Blog Eleven

Using Strategy for Reading: Collaborative Strategic Reading

                                                                 

                                                                        

In an attempt to make use of Collaborative Strategic Reading in the ninth grade classroom, I will use the novel ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ by Harper Lee to teach characterization. The character to be focused on for this lesson is Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley.

In chapter thirty, Scout who is the protagonist of this novel, finally understands the circumstances surrounding Boo Radley, which has made him a recluse who never leaves his house. Boo is the result of his immediate setting- an intelligent individual, emotionally damaged by his cruel father. Boo also represents a ‘mocking bird’ in the story, as he is a good person injured by the evil of mankind. I will now discuss how I will get students to think at such a high level using the CSR strategy.

The class will commence with an introduction of the topic to be covered for the day which is ‘Symbol in Boo’. Students will then be assigned to groups of four made up of students of varying ability. Students will be allowed to choose their roles for the day. The possible roles are:

1. Leader- tells the group what to read and what strategy to use next.

2. Clunk Expert- Uses clunk cards to remind the group of the steps to follow when trying

                            to figure out the meaning of their clunks.

3. Gist Expert- Guides the group towards getting the gist and determines that the gist

                          contains the most important ideas.

4. Announcer- Calls on group members to read a passage or share an idea.

 Cue Cards which outline procedures to be followed in the cooperative learning group and responsibilities of each role in the group will also be provided.

Example of Cue Card for the role of leader:

Figure 1: CSR Leader’s Cue Card
Before Reading	During Reading	After Reading
Preview Today’s topic is _____. Let’s brainstorm everything we already know about the topic and write it on your learning logs. Who would like to share their best ideas? Now let’s predict. Look at the title, pictures, and headings and think about what you think we will learn today. Write your ideas in your learning logs. Who would like to share their best ideas?	Read Who would like to read the next section? Click and Clunk Did everyone understand what we read? If you did not, write your clunks in your learning logs. [If someone has a clunk] Clunk Expert, please help us out. Get the Gist It’s time to Get the Gist. Gist Expert, please help us out. Go back and repeat all of the steps in this column over for each section that is read.	Wrap up Now let’s generate some questions to check if we really understood what we read. Remember to start your questions with who, when, what, where, why, or how. Everyone, write your questions in your learning logs. Who would like to share their best question? In your learning logs, let’s write down as much as we can about what we learned today. Let’s go around the group and each share something we learned. Compliments and Suggestions The Encourager has been watching carefully and will now tell us two things we did really well as a group today. Is there anything that would help us do even better next time?
Adapted from Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts. (2000). Professional development guide: Enhancing reading comprehension for secondary students-part II. Austin, TX: Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts.

A CSR Learning Log sheet will also be given to each student.

Figure 2: CSR Learning Log
Name:_______________________________	Date:_______________________________
Brainstorm: What do you already know about this topic?	Predict: What do you think you will learn by reading this passage?
Clunks: Please list your Clunks.
The Gist (main idea): Write the Gist of the section you read.
Make questions: Make questions about main ideas.	Review: Write something important they learned.
Adapted from Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts. (2000). Professional development guide: Enhancing reading comprehension for secondary students-part II. Austin, TX: Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts. For use in the classroom, this figure should be expanded to fill an entire page.

The groups will discuss amongst themselves, headed by the leader, all the knowledge they have already acquired about Boo Radley before beginning to read the chapter. The Announcer will then call on members of the group to begin reading. The Clunk Expert and Gist Expert will take up their chosen roles and begin to document any difficult aspects as well as main ideas they encounter during reading. The students will then Wrap up after they have generated questions and reviewed the main ideas. The students will also document their groups discussions on their individual CSR learning logs. The whole class will then engage in a whole class Wrap up discussion guided by the teacher. The findings of each group will be discussed and used to engage students in critical thinking,  until they are able to understand the character of ‘Boo’ and his ‘symbol’ (i.e. a mocking bird) in the novel. Students will also be encouraged to relate Boo to their own personal lives and to consider how they would deal or cope with the same settings surrounding Boo. By doing this, the students get the chance to ‘Find Oneself in the Story’.

Source:

http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=424