QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
“At the end of the game, pawns and kings go back into the same box.”
-An Italian Proverb
Emerson Grades 6-12
Final After-School Meeting
February 6, 2013
AGENDA

Announcements:

Grimmoire Fairy Tale Writing Contest: Jessica Bennett

Note and Notice Book Talk: Barbara Barthel


Barbara Barthel and Others
Understanding Text Complexity: Barbara Barthel and Bernetta Snell
American Lit at Grade 10 or Grade 11?? Bernetta Snell
Notice and Note: Strategies for
Close Reading
Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst
Three Parts
1. The Questions We
Pondered
2. The Signposts We
Found
3. The Lessons We
Teach
Introduction: Items of
Interest
 Premise: We want them inside the text, noticing
everything, questioning everything, weighing
everything they are reading against their lives, the
lives of others, and the world around them.
 Premise: We believe it is the interaction, the
transaction, between the reader and the text that
not only creates meaning but creates the reason
to read.
Intro Points of Interest
 List of the Twenty-Five Most
Commonly Taught Novels,
Grades 4-8
 List of the Twenty-Five Most
Commonly Taught Novels,
Grades 9-10

Pages 4-5
Final Thought from
INTRO:
They will need you to put
the right books in their
hands, books in which
they can lose themselves
and books in which they
can find themselves.
Part I: The Questions We
Pondered
 1. The impact of social networks:
 Created to help book lovers connect:

