What strategy is Ms. Varney using when she starts lessons with a question for students to discuss?

Ms. Varney is employing a strategy of building background knowledge when she initiates lessons with a question for students to discuss. This approach encourages students to connect new information to what they already know, facilitating deeper understanding and engagement with the lesson. By starting with a question, she invites students to share their thoughts and experiences, which helps them make connections to the new concepts being introduced. This engagement also reinforces the learning community within the classroom, enabling students to learn from each other’s perspectives.

In this context, it is clear why the other strategies are not as relevant. Peer tutoring focuses on students teaching each other, formative assessments are used to gauge understanding during the learning process, and introducing new vocabulary centers on teaching specific words and their meanings. While these strategies have their merits, they do not directly relate to the initial discussion-based approach that Ms. Varney is using to stimulate student engagement and link to prior knowledge.