defining high quality reading: revisting read alouds with some new lenses

A CLOSE LOOK AT THE POWER OF CRITICAL LITERACY AND UNANSWERABLE QUESTIONS TO TRANSFORM READ ALOUDS

AND READING LIVES

BERGENFIELD, NJ SCHOOLS6 T H , 7 T H AND 8 T H GRADE TEACHERS

MARCH 2011

G I N NY L O C KW O O D

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Defining High Quality Reading: Revisting Read Alouds With Some New

Lenses

www.GinnyLockwood.com

Defining High Quality Reading

Reading, when engaging and successful, calls us to action…emotional, intellectual and often social action! Reading, when engaging and successful, can and should change one’s view of the world and of how to live in more aware and involved ways within it.

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Framework for Reading Instruction

Independent

Reading and

Writing

Read Aloud

Shared Reading

Guided ReadingDifferentiated

GroupsWord/

Language Study


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Have you ever found yourself…

Using books to teach skills rather than using books to engage readers?

Asking higher level questions only to receive literal recall from books?

Faced with passive quiet listeners?Trying to endlessly elicit responses that don’t

come?Prepared for and excited about a read aloud that

did not quite live up to your hopes and expectations?

Generally frustrated that what you know is possible seems so unattainable?


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Various Purposes for Reading Aloud

Enjoying great books and loving readingLearning about contentGiving children access to books they may not

be able to read independentlyToday’s purpose:Engaging with texts and classmates and the

world in ways that make an impact and leave us pondering things that matter “For me, this book really spoke to the issue of….” “Having read this book, I am left thinking a lot

about…”www.GinnyLockwood.com

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From Harold Bloom’s “How to Read and Why”

We read deeply for varied reasons: That we cannot know

enough people profoundly enough

That we need to know ourselves better

That we require knowledge, not just of self and others, but of the way things are

That we search for a difficult pleasure


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During Interactive Read Alouds

We experience literature in ways that: Engage readers emotionally

Engage readers intellectually

Engage readers authentically and purposefully

Invite readers to ponder, linger and reflect

Inspire readers to read better and in more powerful ways on their own


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Impact on Student Reading Quality

Only literal understanding Increased inferential thinking

Lack of engagement Increased empathy, visualization, questioning, etc.

Unresponsive reading Increased ability to “talk back” to the book and to other readers


From:My Name is Jorge on Both Sides of the River By Jane Medina

InvisibleIf I stay very stillAnd breathe

very quietly,The magic happens:I disappear-and nobody sees me-and nobody hears me-and nobody even thinks about meAnd the teacher won’t call on me.

It’s very safebeing invisibleI’m perfect!

I can’t make mistakes-at leastnobody sees them,so nobody laughs.

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Closely consider…

Genre

Author

Content

Context

Culture

Overall literary quality

Overall aesthetic quality

“Conversation creates the conditions for us to rediscover the joy of thinking together.”

-Margaret Wheatley; Author From, “Turning to One Another”

Interactive Read Aloud: Choosing Texts

Choosing Books for Read Aloud

What’s grabbing me about this book? Why did I add it to my stack?

What about this book might grab the hearts and minds of my kids?

What are some debates I can imagine engaging in when talking about this book with other readers?

What makes this a high quality piece of writing?

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Talk and DiscourseComprehension and Meaning Making

Modeling and engaging readers in the use of specific types of talk structures

Modeling and engaging readers in increasingly complex and higher levels of conversation

Actively engaging readers in the “busyness” of reading well

Implicitly engaging readers in employing comprehension strategies while making meaning of text

The Duality ofPowerful Interactive Read Alouds

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Something to Think About…

“By changing the way we talk, we change the way we think, not just as individuals, but all together.

