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This is a pretty comprehensive site with a lot to use. Some of it may be too advanced for 3rd graders, but there are some assessment items that look real good.
This handout allows students to demonstrate their understanding of correctly writing a hypothesis. The Hypothesis Worksheet also helps the student demonstrates the students understanding of differentiating the different between the independent and dependent variables.
If you’re feeling deja vu, don’t worry- we’ve had this discussion before, on this very blog…
But I don’t think it’s a topic that can ever be explored too much; conferences are truly the heart of Reader’s Workshop. Most of us would love to say that the mini-lesson is the heart, or independent reading is the heart, because conferences- and our central role in them- scare us. But the truth is, that one-on-one conferences are like a critical doctor’s exam- they are diagnostic, they are check ups, they are trouble shooting sessions- all in one.
In our last conversation, we mostly talked about how we kept track of conferences and the architecture of our conferences. Now, let’s help each other think about all the types of conferences and examples of ones that might fall under those larger categories. What I’m looking for is not a definative list, but something to which I might turn to be sure I’m not missing something that could be more crucial for a particular child, at a particular point in time.
I’m going to start us off by listing some “umbrella conferences” and some more specific ones under those. I hope you’ll help me add more umbrellas and more specific conferences (after all, I’m pulling these from my own head and not using the more thorough and thoughtful path of flipping through all of my resource books!). If you think of ones to add, I’ll actually add them to this main blog in a different color. In that way, we can all have all of our thoughts in the same place. Here we go!
_________________________________________
Purple = My thoughts
Light purple = my after thoughts
Pink = kn324
Orange = judy
Blue = Curious Cat
Green = Familycarroll
Pick a color for your ideas!
____________________________________
RW Procedures
Readers find ways that work for them to block out other distractions so that they can concentrate on their reading. (In this conference, brainstorm possible solutions.)
Readers have a plan for their Reader’s Workshop, and they stick to it (plans vary greatly for the emergent reader, as opposed to the independent reader)
When a reader finishes a book, she might re-read it more slowly, looking for things she didn’t notice before.
When a reader has a problem, they try to solve it independently first. Next, they consult their parnter.
Readers are courteous to their partners, remembering to only interupt infrequently and when it is important.
Reasons for interupting your partner’s reading might be: to get help with a word, to get help understanding a part or a word, to show something in your book that you know would interest your partner (although infrequently).
Readers jot down questions or concerns that can only be handled by the teacher if she is in a conference.
Readers jot down questions, concerns, and celebartions that they’d like to talk about during their next conference.
Habits of a Reader
Readers treat books as treasures. When they are ready, they return books carefully to their correct place in the classroom library. If they do not know where to put the book, they seek help from a classmate to resolve the problem.
Readers read to understand/to make meaning
When readers finish a book they enjoyed, they think about other books on the same topic, or of the same level, or by the same author they might read.
Readers pursue their interests and find things they need to know by reading books of the same genre, topic, or author.
Readers consult other books to help them delve deeper into a subject that may be glossed over in their current book.
Readers don’t just stop reading in the middle of a chapter. They usually find an appropriate stopping point and use a bookmark.
Readers always re-read a little of what they read the day before to help them get back into the story.
Readers get their mind ready, or warmed up, to read by activating their schema (about topics, genres, and authors), thinking about the cover, and making predictions. They can also take a book walk to prepare them for words (emergent/early) or text structure (transitional/independent).
Book Choice
Readers choose a variety of books to “balance their reading diet.” (Variety is defined differently for every child at different points in the year)
Readers read for a purpose.
At any one time, readers should only have one “main” book. A main book is defined as a just right book into which the reader needs to put a lot of thinking and effort and must read with stamina. A main book is the one on which the reader will spend most of his time. (This pertains to transitional and independent readers)
All readers need a few dessert books and they need to know how much time to spend on them and how those books might help them as a reader.
If a reader finds that a book is too difficult- even with the help of a partner, he should put it away and tackle it at FYOE reading. A reader can’t grow his reading muscles reading a hard book.
