How are you supporting your readers to think deeply about texts in interactive read aloud?
Literacy Collaborative Trainer
In this first grade classroom, children are sitting in a circle to encourage conversation among all readers. |
In all K-8 classrooms, children should be engaging in conversations about texts guided by the intentional teaching opportunities provided by the teacher. Teachers choose the texts carefully based on the needs of the students in the classroom and then plan for leading conversations within, beyond and about the text.
Pete and Pickles |
Are you leading conversation or questioning?
The role of the teacher is to lead conversation based on the needs of the students, NOT to plan questions to test for comprehension. Supporting readers in interactive read aloud is much deeper than questioning the group of children. It is an opportunity for children to engage in deep conversations about the text.Let’s think about how this exchange during the reading of Pete & Pickles (2008) supports teaching for strategic actions during a first grade interactive read aloud.
Teacher:
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Students:
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Strategic
Actions:
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Text of
Story:
“Pete cut
the evening’s fun off early and went to bed to get the nightmares out of the
way--the same terrifying nightmares all pigs dream during the stormy
nights. For pigs are known for doing
only one thing well in water:”
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Pete is
having terrifying nightmares. Why
would he be terrified?
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S1: Can you
read that again please?
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Within:
Notice and ask questions when meaning is lost or understanding is
interrupted.
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Teacher
reads passage again.
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S1:
Drowning. Pigs drown in water. When
you reread that I thought he might drown because the book said “watery
nightmare.”
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Within:
●
Pick up important information and remember it to use
in discussion.
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Provide specific examples and evidence from the text
to support thinking.
Beyond:
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Predict what will happen next.
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Use evidence from the text to support predictions.
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Later on in
the text.
Text says:
“A sudden sound.”
Teacher
reads the next page for evidence of the sudden sound.
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Teacher:
What do you think was the sudden sound that Pete, the pig, heard?
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S2: The
elephant is the sudden sound.
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Within:
●
Notice and derive information from pictures and
photographs.
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Provide specific examples and evidence from the text
to support thinking.
●
Use details from illustrations to support points made
in discussion.
Beyond:
●
Interpret the illustrations.
●
Discuss specific examples from the text to support or
justify the ideas they are expressing.
About:
●
Notice details in illustrations or photographs.
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S3: Yea, I can see it right there because the
window is open.
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S4: The
elephant stomped so loud when he climbed in the window and went boom.
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S5: Yes, I
agree, you can see where the elephant climbed in the open window because
there is mud footprints coming from the window.
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This exchange engaged the children in rich conversations about the text. These children have been taught through modeling and practice how to have conversations about the text. It was not an exchange where students answered low level questions. The teacher naturally involved these children in conversations thinking within, beyond and about the text. The children are “actively listening to and discussing a text” and we see the way this is supporting their comprehending using multiple strategic actions (Fountas & Pinnell, 2011).
In contrast, let’s look at this exchange, from the same
text:
Text/Teacher:
|
Students:
|
Strategic
Actions:
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Text of
Story:
“Pete cut
the evening’s fun off early and went to bed to get the nightmares out of the
way--the same terrifying nightmares all pigs dream during the stormy
nights. For pigs are known for doing
only one thing well in water:”
|
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What is
going to happen?
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S1: Pig is
having a nightmare about drowning.
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Beyond:
●
Predict what will happen next.
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Later on in
the text.
Text says:
“A sudden sound.”
Teacher
reads the next page for evidence of the sudden sound.
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Teacher:
What is the sudden sound?
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S2:
Elephant
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Within:
●
Notice and derive information from pictures and
photographs
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Text: “The
window was open. Pete pulled the lamp
switch. Nothing happened.
He had an
odd feeling--pigs are very smart in this way--that something was a little….wrong.”
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Teacher:
Why didn’t anything happen when pig pulled the lamp switch?
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S3: It was
elephant’s tail.
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Within:
●
Notice and derive information from pictures and
photographs.
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Teacher:
What was wrong?
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S4:
Elephant is at his house.
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Beyond:
●
Interpret the illustrations.
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Teacher:
What else?
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S5: The pig
is pulling elephant’s tail.
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These responses are in stark contrast to the first example
for several reasons. First, the teacher
did not engage the children in conversation, instead the focus was on
questioning for low level understanding. In turn, the children gave short answers that only indicated low level
comprehension in thinking within and beyond the text. The teacher did not encourage the children to
elaborate on many of the answers. Finally, the exchange is teacher-student-teacher-student instead of
teacher-student-student-student.
We need to encourage deeper conversations by thinking deeper
about the text ourselves. Read the text
the first time as a reader, instead of as a teacher. Reflect on how you understood the story and
your thinking throughout the text. Think
about where you might invite conversation remembering to stop only 3-4 times
for conversation or turn and talks. If
you stop often to drill children with low level question-answering sessions,
this will negatively impact their understanding of the story because of the interruptions.
References
Breathed, Berkley. (2008). Pete & Pickles. New York, NY: Philomel Books
Thinking, Talking, and Writing About Reading, K-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Thinking, Talking, and Writing About Reading, K-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2006). Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency: Thinking,
Talking, and Writing About Reading, K-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Talking, and Writing About Reading, K-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2006). The Continuum of Literacy Learning: Grades PreK-8,
Second Edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Second Edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.