Strategies to Think Deeply About Texts Writing about Reading Strategies to Think Deeply About Texts

Why write about reading? “Speaking or writing about a source text contributes to deeper comprehension than merely reading since both actions require intense scrutiny and examination. Reading and then engaging in a meaningful and fruitful discussion with others challenges us to extend our thinking, arrive at new insights, and consider different perspectives. Writing about what we read requires critical thinking and active engagement in order to compose a coherent piece for a particular purpose and audience. Therefore, learning experiences that include writing, speaking, and listening tasks foster further introspection and analysis of text.” From Complex Text Decoded, by Kathy T. Glass

What does writing about reading look like in your classroom? Writing in the classroom has undergone many changes Writing workshop and writing instruction remain a part of teaching, but what about writing during reading instruction? How does it differ from traditional writing instruction?

Let’s talk about what we are doing right now in our classrooms Take 5 minutes to add your thoughts to these 4 charts around the room What am I currently doing to teach writing about reading? What do I want to improve? What do I want to know more about? What particular skills do my students struggle with?

Mclass and writing Mclass testing has changed how many of us view writing about texts How can we teach students to write about the books they read without “teaching to the test?” How can we integrate Mclass style writing into our reading instruction?

What are your thoughts? “Writing About Reading—To write about reading—to hold onto ideas and develop those ideas in longer entries—connects to many writing goals. In order to write about reading, a reader needs to generate an idea, have some way to structure the writing, and be sure that the writing is focused on one idea. To write longer, the writer needs to elaborate on their thinking with details and support from the text.” -Jennifer Serravallo

So how do we make this happen? Read, think, talk, write The focus is not on the writing itself, but on showing deep understanding of the text Combine daily quick writes with longer writing at the end of the text For example...

Guided reading and writing about text Students read the text “Poisonous Animals” Each day, students re-read yesterday’s section and do a one sentence quick write to answer a question How do poison dart frogs use their poison? When does a funnel web spider attack?

Guided reading and writing about text At the end of the text, students write to answer a more in depth question Describe two different ways animals use their poison. Compare and contrast the marble cone snail and the poison dart frog. Writing about text becomes a natural part of reading

My keys to writing about reading Spell the words as best you can, but don’t stress about spelling Make it readable, but it doesn’t have to be perfect What you write should match what happened in the text Show what you know

Reading and writing connections How can we make sure reading and writing skills are correlated? If you’re focusing on strategy X in reading, focus on strategy Y in your writing Jennifer Serravallo’s Reading and Writing Connections

What will this look like in your classroom? In K-1, teachers should model writing about texts (perfect for shared reading) Choose a question about the text you are reading (What happened at the beginning and end? What was the problem?) Model how to use the text to write the answer; gradually release responsibility to students Continue to model in upper grades as needed

What will this look like in your classroom? 1st grade should be a combination of modeling and practice Do Not wait until mid-year to introduce writing to 1st graders; it should become a natural part of the reading process By late 1st grade on, students should be writing about a text at least once a week

Resources for Planning Academic Language Word Wall Comprehension Question Bookmarks Digital Graphic Organizers for Google Classroom