If a reader finds that a book is too easy (and she still is intent on reading it), she should look at the clock and resolve to only read it for a small fraction of her reading time.
Partners might choose two books of the same topic or genre or author, read them separately, and then discuss them.
Readers should spend almost all of their time reading books that are just right.
Just right books are those in which the reader can understand almost all the words, but not all of them AND almost all the ideas, but not all of them.
Decoding
Good readers stop when they come to an unknown word and they apply a strategy or a combination of strategies to solve it.
Good readers know that sounding out a word the strategy they usually default to, and that it isn’t the most helpful of all strategies. Readers should only attempt to sound out a word a few times before moving on to a different strategy.
Good readers use the first letter of a word (by voicing it loud and clear and then continuing to read) to help them figure out a word.
Good readers can read up to the unknown word, hop over it, and think what would make sense there.
Good readers recognize smaller word chunks to help them solve a word.
Good readers can cover up familiar word endings (like ing, s, ed, ly, er) and look at the base.
Readers understand that when something doesn’t sound right or look right in a sentence they should go back and try again.
Good readers know when a word is not going to be solved and they know whether or not it is one they need to ask for outside help on, or just move on.
RWM/ MOT Comprehension Strategies
Readers can identify the parts they don’t really understand and use the strategies of good readers to help themselves.
Readers stop periodically to retell (or summarize) to make sure they understand.
Sometimes a reader, after trying some understanding strategies, might mark an unclear part with a post-it and continue reading to see if the issue is cleared up with more information.
A good reader rereads aloud phrases or sections that are cloudy for them.
Readers try to ascertain whether an unknown word (one that they tried to infer the meaning of) will affect the meaning of the entire book or chapter and they take necessary steps (Dictionary, partner, skip it, write it down for conference, etc…).
Readers are always using the understanding strategies– not just when they do not understand.
Readers make sure their reading makes sense.
SCHEMA/ CONNECTIONS
Reader think about their schema for a genre, topic, or author before reading AND they use it to help them throughout.
Readers pay attention to how their schema (for a genre, topic, author, character) changes as they read.
Readers make connections between their own lives and certain parts, character’s actions or feelings, and certain settings in fiction books. These connections might help them predict what’s going to happen, understand a feeling more deeply, or make a clearer mental image.
Readers make connections between the book they are reading and parts of other books, other characters, and/or other books of the same genre, author, or topic as they read. These connections might help them to predict what will happen or to broaden their understanding of that part of the book.
Readers make connections between a book they are reading and something they have seen or heard about happening in real life.
Readers respond to the text and the authors message based on experience, belief, and understandings.
MENTAL IMAGES
Readers make mental images even when they are reading a picture book– between pages, of what the character would look like if they were moving, of what could be happening off of the page, etc…
Readers use all five senses to make mental images.
Readers draw on their schema to make the clearest images.
Readers use mental images in nonfiction, especially when the author has gone into great detail to describe something.
Readers pay attention when a nonfiction writer states a comparison between the topic and something that they know (from their schema). They use these comparisons to make a mental image.
INFERENCES
Readers infer the meaning of unknown words by using the pictures, words around the word, and their schema. (Readers define unknown vocabulary using context clues.)
Readers infer what is going on the story by using the pictures, their schema, talking to others, rereading, making a mental image, or connecting to other books of the same topic, genre, or author.
Readers infer the character’s personality or feelings by using their schema, coupled with book clues.
Readers infer the author’s message.
Readers infer what might happen next. (Readers make predictions to help them get a sense of what the story might be about. Readers change their predictions based on new understandings.)
QUESTIONS
Readers think of questions they have before opening the book. These questions may be based on the cover, the title, or preexisting schema about the topic, genre, or author.
Readers think of questions (and keep track of them) during reading.
Readers question to clarify.
Readers question to understand more deeply.
Readers ask unanswerable questions.
Readers ask questions after reading and then reread, talk with a partner, or find another book to help them answer them.
