…and About Understanding and implementing higher level thinking Becky Dolaway & Samantha Marsh

The Shout Outs

THE WHEEL Horseheads teachers and kids ROCK at this Why we are here today

Thinking About Text Choices Engage the readers with delightful texts. Think about the way the child will understand the text. Use books that have print features that support rather than impede comprehension. Use texts with language that is accessible to the reader. Use books with text structures that the reader can access and understand. Use texts with illustrations that support meaning and do not confuse the readers. pg 400

Been There, Done That “The teacher provides the students little introduction to the text, thinking ‘I want to see if they can get it by themselves.’ The students process the text inefficiently. They get through it. Then the teacher asks them what they ‘got.’ The answers are unsatisfactory, so she probes deeper with questions that ‘lead’ so strongly that she finally elicits (or tells) the ‘answer.’ The bell rings for lunch. The students are unengaged and the teacher is exhausted. She goes to lunch and tells her colleagues that teaching is like ‘pulling teeth.’ ” pg 431

Pre-Reading…Building On What They Know

Giving Away the Text?!?! “When you provide an introduction, you are not ‘giving away the text.’ You are making it possible for the reader to experience excellent understanding, which not only develops the neural network but satisfies the emotions, which is the heart of motivation and mediates all other thinking.” pg 410

Words of the Wise It’s not about the content of the book. It’s about the behaviors and understandings they are expected to know at that level – moving to the next level.

Reading…Stay Out of It! Limit “teacher talk” – Be selective, get out of their way Take advantage of on-the-spot questions Be flexible with lesson plan, use teachable moments Use “spaces” in the reading (when turning pages, looking at pictures) Model higher level thinking by inviting students to WONDER about something that will boost their comprehension. “I wonder how the character is feeling?” “I wonder why the author included that part?” Direct students’ focus by giving them a PURPOSE that will inspiring higher level thinking. “Keep reading to figure out what the author is trying to teach us.” “As you can continue, you will see why the character did that.” pg 432

Discussing & Revisiting the Text… More Than Just a Retelling Looking for evidence of their understanding through the talk Prompt for evidence Use questions that lead students into BEYOND and ABOUT, WITHIN knowledge will naturally follow. Not “Tell me the information” Instead, “What did you learn about ___ that was interesting to you?” Interpret diagrams and other non-fiction text features pgs 417-419

Final Teaching Points to Build Students’ Thinking Utilize The Continuum of Literacy Learning to help find behaviors/understandings for your student’s reading level(s) Anticipate what your students will have difficulty with that relates to the text, but be ready to change your plan to work on whatever caused readers difficulty Brief and explicit pgs 419-420

All About You Once students learn how to think while they read, teaching them to comprehend will be less exhausting and have more fun! When we have the appropriate tools at hand, we are less exhausted and have more fun. Find YOUR favorite prompts in the Prompting Guide. pg 432