1. + Using Text-Based Challenges and Supports to Plan for Teaching through Text-Based Discussions Dr. Julie Coiro Chafee 615 EDC 423: Teaching Comprehension and Response in Elementary School

2. + Entrance Ticket What kinds of questions are most effective for sparking discussion and meaning making? What is an example of this kind of question? What is the ultimate goal of a text-based discussion?

3. + Objectives: You will be able to Analyze text, anticipate challenges and resource, and use these ideas to plan a text-based discussion Determine important stopping points Design initial questions to spark discussion Anticipate how students will respond Design follow-up questions to support students active problem solving and meaning making (rather than telling them the answer) Try out your planned discussion and see how to respond/revise your responses on the fly

4. + Traditional Patterns of Classroom Talk IRE (Initiate, Respond, Evaluate): (Dillon, 1998; Mehan, 1979) Teacher: What was Toad looking for? Student: His button. Teacher: That’s right. “Classroom quiz show”: Teachers act as quiz show hosts, asking questions that have one correct answer, which can usually be found right in the text (Roby, 1988). “Bull sessions”: Students offer opinions, but comments are not connected or responsive to what others are saying (Roby, 1988). How can we use text-based discussions to move beyond quiz shows and bull sessions?

5. + Entrance Ticket What kinds of questions are most effective for sparking discussion and meaning making? Open-ended questions; more than one right answer Challenging enough that students have to “think” (infer, connect, integrate) What is an example of this kind of question? What’s going on here? What is the author trying to say here? What makes you think that? (back to the text) What is the ultimate goal of a text-based discussion? Realizing meaning-making is hard work! Support students in building meaning (constructing their own mental network) through language and discussion

6. + Text-Based Discussion Video Segment What do you notice about questioning and talking in this lesson? What do you notice about the teacher? What do you notice about the students? How did this happen??

7. + Text-Based Discussion – How does this happen?? Teachers come to each lesson PREPARED – read the book and know main ideas and big ideas and ??? PREPARE students to understand/teach how a discussion words (practice over time) Know your students and put yourself in your students’ shoes – think like them…ANTICIPATE: What will they struggle with? What will make sense? HIGHLY SKILLED IN ASKING HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS (what are the right ones and when) MODEL (TEACH!): model the discussion process; and show how YOU would do this/solve this as an “expert” – don’t just ask questions that test students (teach them and then gradually release responsibility) What are the “right” questions and the right locations to ask them? It depends on Learning goals Set learning goals

8. + Digging Up the Past In your groups… Challenges and Resources Main Idea Big Idea Learning Goals How would you launch the text? Pages 1-2: Potential stopping points and questions to ask How to follow-up?

9. + Guidelines for Text Talk Questions The questions teachers ask send messages to students about what’s important “What did Joseph do next? (Students need to remember the information) “What does this tell us?; What do you think the author means?” (Students need to think about what they have understood) Develop open questions that require students to describe and explain text ideas Avoid solely asking questions that require students to give one word answers or playback words from text

10. + Responding to Student Comments (Following-up) The ways teachers respond to student comments send messages about what’s important and scaffold students constructing meaning from text Repeating/rephrasing Reinforcing (on the right track) Marking (focus on certain ideas) Turning back to student (why?)

11. + Repeating or rephrasing Rephrasing what students are struggling to express or repeating a student comment Acknowledges the importance of student comments Encourages elaboration Invites other students to connect to ideas Teacher: Why would she care whether or not he’s nice? Student: Because he might try to eat her. Teacher: He might try to do something bad to her.

12. + Reinforcing Let’s students know they are on the right track Teacher: Why are they worried? Student: They're probably looking for her. She hasn't been back. Teacher: We got it. That's right.

13. + Marking Responding to student comments in a way that focuses on certain ideas. Lets students know that a particular idea is important to the discussion. Teacher: What is your opinion about Mr. Tumnus now? Has anyone's opinion changed? Student: I think he's mean because the witch is making him. Teacher: You think he's mean because the witch is making him? That's an interesting point you just made. Maybe he's not so mean?

14. + **Turning back Turning responsibility to students for thinking through idea, probing for elaboration, turning attention back to the text to make connections Student: He's trying to, like, make her do something that she won't do. Teacher: Why? Why do you think that? Student: Because he's, like, blowing that flute all the time. Teacher: You think there's something up with that flute? Student: I think that flute is magic. Teacher: You think the flute is magic. Does anyone remember what she said whenever they were about to go back to his place? Find it in your text.

15. + The First Discovery (Section 1) Main idea: Students should know that marble pieces have been discovered that give clues to something that happened a long time ago. STOP: After first two paragraphs Q: So, what do we know so far? A: (S1)An Italian farmer found some beautiful stones in the ground while digging out a well. F: Okay, yes, these stones were marble and alabaster (which are both valuable kinds of stones). What else does the author tell us in this first section? A. (S2) The farmer decided to sell them to get more money. F: Good. What does the author tell us about where the farmer found these stones? And why might that matter? A. In the shadow of the volcano…in Italy…maybe the marble came from the volcano?? F. Ok, so we know from previewing the text that the next section is titled “From Decorations to Discovery.” How do you think this first section is connected to the rest of this text? Q. Let’s read the next section to find out.

16. + The First Discovery (Section 2) Main idea: STOP: Q: A: F: A. F: A. Q. Purpose: Let’s read the next section to …

17. + For homework – Your section Main idea: STOP: (indicate text section read in left column) Discussion Sequence (in right column) Q: A: F: A. F: Purpose: Let’s read the next section to …