Readers ponder unanswerable questions by talking with others or writing about it.
Readers know the difference between thick and thin questions and they know the purpose of each.
DETERMINING IMPORTANCE
Readers use what they know about a genre, topic, or author to help them predict the structure of a text and think about exactly how they will need to navigate it– just as a sailor looks at the condition of the sea before setting sail, and adjusts.
In fiction, readers quickly identify the characters, setting, and problem and keep them in mind.
In fiction, readers continually think about the “essence” of the text, or author message/intent.
In ficiton, readers locate the most important events and use them to retell.
In nonfiction, readers separate interesting facts from important ones.
In nonfiction, readers use headings and other conventions of nonfiction to find what they want to know. The also use the conventions to ascertain what’s important to the author.
In both fiction and nonfiction, the reader uses the font type and print layout to help him make meaning of the text.
Readers recognize that what might be important to one reader, could just be interesting to another based on their purpose for reading and their schema.
SYNTHESIZING
A synthesis is the sum of information from the text and the reader’s background knowledge, ideas, and opinions produced in an original way.
Readers pay attention to how their thinking, schema, predictions, and conclusions change as they read.
Readers actively revise their cognitive synthesis as they read. New information is assimilated into the reader’s evolving ideas about the text rendering some earlier decisions about the text obsolete.
Readers find the main idea and information to support their thinking.
Readers monitor the overall meaning and themes in the text as they read and are aware of the ways text elements “fit together” to create an overall meaning and theme.
Proficient readers are aware of text elements in fiction/nonfiction and undersand that text elements provide clues to help them predict and understand the overall meanings or themes.
Readers pull their schema from other books and their life as they read to make big ideas.
When readers finish a book, they reflect on their journey- the surprises, the struggles, the parts they predicted- and then set a new path.
Readers constantly “accumulate” more ideas as they read a fiction or nonfiction book. As they do this, they must also toss out some ideas that are not as important any more.
When readers revisit a book they read before, they read it differently because of all the other things they have lived and read in the meantime.
Proficient readers use synthesis to share, recommend, and critically review texts they have read.
Fluency
Readers know what “fluent” sounds like for them. (Conferences should be held to help children at different phases identify what “fluent” is for them)
Readers read dessert books and listen to the cadence of their voice, expression, dialogue, and pacing– adjusting it to sound like a storyteller.
Sometimes readers have to back up and try reading the sentence or sentences again, or, in the case of emergent readers, they need to read the book again and again. Readers understand that rereading “smooths over their words” so that it sounds even and fluent.
Readers know that being able to read a book fluently also dictates the level of undestanding they will have, and they choose book accordingly.
Readers reread phrases or parts that do not sound fluent.
Partners help each other become fluent by reading aloud, echoing or chorally. They coach each other; they take on the role of the characters.
Reading like a writer
Good readers think about how the text is crafted and organized, as well as the specific decisions made by the author.
Readers notice when the writer is showing, not telling. They know this means they’ll have to use the strategies of mental images and inferencing.
Readers notice good story leads and endings.
Readers notice interesting words or unique ways of describing objects.
Readers relish beautiful language and reread or jot down parts that “sound good on their tounge.”
Readers notice transition words and other ways in which the author passes time.
Readers look for well-written small moments and take note of strategies used by the author that engage the reader.
Readers question the decisions of writers and wonder about the result of alternative decisions.
Readers consciously transfer things they learn from reading, to writing; They mirror what they learn from published authors.
Strategies for Independent Readers
1. Navigating longer texts
Readers use the chapter titles (if there are any) to help them navigate: they help them predict, formulate questions, and confirm.
Readers use what they’ve read in previous chapters to help them understand what is happening in their current chapter.
Readers make a plan/goal for their reading when reading a long book. (# of chapters, sections)
Readers include plans for school reading and home reading.
When readers finish a book in a series, they reflect, thinking, “Do I want to continue with this series? How will that help me as a reader? Do I enjoy it enough to do so? Do I want to find another book/series like this one or different from this one? What would stretch me as a reader?”
