Teaching the Notice and Note Signposts with Animated Short Videos Sarah Jones – Centerville Junior High – Davis School District sarjones@dsdmail.net

Dr. Kylene Beers and Dr. Rob Probst Authors of Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading Dr. Kylene Beers and Dr. Rob Probst

I love the signposts! My students know how to make inferences and predictions. They know how to think about conflict and possible themes. They understand character development.  But they struggle with doing these cognitive tasks when they're not instructed to do them! The signposts offer them places to stop and think deeply about the text. When they notice a signpost, they learn that it's time to think for a moment, considering the question that goes with that signpost.

Why does this keep showing up again and again? When you're reading, and something keeps showing up again and again (a situation, an animal, an object), stop and ask yourself: Why does this keep showing up again and again?

Contrast and Contradiction When you're reading, and a character does something he or she usually wouldn't do, stop and ask yourself:  Why is the character doing that?

What does this question make me wonder about? Tough Question When you're reading, and a character asks him or herself a tough question, stop and ask yourself: What does this question make me wonder about?

Why is this memory important? Memory Moment When you're reading, and a character thinks back to something that's happened in his or her life, stop and ask yourself: Why is this memory important?

How might this change things? Aha! Moment When you're reading, and a character finally understands something for the first time, you should stop and ask yourself: How might this change things?

What's the life lesson, and how might it affect the character? Words of the Wiser When you're reading, and a character gets advice from another character (who's generally older and wiser), you should stop and ask yourself: What's the life lesson, and how might it affect the character?

Why didn't this work for all of my students? Confidence Willingness to try Needing more scaffolding Why didn't this work for all of my students?

Notice and Note Facebook Group Over 26,000 members!

My Plan: Introduce all six signposts with animated short videos, then transfer the skills to a short story, using a gradual release of responsibility as we went.

Contrasts and Contradictions A Fox and a Mouse

Introduce Aha! Moment Review Contrasts and Contradictions The Present

Introduce Tough Question Review Aha! Moment Feast

Introduce Words of the Wiser Review Tough Questions Boundin'

Introduce Again and Again Review Words of the Wiser Partly Cloudy

Introduce Memory Moment Review Again and Again Shoes

But can they do it with text?

"Amigo Brothers" Short story by Piri Thomas

"What do Fish Have to do With Anything?" Short Story by Avi

Purchase copies when the option exists. Fair Use under copyright law allows legally obtained videos to be used for teaching.

For further study Beers and Probst team up for an in-depth look at how to comprehend complex nonfiction texts.

But this one will blow your mind! In their newest book, Beers and Probst not only lay out a plan for introducing all signposts (fiction and non-fiction) to students, but also make the argument that reading is so much more than simply taking in information. Instead, reading offers opportunities for personal growth and development, and Beers and Probst show how to teach students to use reading as a path for maturation. This book will challenge your thinking and take your reading instruction to the next level!