SOAP in the Classroom

SOAP in the classroom can be another alternative to the well-known graphic organizer: K-W-L chart.

One of my favorite thematic methods for studying a topic has been using the K-W-L chart. This simple method helps to truly investigate topics in depth, but I have continued to search for additional helps to aid in applying what I was learning. That was when I discovered S.O.A.P., an acronym for studying and journaling. It hasn’t replaced my use of the K-W-L chart or other graphic organizers and methods I’ve utilized in the past, but rather it has enriched my study progress by adding yet another option to my repertoire of study helps.

SOAP is an acronym for:

• Study
• Observation
• Application
• Prayer

S for Study

Choose something to study or continue reading in your current place within a book of your choice. Notate interesting thoughts which particularly speak to you. Record it in your learning journal.

O for Observation

Ponder any ideas which have caught your attention in relativity to your notated information. Record these impressions.

A for Application

Ask yourself how this applies to your life today and it correlates with anything you may have known in the past. Did you make any special connections? Did anything strike you as thought about the information? Did any prior information come to mind which brought added meaning to your readings? Record these thoughts.

P for Plan

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Think about and evaluate the worth of the information to you. What do you plan to do with this new information?

This simple method has changed how I look at learning something new. Not only do I read books and study them, but I now have an additional method to apply these new findings into my personal life.

By Tracy Atkinson

Tracy Atkinson, mother of six, lives in the Midwest with her husband. She is a teacher, having taught elementary school to higher education, holding degrees in elementary education and a master’s in higher education. Her passion is researching, studying and investigating the attributes related to self-directed learners. She has published several titles, including Calais: The Annals of the Hidden, Lemosa: The Annals of the Hidden, Book Two, Rachel’s 8 and Securing Your Tent. She is currently working on a non-fiction text exploring the attributes of self-directed learners: The Five Characteristics of Self-directed Learners.