Readers know that once they have read a few books in a series, they develop “series schema.” This means that they will see the same characters, word difficulty, book structure, and basic plot structure over and over. While this can be fun, it no longer stretches them as a reader.
Readers of a series can describe the basic plot structure of each book in the series. Ex: In Magic Tree House, Jack and Annie always go up into the tree house and are sent on another adventure. They usually escape just in time.
Before reading a new series, a reader might talk with someone else who has read it to determine if they would like it, probable areas of difficulty, and whether or not the books have to be read in order.
Reading a series with a partner or group provides support to readers new to the series.
2. Understanding more complex storytelling
Readers use their voice to help them understand they talk as if the characters were talking. This helps a reader keep track of who is speaking.
Readers figure out who the narrator is so they understand the point of view the story is written from.
Readers think about how the characters develop and change.
Readers know the characters and their personalities to help them understand why things happen in the story. Readers also need to know the relationships between the characters and the traits of each.
Readers know the setting. The setting has an important meaning in the story.
Readers understand how the events in the story are leading up to the major change. The plot of the story is purposely written to give clues and help you understand the importance of the big event. How does the plot or structure of the book support its main message? Readers talk about the plot as a means of conveying ideas.
Readers focus on what happened in the story but also need to know why these events occurred. (cause and effect)
Readers pay attention on the movement through time. They look for key words and phrases that alert them to time passage.
Readers use their knowledge of these elements (above) to make decisions about the overall meaning of a passage, chapter, or book.
Readers compare the books they are reading to other books in sophisticated ways. They compare: plot lines, characters, character personalities, themes, messages, writing styles, and treatment of common themes by different authors. (STW)
Readers are able to express, through a variety of means, a synthesis of what they have read. The synthesis includes ideas and themes relevant to the overall meaning from the text and is cogently presented.
3. More sophisticated strategies for reading nonfiction
Readers know that there are times they must read for the gist, and they have strategies for doing that.
Readers know what information to ignore.
Readers know what words in parenthesis mean- when to read them and when to skip over them.
Readers know how to integrate all of the conventions of the genre to efficiently find the information they require.
Readers know how and when to skim.
Readers know how to read with a certain question in mind.
Readers recognize nonfiction cue words that signal important information is to come.
I found a website and a graphic organizer that I liked for inferring. The website is Greece School Districts. The site had links to reading strategies. For Inferential Reading they had a list of 13 ways that good readers infer and then gives questions/comments that teachers can make to help students.
The second resource is a graphic organizer that students can use to make inferences about character or topic. It refers them back to the text to support their conclusion/idea.
I liked this inference lesson. It uses a poem about Abraham Lincoln. So it brings in social studies too. It uses sayings from his time so it could be hard to understand. I would clean it up a little so the words were next to the ones in the poem and I would probably change some of the words to fit my grade level. But an overall good concept.
I found a technology oriented lesson that focuses on the students making inferences about MAC’s vs. PC’s using the commercials. http://www.mraspinall.com/?cat=30
Electronic File Cabinet of Thinking Strategies Blog 
July 28, 2009 at 10:48 am
http://www.philtulga.com/Riddles.html
This site has an Inference Riddle Game. Very fun!
July 28, 2009 at 10:51 am
Here’s a fun lesson for the first week of school to introduce the concept of inferring.
Click to access in_lp_MeBox.pdf
July 28, 2009 at 10:52 am
http://www.professorgarfield.org/pgf_ReadingRing.html
This is another fun website that has kids putting comic strip boxes in order. They have to infer the order based on the content.
July 28, 2009 at 11:59 am
This is a pretty comprehensive site with a lot to use. Some of it may be too advanced for 3rd graders, but there are some assessment items that look real good.
http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/teacher_resources/literacy_pages/comprehension_strategies.htm#inferring
July 28, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Here is a lesson on inferring poems with a graphic organizer.
