March 20, 2014

Jessica Warner

Literacy Coach

MAKING YOUR TALK ABOUT TEXT MEANINGFUL

21ST CENTURY SKILLS

• COMMUNICATION

• COLLABORATION

• CRITICAL THINKING

GOAL: TO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT TEXT, WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO COMMUNICATE

EFFECTIVELY

Children learn best by hearing and participating in a conversation about the text.

Children may have many thoughts, connections, and ideas as they read; however WE need to model a meaningful conversation.

Children need to practice their talking about text in order to respond later in a written format. Speaking is a dress rehearsal for writing.

THREE TIERS TO THE TEXT

• Thinking within the text

• Thinking beyond the text

• Thinking about the text

THINKING WITHIN THE TEXT

• Solving words and figuring out the meaning using context clues

• Recalling information from the text

• Summarizing

• Prompts to spark the conversation….

• Where did this story take place….. Show me a picture or find the words to prove the setting.

• Who were the characters…Show me one that you liked best and tell me why

• What was the problem in the story…Find the page where you realized this was the problem

• How did the story end and did you agree with the ending…look back

• What was your favorite part….reread this part to me and explain why you liked it

MODEL RESPONSES TO WITHIN THE TEXT USING THESE THINKING STEMS…

• I think the problem in the story was…. because

• I really liked the part when… because• The story took place in ….This made sense

because….

BEYOND THE TEXT• Predict

• Make a prediction about what will happen next based on events from the text

Model: I predict….because the text says….

Connect

This story makes me think of….because…

• Infer

• Read between the lines. Use what the text says+ what you know = make an inference

• Model: I infer …. Because the text says…and I know… therefore….

BEYOND THE TEXT (CONTINUED)

• Synthesize

• Come to a new understanding

• Model: At first I thought ….., but while I was reading I learned/discovered….My new understanding is ……

ABOUT THE TEXT

• Analyzing

• Identify how a text works

• Determine how a text is organized

• Explain the effect the author’s language has on the reader’s enjoyment and understanding of a text

• Recognize genres & their characteristics

• Recognize text & graphic features and realize how they help readers understand

ABOUT THE TEXT CONTINUED

• Critique

• Judge and evaluate

• Consider the strengths and weaknesses of a text

• Assess if a text is credible, authentic, accurate and consistent with real experiences

• Look for bias in a text

Jessica Warner

Literacy Coach

jwarner@somervilleschools.org

Twitter: @VDVReading