Critical Reading & Questioning Strategies: Part 1 Today’s Objectives

• To apply an instructional method (QAR) for helping students to analyze, understand, and respond to content-area questions – you’ll need your Vocabulary handouts with “challenging texts”

• To apply an instructional method (RAFT) that deepens comprehension and broadens learning by appreciating multiple frames of mind

THINKING ABOUT THE REST OF THE SEMESTER

OCT 28 & NOV 2

NOV 4 & 9

NOV. 16 & 18

NOV 10… DEC 2 & 9

NOV 16 & 18

Critical Reading & Questioning (Buehl)

• 73: Different Perspectives for Reading (take a role: assume needs, concerns, read & react to text, summary position statement)

• 133: Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) • 137: Questioning the Author (QtA) What is the

author’s message; Whose perspective does it represent and whose is missing?

• 144: RAFT (Role/Audience/Format/Topic) • 151: Save the Last Word for Me (5 statements

from text = agree/disagree; know or wonder about? interesting? Say more?)

Agree or Disagree

Asking questions while reading distracts from comprehension of a text.

Writing does not help students understand math.

Creative writing is mostly for fun.

Younger students can't really understand multiple perspectives.

It's unfair to ask students questions that they can not find the answers to in the text.

Critical Thinking and Critical Literacy

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and question from a variety of perspectives.

Critical literacy is ability to read texts in an active, reflective manner in order to better understand power, inequality, and injustice in human relationships.

Questioning

• Questioning has been used by teachers as a way to guide and monitor student learning

• Questioning is effective for improving comprehension because it…– gives the reader a purpose for reading– requires the reader to focus their attention on what must

be learned– helps develop active thinking while reading– helps monitor comprehension– helps review content– relates what is learned to what is already known

Question-Answer Relationship (QAR)

• Taffy Rafael observed students and the strategies they use while they are answering questions and found that many students either relied only on their background knowledge or only on the text.

• Rafael developed the QAR (Question-Answer Relationship) to help students with the basic types of questions that can be taken away from a text, and where to find the answers to these questions. The questions fall into two categories – in the text and in your head.

Raphael, T. "Question-answering Strategies for Children." The Reading Teacher, 1982 36(2), pp.186-191.

Question-Answer Relationship(QAR)

In the text

1. Right There

2. Think and Search

In your head

3. Author and You

4. On My Own

In the Text

1. Right There – Requires going back to the text to find the appropriate information to answer the question.

• Can also be called literal questions (since the answer can be found somewhere in the text)

• “According to the passage…?”• “How many…?”• “Who/Where/What is…?”

In the Text

2. Think and Search – The answer is in the text, but requires the reader to search through multiple parts of the text to find the answer.

• Think about how the information from the text fits together

• “What is the main idea of the passage?”• “What caused…?”• “Compare/Contrast…”

In Your Head

3. Author and You – Requires using ideas and information that are not stated directly in the text.

• Need to think about what you have learned from the text and formulate your own ideas/opinions

• “The author implies…”• “The speaker’s attitude…”• “Based on what the character’s actions,

what do you think…?”

In Your Head

4. On My Own – Can be answered using your background knowledge on a text

• You must rely solely on your own experiences and interpretations to answer the question

• Not found often on tests because they do not require referencing the passage

• “In your opinion…”• “Based on your experience…”• “Think about someone/something you know…”

Why is this valuable to teach our students?

• Students often assume that answers to questions from a text must be in the text, so they spend too much time looking through the text for the answers that are not “right there.”

• Initially, students see that both background knowledge and the text are useful in answering questions.

• Students develop a tool for understanding the different types of questions and how to approach the text or their head for an answer to these questions.

• It helps students search for key words and phrases to locate necessary information.

Question-Answer Relationships Albert was afraid that Susan would beat him in the

tennis match. The night before the match, Albert broke both of Susan’s racquets.

