How is the Earth's axis related to its rotation?," it is important that the students have seen the visual for rotation as well.

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This is a printable chart that shows all of the icons on each of the QSSSA slides. Teachers can print this out and put it permanently on the wall, then use a magnet or stickable indicator to show which icon will be used in a particular structured conversation. Page two includes labels for each icon.

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