Click to access poemsforinferencing.pdf
July 28, 2009 at 12:49 pm
This handout allows students to demonstrate their understanding of correctly writing a hypothesis. The Hypothesis Worksheet also helps the student demonstrates the students understanding of differentiating the different between the independent and dependent variables.
Click to access hypothesisws.pdf
July 28, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I find that poetry is very difficult for 5th graders to infer meaning. This
is a lesson I found using the poem, “Abraham Lincoln”
http://www.websterschools.org/files/37992/Inference.PoetryLesson.Intermediate.doc
July 28, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I found this blog that lists ideas for questions to ask and skills/strategies to look for while conferring. I found the blog at this site….
http://blogs.proteacher.net/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=119&sort=threadstarted&order=desc&page=2
Conferences, Part 2
by: BookMuncher, 07-21-2007
If you’re feeling deja vu, don’t worry- we’ve had this discussion before, on this very blog…
But I don’t think it’s a topic that can ever be explored too much; conferences are truly the heart of Reader’s Workshop. Most of us would love to say that the mini-lesson is the heart, or independent reading is the heart, because conferences- and our central role in them- scare us. But the truth is, that one-on-one conferences are like a critical doctor’s exam- they are diagnostic, they are check ups, they are trouble shooting sessions- all in one.
In our last conversation, we mostly talked about how we kept track of conferences and the architecture of our conferences. Now, let’s help each other think about all the types of conferences and examples of ones that might fall under those larger categories. What I’m looking for is not a definative list, but something to which I might turn to be sure I’m not missing something that could be more crucial for a particular child, at a particular point in time.
I’m going to start us off by listing some “umbrella conferences” and some more specific ones under those. I hope you’ll help me add more umbrellas and more specific conferences (after all, I’m pulling these from my own head and not using the more thorough and thoughtful path of flipping through all of my resource books!). If you think of ones to add, I’ll actually add them to this main blog in a different color. In that way, we can all have all of our thoughts in the same place. Here we go!
_________________________________________
Purple = My thoughts
Light purple = my after thoughts
Pink = kn324
Orange = judy
Blue = Curious Cat
Green = Familycarroll
Pick a color for your ideas!
____________________________________
RW Procedures
Readers find ways that work for them to block out other distractions so that they can concentrate on their reading. (In this conference, brainstorm possible solutions.)
Readers have a plan for their Reader’s Workshop, and they stick to it (plans vary greatly for the emergent reader, as opposed to the independent reader)
When a reader finishes a book, she might re-read it more slowly, looking for things she didn’t notice before.
When a reader has a problem, they try to solve it independently first. Next, they consult their parnter.
Readers are courteous to their partners, remembering to only interupt infrequently and when it is important.
Reasons for interupting your partner’s reading might be: to get help with a word, to get help understanding a part or a word, to show something in your book that you know would interest your partner (although infrequently).
Readers jot down questions or concerns that can only be handled by the teacher if she is in a conference.
Readers jot down questions, concerns, and celebartions that they’d like to talk about during their next conference.
Habits of a Reader
Readers treat books as treasures. When they are ready, they return books carefully to their correct place in the classroom library. If they do not know where to put the book, they seek help from a classmate to resolve the problem.
Readers read to understand/to make meaning
When readers finish a book they enjoyed, they think about other books on the same topic, or of the same level, or by the same author they might read.
Readers pursue their interests and find things they need to know by reading books of the same genre, topic, or author.
Readers consult other books to help them delve deeper into a subject that may be glossed over in their current book.
Readers don’t just stop reading in the middle of a chapter. They usually find an appropriate stopping point and use a bookmark.
Readers always re-read a little of what they read the day before to help them get back into the story.
Readers get their mind ready, or warmed up, to read by activating their schema (about topics, genres, and authors), thinking about the cover, and making predictions. They can also take a book walk to prepare them for words (emergent/early) or text structure (transitional/independent).
Book Choice
Readers choose a variety of books to “balance their reading diet.” (Variety is defined differently for every child at different points in the year)
Readers read for a purpose.