• RIGHT THERE: When did Albert break both of Susan’s racquets? [In the text]

• THINK & SEARCH: Why did Albert break both of Susan’s racquets? [In your head]

• AUTHOR AND YOU: Why was Albert afraid that Susan would beat him? [In your head]

• ON YOUR OWN: What feelings or actions may competition sometimes foster among high school students? Cite examples from your own experiences.

How to Teach QAR

1. Explain the Strategy

2. Model the strategy (choose a text that will allow you to demonstrate very clearly)

3. Guided practice applying the strategy

4. Practice (independently/small groups)

5. Reflect

Example Jeff has lived in Martinsville his entire life. But tomorrow, Jeff

and his family would be moving 200 miles away to Petersburg. Jeff hated the idea of having to move. He would be leaving behind his best friend, Rick, the baseball team he had played on for the last two years, and the big oak tree in his backyard, where he liked to sit and think. And to make matters worse, he was moving on his birthday! Jeff would be thirteen tomorrow.  He was going to be a teenager! He wanted to spend the day with his friends, not watching his house being packed up and put on a truck. Jeff thought that moving was a horrible way to spend his birthday. What about a party? What about spending the day with his friends? What about what he wanted? But that was just the problem. No one ever asked Jeff what he wanted.  

Now, your turn…

• Please use your content area texts to come up with at least 1 example of each of the four types of questions to share :)

• (Refer to the Vocabulary Handout with five “challenging texts”)

What is a R.A.F.T.?

A RAFT is a nontraditional writing activity that uses reading,

writing-to-learn, and creativity in a differentiated classroom.

Basically, it allows students to analyze a concept or a text from

multiple perspectives, andit is an interesting way to assess a students level of

comprehension.

How is a RAFT organized?

Role: role of the writer (Who is writing?)

Audience: the reader (Who will be reading?)

Format: (What is the best way to present this in writing?)

Topic: focus of writing (What topic is addressed?)

What does a RAFT look like?ROLE AUDIENCE FORMAT TOPIC

nomad oasis thank you letter value of water

kangaroo rat sun complaint sun out too long

lost student in the desert

classmates travel guide survival tips

saguaro cactus animals advertisement rooms for rent

cook other cooks saguaro recipes jams, candy, etc.

mommy & daddy bats

baby bats instructions how to drink nectar from a saguaro cactus

Elementary RAFT exploring a unit on the desert.

http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/reading/desertassign.html

Is a RAFT critical literacy?

ROLE AUDIENCE FORMAT TOPIC

Jonas Giver's Community InterviewSeeing the world outside the

community

Asher Jonas Short Story Jonas leaves the community

The Giver The Giver Article Jonas' training

Gabriel Real world teens 2 Journal Entriesthe community after Jonas

leaves

A reporter Self Lyrics Jonas' selection

Real world teen

Newspaper Advertisementeveryday life in the

community

Middle School RAFT exploring The Giver by Lois Lowry.

(Samples attached.)

Real examples from The Giver by Lois Lowry

Role – reporterAudience – real world teensFormat – articleTopic – everyday life in the community

On October 25, 2006, a student named Megan Oster and her friends were coming home from an all night Halloween party and going back to URI campus. But Halloween got scarier than it was supposed...

“But while I was standing there, I noticed it wasn’t raining inside the gate like it was outside it,” says Megan. Then, suddenly the gate opened. There was a little girl standing there. She didn’t have any emotion on her face…

Role – Asher

Audience – self

Format – journal

Topic – the world outside the community

I was worried about my friend. We have been friends since I can remember. His name is Jonas. We were getting our job assignments and they skipped over him…

Jonas and I made a promise… we would never leave each other… (he) brought me back to 2006 and for the first time I felt cold, snow, and pain…

The best part of the day was when Jonas’ new mother and father… gave all of us a hug and a kiss. This was the thing Jonas called ‘love’ that he was trying to explain to me before. Now I know why Jonas and I will never return to the community.

RAFT rubric?  4 3 2 1

Role

__________

Insightful and creative application of an

appropriate role with a clear perspective.

