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The sixth grade students have been learning about the Notice and Note close reading strategies. These reading strategies include six sign posts that help the students analyze the text to help them better comprehend the message the author is presenting. We are starting with the sign posts that are geared towards fiction reading materials and will move on to non-fiction sign posts in the near future.
The six sign post are as follows: Contrasts and Contradictions, Aha Moments, Tough Questions, Words of the Wiser, Again and Again, and Memory Moment. Contrast and Contradiction teaches the students to pay attention when the characters act out in a way that is different then expected. Aha Moments are like when the light bulb goes off and the character realizes something important. Tough Questions are questions that the answers are usually not found directly in the text. The questions help the reader identify internal conflict in the characters. Words of the Wiser is advice given to a character that really helps them learn a life lesson. Again and Again teaches the students to really pay attention to the words and phrases that are repeated by the author. The students learn to analyze why the author has written this way. The final sign post, Memory Moment, teaches the students to find the importance of memories that an author includes in their writing.
Kylene Beers & Robert E. Probst have influenced my teaching this year. The students seem enthusiastic about learning these strategies to help them become better readers.
Beers, Kylene and Probst, Robert E. Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading. 2013. Heinemann.