At any one time, readers should only have one “main” book. A main book is defined as a just right book into which the reader needs to put a lot of thinking and effort and must read with stamina. A main book is the one on which the reader will spend most of his time. (This pertains to transitional and independent readers)
All readers need a few dessert books and they need to know how much time to spend on them and how those books might help them as a reader.
If a reader finds that a book is too difficult- even with the help of a partner, he should put it away and tackle it at FYOE reading. A reader can’t grow his reading muscles reading a hard book.
If a reader finds that a book is too easy (and she still is intent on reading it), she should look at the clock and resolve to only read it for a small fraction of her reading time.
Partners might choose two books of the same topic or genre or author, read them separately, and then discuss them.
Readers should spend almost all of their time reading books that are just right.
Just right books are those in which the reader can understand almost all the words, but not all of them AND almost all the ideas, but not all of them.
Decoding
Good readers stop when they come to an unknown word and they apply a strategy or a combination of strategies to solve it.
Good readers know that sounding out a word the strategy they usually default to, and that it isn’t the most helpful of all strategies. Readers should only attempt to sound out a word a few times before moving on to a different strategy.
Good readers use the first letter of a word (by voicing it loud and clear and then continuing to read) to help them figure out a word.
Good readers can read up to the unknown word, hop over it, and think what would make sense there.
Good readers recognize smaller word chunks to help them solve a word.
Good readers can cover up familiar word endings (like ing, s, ed, ly, er) and look at the base.
Readers understand that when something doesn’t sound right or look right in a sentence they should go back and try again.
Good readers know when a word is not going to be solved and they know whether or not it is one they need to ask for outside help on, or just move on.
RWM/ MOT Comprehension Strategies
Readers can identify the parts they don’t really understand and use the strategies of good readers to help themselves.
Readers stop periodically to retell (or summarize) to make sure they understand.
Sometimes a reader, after trying some understanding strategies, might mark an unclear part with a post-it and continue reading to see if the issue is cleared up with more information.
A good reader rereads aloud phrases or sections that are cloudy for them.
Readers try to ascertain whether an unknown word (one that they tried to infer the meaning of) will affect the meaning of the entire book or chapter and they take necessary steps (Dictionary, partner, skip it, write it down for conference, etc…).
Readers are always using the understanding strategies– not just when they do not understand.
Readers make sure their reading makes sense.
SCHEMA/ CONNECTIONS
Reader think about their schema for a genre, topic, or author before reading AND they use it to help them throughout.
Readers pay attention to how their schema (for a genre, topic, author, character) changes as they read.
Readers make connections between their own lives and certain parts, character’s actions or feelings, and certain settings in fiction books. These connections might help them predict what’s going to happen, understand a feeling more deeply, or make a clearer mental image.
Readers make connections between the book they are reading and parts of other books, other characters, and/or other books of the same genre, author, or topic as they read. These connections might help them to predict what will happen or to broaden their understanding of that part of the book.
Readers make connections between a book they are reading and something they have seen or heard about happening in real life.
Readers respond to the text and the authors message based on experience, belief, and understandings.
MENTAL IMAGES
Readers make mental images even when they are reading a picture book– between pages, of what the character would look like if they were moving, of what could be happening off of the page, etc…
Readers use all five senses to make mental images.
Readers draw on their schema to make the clearest images.
Readers use mental images in nonfiction, especially when the author has gone into great detail to describe something.
Readers pay attention when a nonfiction writer states a comparison between the topic and something that they know (from their schema). They use these comparisons to make a mental image.
INFERENCES
Readers infer the meaning of unknown words by using the pictures, words around the word, and their schema. (Readers define unknown vocabulary using context clues.)
Readers infer what is going on the story by using the pictures, their schema, talking to others, rereading, making a mental image, or connecting to other books of the same topic, genre, or author.
Readers infer the character’s personality or feelings by using their schema, coupled with book clues.
Readers infer the author’s message.
Readers infer what might happen next. (Readers make predictions to help them get a sense of what the story might be about. Readers change their predictions based on new understandings.)
