Steps to List-Group-Label

• Select a main topic or concept in a reading selection.
• Students list all words they think relate to this concept. Write student responses on the chalkboard. Note: Since the concept is presented without a specific context, many of the student suggestions will not reflect the meaning of the concept in the reading selection.
• Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Groups join together related terms from the larger list. Have the teams provide "evidence" for this grouping—that is, require the students to articulate the common features or properties of the words collected in a group.
• Student groups suggest a descriptive title or label for the collections of related terms. These labels should reflect the rationale behind collecting the terms in a group.

Students read the text selection carefully and then review both the general list of terms and their collections of related terms. Students eliminate terms or groups that do not match the concept's meaning in the context of the selection. New terms from the reading should be added, when appropriate. Terms should be “sharpened” and the groupings and their labels revised, when necessary.