Appropriate role with a clear perspective. The role

is obvious in the product.

Role is apparent, but more of the role's perspective, or point of view, would improve the product.

Role is not apparent. Who are you?

Audience

__________

Insightful and creative understanding of an

appropriate audience. All possible audience

questions are addressed.

Appropriate audience is recognized

thorughout the product. Most

audience questions are answered.

Audience is recognized at some point in the product, but many

audience concerns are unnoticed.

Audience is not recognized. Who are you writing

to?

Format

__________

Product creatively includes all necessary elements of the format. Product is professional quality.

Product includes almost all elements of the

format. It is nearly professional quality.

Product includes many elements of the format,

but an important element may be

missing or it is too informal.

Product is missing half the elements of the format and lacks professionalism.

Topic

__________

Insightful understanding of the topic is expressed by in-

depth examples and support.

Clear and accurate understanding of the topic is expressed

through various examples.

Some examples of the topic are mentioned, but

further consideration is needed or an

inaccuracy exists.

There doesn't seem to be a focused topic or the

information is inaccurate.

Why is this valuable to our students?

Engaging students in writing can be a challenge in many classrooms. The RAFT provides an opportunity for students to take control of their writing and incorporate their creativity.

Students gain multiple perspectives, not only from writing a RAFT, but also from sharing RAFTs with other students.

Why is this valuable to you?Correcting is enjoyable! You rarely have to read the

same information twice.

Now, you try…

• Use your content area RAFT chart to choose your Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. Begin planning or writing your RAFT!

Agree or DisagreeAsking questions while reading distracts from comprehension of a text.

Writing does not help students understand math.

Creative writing is mostly for fun.

Younger students can't really understand multiple perspectives.

It's unfair to ask students questions that they can not find in the text.

Activities like these benefit students’ critical thinking skills.

Helpful WebsitesCritical Thinkinghttp://www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.htmlhttp://www.readingonline.org/articles/cervetti/ (Critical Reading v. Critical Literacy)QARhttp://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=227 (QAR student

posters, lesson ideas)http://www.readinglady.com/mosaic/tools/QARQuestionAnswerRelationshipTeachingChildrenWheretoSeekAnswerstoQuestions.pdf

(Sample QAR activities)http://www.tantasqua.org/Superintendent/Profdevelopment/etqar.html (QAR

across the content areas)RAFThttp://www.writingfix.com/WAC/RAFT.htmhttp://www.tantasqua.org/Superintendent/Profdevelopment/etraft.html (RAFT

across the content areas)http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/R.A.F.T.+Assignments (Tons of RAFT

assignments across content areas)

Helpful Websites

Mathhttp://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=151 (Using

QAR with charts and graphs)Mesmer, H., Hutchins, E. (Sep. 2002) Using QARs with Charts and

Graphs. The Reading Teacher. 56(1), 21-27. http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/

Writing_Across_Curriculum_RAFTS_math.htm (RAFT prompts - math)

Sciencehttp://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/

0534553389_46559.pdf (Sample 7th grade science lesson using QAR)

http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/Writing_Across_Curriculum_RAFTS_Science.htm (RAFT prompts-science)

Homework

• Kajder, Chapter 4: Using Online Information• On the wikispace: • Coiro (2005). Online Reading Strategies.• Coiro (2009). Rethinking Assessment of

Online Reading.• Work on Lesson Plan – come prepared to our

meeting with completed chart and specific questions – check the time you signed up for

Lesson Plan• Context• Objectives (align to standards/backwards design)• Opening: activate/asses prior knowledge• Engagement: Hook? Higher-level questions?

– TEACH: Model with think-aloud… about processes? Vocabulary? Other challenges?

– GUIDED PRACTICE: Engaging Activity– Graphic organizer to scaffold – INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: Apply/integrate– Closure (explicit and directed by you)

• Assessment (monitor in class, how to set clear expectations & measure quality with a rubric)