Common Core Standards infuse reading, writing, listening, and speaking across all disciplines. Every teacher becomes a language arts teacher.
Read Aloud, Think Aloud
We all know that read alouds cultivate phonemic awareness, enrich vocabulary, and build knowledge. But they are also powerful vehicles for teaching students how to think deeply, critically, and creatively. It's also an effective forum for encouraging students to share their ideas openly and to respect and consider the ideas of others.
Teachers who model how to ask quesitons while reading show students how to build dialogue in their minds as they read. They help children to learn how to build interest with text and become stronger readers.
The video below models questioning that encourages students to make connections, build knowledge, and hone critical and creative thinking skills:
Teachers who model how to ask quesitons while reading show students how to build dialogue in their minds as they read. They help children to learn how to build interest with text and become stronger readers.
The video below models questioning that encourages students to make connections, build knowledge, and hone critical and creative thinking skills:
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller Second grade class, 2013
I taught in a rural school for ten years. It seems that every student on campus kept a chicken or two. One of the things that I quickly inferred from this lesson was that city kids don't know much about chickens! I was also interested in the lack of general knowledge about marine life, as this school is located directly on the Atlantic coast. Moral of the story: Don't presume that your students have a foundation of prior knowledge. Be open to the possibility that you may need to go back and firm up that foundation.
You may have noticed, as you watched the video, that I'm not quick to tell students that they are "wrong," even when the connections they make are way off base. Student responses that "roosters lay eggs" and "cheetahs lay eggs" are prime examples. I try to respond neutrally. I make space in the conversation for students to jump in with additional information. I pose questions that encourage students to draw from their knowledge. And I'm certainly not above throwing out a few "dumb looks" and "hmms" that encourage students to find their own answers! If a student is way off base in a response, I often re-visit it later on in the conversation, in a complimentary fashion. "Of course, some creatures give birth to live young. Thank you, Matthew, for reminding us of that." My motive is simple: Children cannot grow into savvy critical thinkers if we fail to cultivate their abilities as confident and creative questioners.
You may have noticed, as you watched the video, that I'm not quick to tell students that they are "wrong," even when the connections they make are way off base. Student responses that "roosters lay eggs" and "cheetahs lay eggs" are prime examples. I try to respond neutrally. I make space in the conversation for students to jump in with additional information. I pose questions that encourage students to draw from their knowledge. And I'm certainly not above throwing out a few "dumb looks" and "hmms" that encourage students to find their own answers! If a student is way off base in a response, I often re-visit it later on in the conversation, in a complimentary fashion. "Of course, some creatures give birth to live young. Thank you, Matthew, for reminding us of that." My motive is simple: Children cannot grow into savvy critical thinkers if we fail to cultivate their abilities as confident and creative questioners.
Because inquiring minds want to know
Below is a sample of questions posed during the read aloud:
Inference: If chickens aren't the only ones, what does that infer? If chickens aren't the only ones who lay eggs, then what must that mean?
Generating ideas: What else lays eggs?
Analogy: What is this? So what kind of egg is this?
Deductive reasoning/clarifying: A cheetah is a type of cat, and a cat would have a little....?
Generating theories: If eggs can't protect themselves, how the appearance of the egg provide protection?
Creating categories: Think about the smallest bird you know.
Building on prior knowledge: What did we learn about dinosaurs last week?
Vocabulary: Animals that live on water and on land are called?
Creating categories and classifying information: And that belongs to what family?
Visualizing/ Vocabulary: What does "foamy mass" mean? Look at the picture...
Increasing critical awareness: Can eggs defend themselves? Do other animals like to eat eggs?
Inductive reasoning: Why is it hard to believe these are eggs? How could the shape and color of this egg help protect the baby?
Connecting: Would anybody like to add to that?
Visualizing: Where might be a good place to hide these eggs?
Vocabulary: What is the word for this? And another word? And another word, too?
Vocabulary: What is that called?
Constructing valid deductive arguments: Why did you think that?
Creating categories/vocabulary: Is a bird oviparous? A fish? A cow? A sea urchin?
Inference: If chickens aren't the only ones, what does that infer? If chickens aren't the only ones who lay eggs, then what must that mean?
Generating ideas: What else lays eggs?
Analogy: What is this? So what kind of egg is this?
Deductive reasoning/clarifying: A cheetah is a type of cat, and a cat would have a little....?
Generating theories: If eggs can't protect themselves, how the appearance of the egg provide protection?
Creating categories: Think about the smallest bird you know.
Building on prior knowledge: What did we learn about dinosaurs last week?
Vocabulary: Animals that live on water and on land are called?
Creating categories and classifying information: And that belongs to what family?
Visualizing/ Vocabulary: What does "foamy mass" mean? Look at the picture...
Increasing critical awareness: Can eggs defend themselves? Do other animals like to eat eggs?
Inductive reasoning: Why is it hard to believe these are eggs? How could the shape and color of this egg help protect the baby?
Connecting: Would anybody like to add to that?
Visualizing: Where might be a good place to hide these eggs?
Vocabulary: What is the word for this? And another word? And another word, too?
Vocabulary: What is that called?
Constructing valid deductive arguments: Why did you think that?
Creating categories/vocabulary: Is a bird oviparous? A fish? A cow? A sea urchin?
" Research on the questions that teachers ask show that about 60 percent require only recall of facts, 20 percent require students to think, and 20 percent are procedural in nature."--P.E. Blosser, How to Ask the Right Questions