reading+critically

>> === the following questions as you read: === >> Facts can be proven >> Theory is to be proved and should not be confused with fact >> Opinions may or may not be based on sound reasoning >> Faith is not subject to proof by its nature >> >> ===Summary:=== Students will be introduced to each of the following comprehension reading strategies: making connections, visualizing, questioning, inferring, determining importance in text, and synthesizing. >> ===Materials:=== >> ===Goals:=== >> ===Resource Instructions=== NOTE: The amount of practice for each of these will depend on the expertise of your students. Take both their reading levels and degree of involvement with the texts together to determine the appropriate speed with which to deliver these lessons in your class. >> **Day 1** >> **Step 1:** Explain that you will be beginning an exploration of six strategies that good readers use to increase their comprehension. All readers do some of these things automatically, but the class will be practicing making each reader's thinking visible. By practicing these strategies, all readers can improve their comprehension, regardless of their reading level. Explain that you will study each strategy individually, but readers put them together in their heads. >> This is my suggested order for teaching the comprehension strategies: (You will repeat the process of teaching each strategy by modeling, demonstrating how to make the thinking visible, and providing practice.)
 * Characteristics of Critical Thinkers**
 * They are honest with themselves
 * They resist manipulation
 * They overcome confusion
 * They ask questions
 * They base judgments on evidence
 * They look for connections between subjects
 * They are intellectually independent
 * What is the topic of the book or reading?What issues are addressed?
 * What conclusion does the author reach about the issue(s)?
 * What are the author's reasons for his or her statements or belief?Is the author using facts, theory, or faith?
 * Has the author used neutral words or emotional words?Critical readers look beyond the language to see if the reasons are clear
 * Be aware of why you do, or do not, accept arguments of the author
 * 1) Picture books and short pieces of text to model and practice each strategy. Overhead transparencies of selected text (optional)
 * 2) Sticky notes, highlighters, or other tools for students to show use of strategies
 * 3) [|Reading Comprehension Review Sheet [teacher.scholastic.com]] (PDF)
 * Students will:**
 * 1) Understand each of the six major comprehension strategies and apply each to short texts.
 * 2) Demonstrate use of comprehension strategies through text coding, margin notes, sticky note comments, or reading journal entries.
 * Connecting
 * Visualizing
 * Questioning
 * Inferring
 * Determining Importance in Text
 * Synthesizing

**Making Connections**
Model the Connecting strategy verbally with the class using a picture book or another short text, such as a newspaper article. See booklist for suggestions, but it is important that you use a text that you personally can connect with for this strategy. I use //**Thank you, Mr. Falker**// by Patricia Polacco. As I read, I stop and think aloud about the text-to-self connections. I also point out any text-to-world connections and text-to-text connections I have while I’m reading. Demonstrate jotting down these connections as you read with another text on the overhead transparency. Code each connection as either: T-S (text-to-self), T-W (text-to-world), or T-T (text-to-text) and ask for student connections. > Students connect their background knowledge to the text they are reading. > ** Purpose of the strategy: ** > Readers comprehend better when they actively think about and apply their knowledge of the book's topic, their own experiences, and the world around them. Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis in their book, Strategies that Work (2000, p. 68), state that, "When children understand how to connect the text they read to their lives, they begin to make connections between what they read and the larger world. This nudges them into thinking about bigger, more expansive issues beyond their universe of home, school, and neighborhood." > ** How use this strategy: ** > **To help your student make connections while they are reading, ask him/her the following questions:** > ** · **What does the book remind you of? > ** · **What do you know about the book's topic? > ** · **Does this book remind you of another book? >> **Step 4:** Hand out a short piece of text and have students practice making their connections visible by jotting reminders of connections in the margins. (They should use the codes you taught in the mini-lesson to label their connections.) Have pairs of students share their responses, and then discuss as a class. >> **Step 5:** Collect the students’ class work and assess to get a sense of their competency with the strategies. >> **Days 2–6** >> Repeat the steps above with each comprehension strategy. I like to vary the tools used for student practice by using highlighters or color-coded pencils to marking text, making margin notations, having partner discussions, or using sticky notes. My booklist has recommendations for literature to use for teaching each comprehension strategy. >> ===Assessment:=== Look for evidence that each student has used the taught strategy to aid comprehension. I assign participation points to the introductory lesson, then evaluate their use of the strategy using a simple 3-point rubric:
 * 3 points: reader shows meaningful evidence of using the reading strategy to aid comprehension
 * 2 points: reader shows some evidence of using the reading strategy
 * 1 point: reader is not yet showing evidence of using the reading strategy

