BEST CRISS STRATEGIESFOR TAKS

Selective Highlighting/Underlining Marginal Notes: Power Thinking, Two

Column Notes, Venn, Read and Write Something

Question/Answer Relationships(QARS) Questioning the Author(QtA)

SELECTIVE HIGHLIGHTING/UNDERLINING

P.42-44 CRISS Manual Magazine or newspaper articles, old

textbooks, photocopies, or TAKS selections Teacher models. Talk about the author’s

plan. Divide into groups of three using a

transparency of a selection. Selective highlight together and present to the class.

SELECTIVE HIGHLIGHTING/UNDERLINING(Cont.)

Use with teacher notes and study guides Use different articles or selections with each

group(differentiation) Use clear transparencies over selection

pages-transfer information onto paper, erase and reuse

Use non-fiction material dealing with current events, history, or science

MARGINAL NOTES

Power Notes P.38: Power 1-selection title or thesis statement, Power 2s-topic sentences of the body paragraphs, Power 3s,4s,5s-details in the body paragraphs

Read and Write Something-Variation of Read and Say Something

Two Column Notes P.118 Main ideas/Details One Sentence Summaries P.111 over the

paragraphs of the selection

QUESTION ANSWER RELATIONSHIPS

Easy example P. 71 CRISS Manual: Popcorn

Start with In the book questions: Right There / Think and Search

After mastery, add Author and You Model, model, model (Dr. Seuss

books work well for modeling and practice)

Start with easy material: Well known fairytales or picture books

QARS(Cont.)

About 85% of the TAKS questions are Author and You

Put the students in groups of 4 and have them make up all four types of questions

After the students have used QARs successfully several times, model how to use it as a tool to identify and answer TAKS questions.

Practice in groups or partners with release TAKS materials. Discussion is important.

Move to independent practice

THE PLAN FOR QARS

Phase 1: Introduce the Strategy Phase 2: Modeling/Think Aloud (Teacher

does, Students observe) Phase 3: Scaffolding (Teacher does,

Students help) Phase 4: Coaching (Students do, Teacher

helps) Phase 5: Independent Practice (Assessment)

QUESTIONING THE AUTHOR

QtA P.37-38 CRISS Manual Ask and answer these questions while

reading: What is the author trying to tell me? Why is the author telling me this? Does the author state it clearly? If not, how might have the author written it more clearly? What would I have wanted to say instead?

Partners, small group, independently