Close Readings, Metacognitive Conversations, and Marking Up The Text

1. Close Readings, Metacognitive Conversations, and Marking Up The Text EDC448 Dr. Julie Coiro

2. Today’s Objectives • Increase awareness of think-aloud procedures and levels of metacognitive strategy use • View activities/lessons that makes thinking visible and link to M&MDAAVISS strategies • Work in small groups to share text locations likely to challenge your students and consider think-alouds to make visible your own problem solving strategies • Prepare for Thursday’s think-aloud lesson (Stand up and Teach!)

3. What is metacognition? • Cognition: Thinking • Metacognition: Thinking about thinking • In a reading context: Thinking about the goals, tasks, and strategies that will help you comprehend more deeply as you read • Cognitive apprenticeship: Making these thoughts visible

4. Levels of Metacognitive Awareness (Perkins, 1992) • Tacit readers: lack awareness of their thinking • Aware readers: know when meaning breaks down but no strategies to repair meaning • Strategic readers: know when meaning breaks down and uses strategies to fix meaning • Reflective readers: reflect on reading and intentionally apply strategies not only when meaning is lost but also to deepen understanding So, how do we foster strategic, reflective readers?

5. Process Think-Alouds Lapp, Fisher, and Grant (2008) • 1. Choose a short section of text and decide on a few strategies to highlight. • 2. State your purposes. • 3. Read text aloud and think-aloud (point out the mental moves you make; reveal your “inner voice”) about unfamiliar language, concepts, and text structures. • ** “deliberately planned to provide commentary and conversational support for comprehension, word study, and engagement by noting where students might need explanation, elaboration, or connection” (p. 90) • ** draw students into the conversation and capitalize on places they naturally experienced anticipation” (p. 94) > links to increases in comprehension & motivation • 4. Ask students to try it out with the next section, working in teams. Reinforce with follow-up lessons (gradual release: I do, you watch/help; we do together; you do, I watch/help).

6. Holding Thinking to Remember and Use (Tovani, Ch. 6) Students often don’t know what to do – and need more modeling and explanation • Capturing thinking/reactions while reading provides something to revisit and reconsider • Thinking on paper = alternative assessment and rehearsal for writing response • Gradually release responsibility (move from pictures to text from one lesson to the next) • It’s ok to show evidence of getting stuck > this paves the way for figuring out how to get unstuck!

7. Holding Thinking to Remember and Use (Tovani, Ch. 6) • Model the use of tools for reading actively and holding thinking: • Text codes, sticky notes, highlighters, double-entry journals, digital voice recorders and podcast feedback from teachers! • Asking questions is a signal that you are constructing meaning! (the more you know, the more questions you have!)

8. Holding Thinking to Remember and Use (Tovani, Ch. 6) • Model the use of tools for using thinking: • Whole group thinking, graphic organizers, quad-entry journals, • ** Comprehension constructors (think-sheets); a concrete way of taking students through an abstract process - the simpler, the better • After introducing/modeling/trying options, let students choose (compile sticky-notes; individual double-entry journals with feedback leads to constructive group thinking on double-entry journals)

9. Comprehension Constructors

10. What questions do you have? Asking questions is a sign you are engaged & constructing meaning.

11. Formative Measures of Evidence-Based Thinking (pair with CCSS Tests!! Inferring Analyzing Summarizing Synthesizing

12. Individual Accountability in Group Level Work Making Connections Asking questions Monitoring/Clarifying Confusion Using evidence from the text

13. Gr. 9-10 History Lesson What do you notice? • Lesson Objective: Connect the Declaration of Independence to the American identity • Why is the break up letter an effective way to engage students? • What strategies do Ms. Katznelson and Mr. David use to support students in constructing their own knowledge? • What evidence of “thinking aloud” do you observe? Is it effective? • How are the four themes developed throughout the lesson?

14. Let’s Watch a Think-Aloud in Action (English Teacher, Fisher video) • Part 1: How does the teacher engage her students at the beginning of her lesson? Is this technique effective? Explain… • Part 2: Notice/Name some of the strategies the teacher uses to think-aloud with her students. • Part 3: How does the fishbowl technique support her gradual release of responsibility to students?

15. Workshop Groups • Work in groups of three to: • 1. Share text locations likely to challenge your students while working toward lesson objective. • 2. Model your draft of how to make visible your own thinking at these challenging spots. • 3. Get feedback and ideas from your classmates. • 4. Exchange ideas about a digital think-aloud. • 5. Use these reflections to inform your Tackling the Text Think-Aloud Assignment due Thursday.

16. Homework • 1. READ Tovani Chapter 3 (Mental Modeling)

17. Metacognitive Strategies

18. Extra Resources

19. Practicing Thinking Aloud About Tackling Challenging Texts EDC448 Dr. Julie Coiro

20. In your mini-lessons… • Practice modeling a think-aloud mini-lesson with your “students” (8 min) • You Teach (model and get your students ready for hard parts) 4 minutes • They Notice– 1 helpful idea you noticed your teacher did to support your comprehension of this difficult text) [2 min] – (Oh, I get it! So, you used/modeled ___ M&MDAVIS to help you figure out___)

21. Group Reflections and Quick Write • Were you able to cover your content in this “metacognitive literacy lesson”? • Did the guide help you teach? How? Teach differently than you might usually? • What did you notice when you gave your students a chance to reflect out loud about what they learned? • How might you want the modeling / talking to change in your lessons as you move through the year?