QUESTIONS
Readers think of questions they have before opening the book. These questions may be based on the cover, the title, or preexisting schema about the topic, genre, or author.
Readers think of questions (and keep track of them) during reading.
Readers question to clarify.
Readers question to understand more deeply.
Readers ask unanswerable questions.
Readers ask questions after reading and then reread, talk with a partner, or find another book to help them answer them.
Readers ponder unanswerable questions by talking with others or writing about it.
Readers know the difference between thick and thin questions and they know the purpose of each.
DETERMINING IMPORTANCE
Readers use what they know about a genre, topic, or author to help them predict the structure of a text and think about exactly how they will need to navigate it– just as a sailor looks at the condition of the sea before setting sail, and adjusts.
In fiction, readers quickly identify the characters, setting, and problem and keep them in mind.
In fiction, readers continually think about the “essence” of the text, or author message/intent.
In ficiton, readers locate the most important events and use them to retell.
In nonfiction, readers separate interesting facts from important ones.
In nonfiction, readers use headings and other conventions of nonfiction to find what they want to know. The also use the conventions to ascertain what’s important to the author.
In both fiction and nonfiction, the reader uses the font type and print layout to help him make meaning of the text.
Readers recognize that what might be important to one reader, could just be interesting to another based on their purpose for reading and their schema.
SYNTHESIZING
A synthesis is the sum of information from the text and the reader’s background knowledge, ideas, and opinions produced in an original way.
Readers pay attention to how their thinking, schema, predictions, and conclusions change as they read.
Readers actively revise their cognitive synthesis as they read. New information is assimilated into the reader’s evolving ideas about the text rendering some earlier decisions about the text obsolete.
Readers find the main idea and information to support their thinking.
Readers monitor the overall meaning and themes in the text as they read and are aware of the ways text elements “fit together” to create an overall meaning and theme.
Proficient readers are aware of text elements in fiction/nonfiction and undersand that text elements provide clues to help them predict and understand the overall meanings or themes.
Readers pull their schema from other books and their life as they read to make big ideas.
When readers finish a book, they reflect on their journey- the surprises, the struggles, the parts they predicted- and then set a new path.
Readers constantly “accumulate” more ideas as they read a fiction or nonfiction book. As they do this, they must also toss out some ideas that are not as important any more.
When readers revisit a book they read before, they read it differently because of all the other things they have lived and read in the meantime.
Proficient readers use synthesis to share, recommend, and critically review texts they have read.
Fluency
Readers know what “fluent” sounds like for them. (Conferences should be held to help children at different phases identify what “fluent” is for them)
Readers read dessert books and listen to the cadence of their voice, expression, dialogue, and pacing– adjusting it to sound like a storyteller.
Sometimes readers have to back up and try reading the sentence or sentences again, or, in the case of emergent readers, they need to read the book again and again. Readers understand that rereading “smooths over their words” so that it sounds even and fluent.
Readers know that being able to read a book fluently also dictates the level of undestanding they will have, and they choose book accordingly.
Readers reread phrases or parts that do not sound fluent.
Partners help each other become fluent by reading aloud, echoing or chorally. They coach each other; they take on the role of the characters.
Reading like a writer
Good readers think about how the text is crafted and organized, as well as the specific decisions made by the author.
Readers notice when the writer is showing, not telling. They know this means they’ll have to use the strategies of mental images and inferencing.
Readers notice good story leads and endings.
Readers notice interesting words or unique ways of describing objects.
Readers relish beautiful language and reread or jot down parts that “sound good on their tounge.”
Readers notice transition words and other ways in which the author passes time.
Readers look for well-written small moments and take note of strategies used by the author that engage the reader.
Readers question the decisions of writers and wonder about the result of alternative decisions.
Readers consciously transfer things they learn from reading, to writing; They mirror what they learn from published authors.
Strategies for Independent Readers
1. Navigating longer texts
Readers use the chapter titles (if there are any) to help them navigate: they help them predict, formulate questions, and confirm.
