When students learn through building up a big idea (robust disciplinary concept or claim), they tend to better remember the content.  They also tend to think more deeply and push themselves to think and use language as they engage in communication activities. Also, especially in speaking, listening, and conversation activities, students have a chance to get feedback on how clear and strong their ideas are.

​Building up an idea gives focus, structure, and durability to learning. The most important and useful skills for building up ideas are clarifying terms and supporting ideas with evidence and examples. An "idea statement" is typically a thesis statement, topic sentence, or claim (think of an essay). It can be the first meaty sentence used answer a unit's essential question. Some examples include:
 
  • Animal species adapt to survive.
  • Fractions and decimals represent parts of a whole.
  • Literature can be windows into understanding lives in different
    places and times.
  • A person's freedom is both internal and external.
  • Utopia is impossible.

Notice the potential for lots of clarifying terms and supporting with examples and evidence. Here is a model (using the idea-building visual) of a partially built-up idea inside a student's mind. Notice the very important "personal" building blocks used alongside "school/text" building blocks.













Below is a visual representing the Idea-Building Approach. The elements (many of which you already know and use) work together to help students build up the central idea of the unit. The learning process focuses on students' academic learning and personal growth.

 












RESOURCES

Zwiers, J. (2024). Overhauling learning for multilingual students: An approach for achieving pedagogical justice. (Corwin)





Idea-Building Approach