Depth and Complexity Framing Activities {FREEBIE}

Hi! I’m Lisa. Thanks so much for downloading the Depth & Complexity Framing Activities Freebie! If you’re not familiar with Depth & Complexity, let me invite you to visit my friend Ian Byrd’s website to learn more: byrdseed.com/introducing-depth-and-complexity. I love the Depth & Complexity Icons, and they’re a wonderful way to deepen understanding, differentiate instruction, and they belong in every teacher’s toolbox. They were developed by Dr. Sandra Kaplan, and they are under copyright, so anything created with them must be free (like this!). If you use these, I’d love for you to share what your students do with me! Tweet me at @gifted_guru or send me an email at lisa@giftedguru.com. Best Wishes! Lisa, aka Gifted Guru

How to Create a Depth & Complexity Frame Look at slides 6 -9 to review the Icons, their meanings and common prompts. Select Slide 3 or 4 for the frame format. Slide 4 allows for diagram/drawing space. Choose your topic or guiding question/idea. Put this in the center box where it says “Topic.” Choose four Depth & Complexity Icons {Slide 5} that will work well for analysis of this topic, question or idea. You may wish to create different versions for different students. Copy and paste one in each of the four spaces surrounding the center box {for Slide 4, use the corner boxes}. For Slide 3, create short prompts for each of those icons and write those in the text boxes that say “Put prompt here.” No prompts are used on the Slide 4 version. Print and go!

Put prompt here Topic Put prompt here Put prompt here Put prompt here

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Note: The Depth & Complexity Icons are copyrighted by J Taylor Education. Nothing created with them can legally or ethically be offered for sale – only given away. I share this resource purely as a free resource with gratitude to J Taylor Education for their generous willingness to allow people to create free resources with their icons. Please respect this copyright. For more information, as well as some free downloads, please visit jtayloreducation.com.

Depth & Complexity Icon Definition Example   Language of the Discipline What vocabulary terms are specific to the content or discipline? Tools Jargon Icons Acronyms Special phrases Terms Slang Abbreviations Details What are the defining features or characteristics? Find examples and evidence to support opinions and ideas. Parts Factors Attributes Variables Distinguishing Traits Patterns What elements reoccur? What is the sequence or order of events? Make predictions based on past events. Predictability Repetition

What information is unclear, missing, or unavailable? Depth & Complexity  Icon Definition Example   Unanswered Questions What information is unclear, missing, or unavailable? What evidence do you need? What has not yet been proven? Missing Parts Incomplete Ideas Discrepancies Unresolved issues Ambiguity Rules What structure underlies this subject? What guidelines or regulations affect it? What hierarchy or ordering principle is at work? Structure Order Reasons Organization Explanation Classification “Because…” Trends Note factors (Social Economic, Political, Geographic) that cause events to occur. Identify patterns of change over time Influence Forces Direction Course of Action Compare, Contrast and Forecast

Draw conclusions based on evidence Depth & Complexity  Icon Definition Example   Ethics What moral principles are involved in this subject? What controversies exist? What arguments could emerge from a study of this topic? Values Morals Pro and Con Bias Discrimination Prejudice Judging Differing Opinions Point of View Right and Wrong Wisdom Big Ideas What theory or general statement applies to these ideas? How do these ideas relate to broad concepts such as change, systems, chaos vs. order, etc? What is the main idea? Draw conclusions based on evidence Make generalizations Summarize Theory Principle Main Idea

Across the Disciplines Depth & Complexity   Icon Definition Example Across the Disciplines Relate the area of study to other subjects within, between, and across disciplines. Connect Associate Integrate Lind Ideas Cross-Curricular study Changes over Time How are elements related in terms of the past, present, and future? How and why do things change? What doesn’t change? Connecting points in time Examining a time period Compare and Contrast

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