Readers use what they’ve read in previous chapters to help them understand what is happening in their current chapter.
Readers make a plan/goal for their reading when reading a long book. (# of chapters, sections)
Readers include plans for school reading and home reading.
When readers finish a book in a series, they reflect, thinking, “Do I want to continue with this series? How will that help me as a reader? Do I enjoy it enough to do so? Do I want to find another book/series like this one or different from this one? What would stretch me as a reader?”
Readers know that once they have read a few books in a series, they develop “series schema.” This means that they will see the same characters, word difficulty, book structure, and basic plot structure over and over. While this can be fun, it no longer stretches them as a reader.
Readers of a series can describe the basic plot structure of each book in the series. Ex: In Magic Tree House, Jack and Annie always go up into the tree house and are sent on another adventure. They usually escape just in time.
Before reading a new series, a reader might talk with someone else who has read it to determine if they would like it, probable areas of difficulty, and whether or not the books have to be read in order.
Reading a series with a partner or group provides support to readers new to the series.
2. Understanding more complex storytelling
Readers use their voice to help them understand they talk as if the characters were talking. This helps a reader keep track of who is speaking.
Readers figure out who the narrator is so they understand the point of view the story is written from.
Readers think about how the characters develop and change.
Readers know the characters and their personalities to help them understand why things happen in the story. Readers also need to know the relationships between the characters and the traits of each.
Readers know the setting. The setting has an important meaning in the story.
Readers understand how the events in the story are leading up to the major change. The plot of the story is purposely written to give clues and help you understand the importance of the big event. How does the plot or structure of the book support its main message? Readers talk about the plot as a means of conveying ideas.
Readers focus on what happened in the story but also need to know why these events occurred. (cause and effect)
Readers pay attention on the movement through time. They look for key words and phrases that alert them to time passage.
Readers use their knowledge of these elements (above) to make decisions about the overall meaning of a passage, chapter, or book.
Readers compare the books they are reading to other books in sophisticated ways. They compare: plot lines, characters, character personalities, themes, messages, writing styles, and treatment of common themes by different authors. (STW)
Readers are able to express, through a variety of means, a synthesis of what they have read. The synthesis includes ideas and themes relevant to the overall meaning from the text and is cogently presented.
3. More sophisticated strategies for reading nonfiction
Readers know that there are times they must read for the gist, and they have strategies for doing that.
Readers know what information to ignore.
Readers know what words in parenthesis mean- when to read them and when to skip over them.
Readers know how to integrate all of the conventions of the genre to efficiently find the information they require.
Readers know how and when to skim.
Readers know how to read with a certain question in mind.
Readers recognize nonfiction cue words that signal important information is to come.
July 28, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I found a website and a graphic organizer that I liked for inferring. The website is Greece School Districts. The site had links to reading strategies. For Inferential Reading they had a list of 13 ways that good readers infer and then gives questions/comments that teachers can make to help students.
http://web001.greece.k12.ny.us/academics.cfm?subpage=941
The second resource is a graphic organizer that students can use to make inferences about character or topic. It refers them back to the text to support their conclusion/idea.
Click to access inferencenotes.pdf
July 28, 2009 at 1:39 pm
More movement from me. This game allows students to infer from acting out scenes.
Click to access in_lp_MovetoInfer.pdf
July 28, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I liked this inference lesson. It uses a poem about Abraham Lincoln. So it brings in social studies too. It uses sayings from his time so it could be hard to understand. I would clean it up a little so the words were next to the ones in the poem and I would probably change some of the words to fit my grade level. But an overall good concept.
http://www.websterschools.org//files/37992/Inference.Poetry.Intermed.Worksheet.doc
July 28, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I found a technology oriented lesson that focuses on the students making inferences about MAC’s vs. PC’s using the commercials.
http://www.mraspinall.com/?cat=30
July 28, 2009 at 1:55 pm
http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/teacher_resources/literacy_pages/comprehension_strategies.htm#inferring
The busy teacher cafe has a leeson plan and several activities for teaching inferring.