Which strategy best supports sixth-grade students' understanding of new social studies content?

Building a concept web on the board as the teacher discusses the main ideas provides students with a visual representation of the information, facilitating deeper understanding and engagement with new social studies content. This strategy allows students to actively participate in the learning process by organizing their thoughts and connecting new concepts to existing knowledge. The collaborative nature of this approach encourages discussion, questioning, and critical thinking, all of which are essential for comprehension and retention of complex ideas. Additionally, the concept web serves as a useful reference that students can use to see relationships between different concepts as the lesson progresses, aiding their overall learning experience.

Other strategies, such as assigning textbook readings, may not engage students as effectively or may lead to passive learning, where students simply absorb information without interacting with it. Giving a pop quiz on previous topics focuses on assessment rather than building new understanding and does not directly support students in grasping new content. Showing a video without discussion lacks interactive engagement and does not encourage students to conceptualize and relate the material to their prior knowledge. Thus, the use of a concept web stands out as the most effective method for enhancing comprehension in this context.