Mr. Peabody or Sherman-----Group Activity

Critical Reading and Thinking Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy Professional Learning

Critical Reading and Critical Thinking Differ When we teach critical reading skills to students, we will develop them to be critical thinkers as well. Critical thinking allows us to monitor our understanding as we read. If we sense that assertions are ridiculous or irresponsible (CT), we examine the text more closely to test our understanding (CR). We have a responsibility to our students to teach them the skills isolate the real issues of agreement or disagreement. Only then can they understand and respect other’s views. Thus, they must read critically.

Which student sits in your classroom ? Non-critical Reader Critical Reader 1. Texts provide facts-Readers gain knowledge by memorizing statements 2. Satisfied with recognizing what a test says and restating the key remarks. 1. Any text provides but one portrayal of facts, one take on the subject—Reader recognizes not only what text says but how that text portrays the subject. They recognize how each text is the unique creation of a unique author. 2. Goes beyond recognition of facts— a. reflect on what the text does— providing examples? Arguing? Appealing? Contrasting? b. Infer what the text as a WHOLE means based on the previous info

Example from student essay: “Parents are buying expensive cars for their kids to destroy them. “ Critical Reading is concerned with figuring out whether, within the context of the text, “them” refers to the parents, the children, or the cars and whether the text supports that practice. Critical Thinking would surface when deciding whether the chosen meaning was indeed true and whether or not the reader should support that practice.

Critical reading is NOT simply close and careful reading. To read critically, one must actively recognize and analyze evidence upon the page. As teachers, we cannot assume a student has this skill. Therefore, where do we begin?

Active Reading Model and practice Think -Aloud  Teacher/student and aware of DOK guidance  Student/student  Must assess not only understanding of text but also strategies Model and Practice Passage Mapping (Text Marking)  Mental questioning  Connecting (text, self, world)  Noting and coding

Good readers 1.Draw on background knowledge as they read. 2.Make predictions as they read. 3.Visualize the events of a text as they read. 4.Recognize confusion as they read. 5.Recognize a text's structure/organization as they read. 6.Identify/recognize a purpose for reading. 7.Monitor their strategy use according to the purpose for reading the text. Good readers use strategies automatically and only become aware of their strategy use when they are not comprehending. Poor readers do not.

THINK-ALOUD: An Avenue to DOK “The mere act of listening to teachers model thinking processes is not a higher DOK activity on the part of the student; however, think-alouds are a cognitive strategy designed to teach students how in engage in such thinking of their own... Think-alouds are a powerful teaching strategy that we can use more often in the classroom. By incorporating depth of knowledge into our think-aloud strategy, we can equip students with the tools needed for higher-level critical thinking, enhance our understanding of depth of knowledge, and strengthen our teaching effectiveness.”

Example of DOK

Not just a strategy for elementary... 1.Read aloud and model your own thoughts. 2.Using a different text, inform students that this time, you will stop and ask one of them to tell what he/she is thinking. If when a student shares, the connection is not clear, encourage the student to explain his/her thought. 3.Once the text has been read, use time to review and discuss reading strategies used to answer throughout the read. 4.Using another text, insert write-in boxes on text or have students write thoughts on paper. Have students read silently. Then, read aloud to have students share what they wrote. Discuss strategies used.

Passage Mapping (text marking)

Youtube has several videos for passage mapping and critical reading. I suggest your search to be “Kaplan SAT critical reading strategies “ or “Kaplan SAT passage mapping.”

intro material/ type of passage Thesis/ Theme ; main idea of each paragraph Author’s attitude, tone, purpose Relationships among ideas Transition words/phrases “HANDS DOWN” READING

No highlighting should stand alone. Highlighting alone does not represent critical reading or thinking.

Discuss with a Partner 1. What is the relationship between critical reading and critical thinking? 2. Why must ALL teachers guide students in becoming critical readers and thinkers? 3. How might an upper grades teacher use Think-Aloud? 4. Why is passage mapping a useful tool for comprehension? 5. What are the “hands down” targets for reading passages? 6. What method have you used to develop students’ critical reading and thinking within your class?