Signposts We’ve been talking about signpost. Remember, signposts are those things that let us know that something is going on, whether is be that a store is opening, we can recycle here, something is under construction and so forth. Signposts give us directions. They help us stop, take notice of a particle item, and take note and analyze.

Over the next few months, we are going to be talking about 6 different signposts that appear in almost every text we read. Who can tell me which signpost you’ve already learned about?

Contrasts & Contradictions

A-Ha Moments Today we are going to talk about another signpost. Aha moments. (CLICK). Who can predict what an aha moment might be? Let’s see what my good friend Oprah has to say about aha moments. Discuss more based on what students said vs. Oprah

Aha moments We have aha moments quite a bit in our life. Have you ever walked into your classroom and seen everyone taking a test and suddenly remembered what it was you were supposed to do last night. . .study for the big test! Every year as a teacher, I do this one. Have you ever come to school and found that everyone was dressed up and in an instant realized that once again you had forgotten it was picture day! That’s an a-ha moment. Aha moments are those moments when we realize something, and that realization, in some way, changes our actions. When you’re reading, Aha moments are those moments when a character suddenly realizes, understands, or finally figures something out. That realization will probably change his or her actions.

When you’re reading, authors often gives you clues that the character has come to an important understanding by having the character say something like. . . (5 clicks for each speak bubble) There are a lot of ways an author can say this, but the main idea is that the character ha reached an understanding of something they didn’t before. So when we see the clues, such as these phrases, just like with contrasts and contradiction, we need to pay attention to the signs and stop and ask ourselves a question. And that questions is. . .How might this change things? When we, as a reader, use one of these phrases when we are reading about something that has just been revealed, we can ask this same question, “How might this change things?” Thinking about this question when we see an aha moment occur in a story occur will help us see why that aha moment is so important. If the character figured out a problem, you probably just learned about the conflict. If the character just learned a life lesson, you probably just got some insight into the theme.

Aha Moment When you are reading and suddenly a character realizes, understands, or finally figures something out…

Among the Hidden Passage See You at Harry’s Passage Additional practIce Among the Hidden Passage See You at Harry’s Passage One for the Murphy’s Passage

Aha Moment Exit Slip Find an Aha Moment in the book, Freak the Mighty When you find it write down the quote and citation, and underneath it, answer the question, ‘How Might This Change Things?’ Paper pickup will collect it and turn it into the bin (assignment title is above)

Aha Moment When you are reading and suddenly a character realizes, understands, or finally figures something out…