-William IsaacsAuthor of, “Dialogue: The Art of

Thinking Together”

The Interplay of Meaning Making

Literal ~ Holding onto the gist of the story

Inferential ~ Making sense of and thinking more about the story, especially what’s not on the page

Unanswerable ~ Pondering something bigger launched by the story

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“I think that when we teach, we need to remember that human beings want to work with heart and soul on endeavors that matter.”

-Lucy Calkins


Concepts for Critical Reading/ThinkingFrom, “For a Better World” 2001; Bomer and Bomer; Pages 28 – 37

GroupsPowerTaking Things for

Granted (Naturalization)Fairness/JusticeVoice/SilenceMultiple Perspectives

(Different Sides of Stories)Representation

(Showing What People Are Like)

GenderRace

ClassMoneyLaborLanguageIntimate Relationships

and FamiliesRelationships to

NatureViolence and PeaceActing Alone or

Together (Individualism/Collectivism)

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Eyeing the PossibilitiesWhen planning for talk around critical literacy lenses and

the unanswerable think about:Character decisions, or unusual behaviorNew information is given about a characterStrong emotionsHeightened interactions (conflict, big news, etc.)Evidence of problem or resolutionSurpriseAnticipationThemes/Lenses Perspectiveswww.GinnyLockwood.com

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Angling Questions: Inside the Story

What are you thinking?

Why did the character do that?

What does it tell you that she acted that way?

Should he have done that? Why? Why not?

What should happen because of that?

What does the character want?

How will he try to get it?

What do we think the character needs? Does she think she needs it?

Is there a problem? What are characters doing to make it better? Worse?

Is the character changing? How? How can we tell?


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Angling Questions: Beyond the Story

What are you thinking?What is going on here?What is really going on

here?Is this fair, right, wise? Are characters doing

their best?Does this match what

you know about the world?

Is this how things work in your experience?

Is there another way to look at this?

What would you say to the characters if you could?

What do you think they’d say to us if they could?

Do you think the author wants us to know, believe, or change something? What? How do you know?


Give Them a Little Substance

Move beyond the obviousImagine possible interpretationsPlan through lenses for critical

thinking and analysisEmbrace the unanswerableConsider the symbiotic relationship

between content and conversation

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Interactive Read Aloud: Try it!

Read, “Mr. Entwhistle” first as a reader, not a teacher of readers

Reread the text through a teacher’s lens Where might you model your own thinking? Where might you ask literal/inferential questions? Where/When might you ask an unanswerable

question? Why? Are there particular lenses for critical analysis

through which you might question/analyze the text?

Vocabulary DevelopmentA more varied and extensive vocabulary makes a direct impact on comprehension of texts and the ability to discuss them with others.

Initial Introduction of “Tier Two” Words*

Define the word in simple terms as it is encountered in a text

Discuss the word in the context of a shared experience

Discuss the word in the context of individual students’ experiences

Ongoing use in and out of school

*Bringing Words to Life; Robust Vocabulary Instruction; Beck, McKeown and Kucan; 2002

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Mamaby Jacqueline Woodson

Across the Alleyby Richard Michelson

Planning for Interactive Read Alouds: Try it!


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Reflecting and Moving Forward

How might you choose texts for Read Alouds slightly differently?

How might your planning/preparation process change?

How might you judge the success of Read Alouds?

What will give you the satisfying sense that the work is impacting students’ independent reading?

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A Few “Take Away” Thoughts

Substitute, “Should…” for “Will…”Plan for the unanswerable

Decisions Relationship dynamics Outcomes/resolutions Themes Critical literacy lenses

Teach reading not booksBooks don’t have “right” interpretationsRead Alouds level the playing field for ALL

readers!

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“Ignorance is not so much about not knowing an answer as it is about not knowing that there is a question, not being able to think when thinking is required.”

-Frank Smith Essays into Literacy

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defining high quality reading: revisting read alouds with some new lenses

Documents

reading instruction3www

independent reading

power of reading workshop

reading lives bergenfield

student reading quality8www

young readers lives

yourselfusing books

involved ways