=Visualizing:= Students create mind pictures and visualizations when they read.

Purpose of the strategy: The reader uses the text material and their own prior knowledge to create their own mind pictures of what is happening in the text. "Visualizing personalizes reading, keeps us engaged, and often prevents us from abandoning a book." (Strategies that Work, 2000, p.97). ===**To help you student visualize while reading, try the following:**===

===** · **share wordless picture books with your student - have your student tell the story===

===** · **make frequent stops while reading aloud to describe the pictures in your minds===

===** · **after reading time at home has your child draw what they see in their mind===

=Questioning=


 * With questioning, students understand the text on a deeper level because questions clarify confusion and stimulate further interest in a topic.**

Purpose of the strategy:
 * Through questioning, students are able to wonder about content and concepts before, during, and after reading by:**


 * · **constructing meaning


 * · **enhancing meaning


 * · **finding answers


 * · **solving problems


 * · **finding specific information


 * · **acquiring a body of information


 * · **discovering new information


 * · **propelling research efforts

(Strategies that Work, 2000, p.22)
 * · **clarifying confusion


 * How to use this strategy in****your own rereading**


 * · **ask "I wonder" questions (open-ended)


 * · **ask your student to come up with questions before reading to see if it's answered in the text


 * · **keep track of questions verbally or in an informal question log


 * · **stop and predict what will happen next


 * · **discuss what questions you still have after reading

=**INFERRING**=


 * Students make inferences about text they are reading to interpret meaning and develop deeper understanding.**

Purpose of the strategy:
 * Readers comprehend better when they make connections and construct their own knowledge (using prior experiences, visualizing, predicting and synthesizing) to interpret the "big idea." It is like a mental dialogue between the author and the student.**

To use this strategy:
 * Ask them:**
 * "How did you know that?"**


 * "Why did you think that would happen?"**
 * "Look at the cover and pictures, then make predictions."**
 * "Discuss the plot and theme."**
 * "What do you think this story was about?"**
 * "How do you think the character feels?"**
 * "Does it remind you of anything?"**


 * DETERMINING IMPORTANCE OF TEXT**


 * When students are reading nonfiction, they have to decide and remember what is important from the material they read.**

Purpose of the strategy:
 * The purpose is to teach students to discriminate the "must know" information from the less important details in a text. "When kids read and understand nonfiction, they build background for the topic and acquire new knowledge. The ability to identify essential ideas and salient information is a prerequisite to developing insight." (Strategies that Work, 2000, p. 119).**

How to help your student use this strategy:
 * To determine importance while they are reading:**
 * · **Initiate discussion before reading by asking what your students know about the topic and what they would like to learn.


 * · **After reading, discuss what important information they have learned.


 * · **While reading, help your students look for clues in the text to determine importance.


 * · **first and last lines of a paragraph


 * · **titles


 * · **headings


 * · **captions


 * · **framed text


 * · **fonts


 * · **illustrations


 * · **italics


 * · **bold faced print

Students weave together what they read and their own ideas into new complete thoughts.
 * Synthesizing **

Purpose of the strategy: Readers comprehend better when they sift through information to make sense of it and to act upon it - such as judging or evaluating the author's purpose to form a new idea, opinion, or perspective. This is the highest and most complex form of comprehension.

How to use this strategy:

· Use questioning strategies such as, "How has your thinking changed from reading that piece?"

· Discuss current events with an emphasis on judgments and opinions.

· Ask questions with no clear answers.