Shelfari

LibraryThing

BookCrossing

Reader2

Booktribes

Revish

ConnectViaBooks
Part I
 Reading Habits Survey,
Page 14
 Also appears in the
Appendix
 Discussion on-screen
reading versus primary text
reading
Another Aspect of the
Book
 At the end of each section,
the authors provide a final
activity:
 Talking with Colleagues . . .
 Great for a book study
 Great for personal reflection as
well
Part I Highlights
 The Role of Fiction
 The authors promote the POWER of
fiction in the classroom:
 Nonfiction lets us learn more;
fiction lets us be more.
 It seems that not only is it [fiction]
a genre with broad appeal, but
current reseach shows that it
also affects the way we interact
with one another.
The POWER of Fiction:
 Contemporary research in psychology and
brain functioning confirms the value of
fiction in our intellectual and emotional lives,
telling us that the effects of reading fiction
are far more significant than the mere
pleasure of vicarious experiences and the
temporary and insignificant release of
momentary escape from the present.
 The humanities, it turns out, do tend to
humanize.
Part I: RIGOR
 Rigor is not an attribute of a
text but a characteristic of
our behavior with that text.
Put another way, rigor resides
in the energy and attention
given to the text, not in the
text itself.
Part I: Rigor
 It’s Rigor, Not Rigor Mortis
 When the text is too tough, then the task is
simply hard, not rigorous.
 The essential element in rigor is
engagement.
 Rigor, in other words, lies in the
transaction between the reader and the
text and then among readers. The
essence of rigor is engagement and
commitment.
Part I: Intellectual
Communities
 We doubt, no matter how great
any standard—common or
otherwise—is deemed to be,
that any student will arrive in
the classroom aching to use
detail to support her opinion or
rushing to compare and
contrast two stories.
Part I: Intellectual
Communities
 New standards, without addressing old
problems, will not change anything.
 What might make a difference is to stop
teaching students simply to pass a test . . . .
 What might make a difference would be
schools becoming the intellectual
communities that they ought to be but
can’t be when the penalty for not
teaching to the test is so high.
Part I: The Role of Talk
 Suggested reading: Talk About
Understanding by Ellin Keene.
 John Dewey said that the “vital habits” of
democracy include “the ability to follow an
argument, grasp the point of view of
another, expand the boundaries of
understanding, [and] debate the alternative
purposes that might be pursued.
 Best developed through TALK.
Part I: The Role of Talk
 The difference between monologic and
dialogic talk”
 Monologic talk is authoritative and presumes
that the goal of the listener is to agree with or
learn from the speaker.
 Dialogic conversation expects that the
speaker becomes the listener and the listener
becomes the speaker, that through give-and
take new ideas might emerge, one might
change one’s mind when the other is
convincing, and the other might reshape an
opinion when the first is persuasive.
Part I: Role of Talk
 Asking questions for which you already
know the answer is inauthentic, yet
that’s the type of questioning that
goes on in most classrooms.
 Research also reveals that in dialogic
classrooms, students do more of the
questioning, and as a result,
achievement increases.
Part I: Role of Talk
Tips for Improving Student-to-Student
Discourse
1. Listen to the conversations in your
classroom, asking if there is evidence of
rigorous thinking. (Page 33 offers a checklist
“Rigor and Talk.”)
2. Step back and let students pose questions.
3. Give various students prompts that can
keep the conversation going.
4. Record small-group conversations, using
either an audio recorder or video camera.
Part I: Role of Talk
Tips for Improving Student-to-Student
Discourse
5. Give students specific feedback about their
comments as a natural part of the
conversation.
6. Encourage students to elaborate.
7. Ask high-level questions of all students.
8. Encourage students to use the vocabulary
of the discipline.
9. Arrange desks so that students see one
another’s faces instead of backs of heads.
Part I: What Is Close
Reading?
 Be wary of the generalized concepts of
close reading being promoted:
 Observe what author has presented
 Avoid imputing to the author anything that is
not evident in the text
 Avoid wandering from experience in the text
to think about other experiences
 Avoid parroting the judgments and
interpretations of others for our own
assessment
Part I: Characteristics of
Close Reading
 It should simply imply that we bring the text
and the reader close together.
 Close reading should suggest close
attention to
 the relevant experience, thought, and
memory of the reader;
 the responses and interpretations of other
readers;
 the interactions among those elements.
Part I: Characteristics of
Close Reading
 It works with a short passage.
 The focus is intense.
 It will extend from the passage
itself to the other parts of the
text.
 It should involve a great deal of
exploratory discussion.
 It involves rereading.
Part I: Text-Dependent
Questions
If you’re in a state that has adopted the
Common Core State Standards, you know that
the standards “virtually eliminate text-to-self
connections” (Gewerts 2012), so the questions
you are now to ask about a text are what one
architect of the CCSS (and recently named
College Board president) David Coleman has
dubbed “text-dependent questions.” These are
questions the answers to which may be found
in the text or deduced from evidence in the
text.
= MONOLOGIC TALK
Part I: Text-Dependent
Questions
 Suggested Reading: Making
Meaning with Texts (2005) by
Rosenblatt
 We worry that a focus on text-
dependent questions may
create a nation of teacherdependent kids. (p. 43)
Part I: Letting Students Create
Text-Dependent Questions
1. Find a short text that you think might be challenging
for your class.
2. Read the selection aloud to students as they follow
along or, if appropriate, tell the students to read it
on their own.
3. Tell them that as they read they should simply mark
those spots where they feel confused, have a
question, or wonder about something.
4. Ask them to reread the selection.
5. Pull the whole class back together and collect, on
the board or flip-charts, the questions that have
been generated.
Part I: Letting Students Create
Text-Dependent Questions
6. Next, in pairs or trios, ask them to look at the
questions they think most interesting or
important, discuss them, and make notes
about their thoughts.
7. Pull the class back together and work
through some of the most interesting
questions, asking for the ideas produced by
the pairs/trios, and expanding or refining
them with contributions from others.
8. Decide what follow-up is needed.
Part I: Must Everyone
Read the Same Book?
 The problem isn’t that we ask all
students to read the same book. It’s
that we expect them to read it in the
same way.
 Also, know that when you have some
students reading a book that is not at
their instructional or independent
reading level (meaning it’s causing
them some frustration), then you are
not improving their reading fluency.
Part I: Must Everyone
Read the Same Book?
 The best way to know if a book is at a
student’s frustrational, instructional, or
independent level is to do a miscue analysis.
 Suggested book:
 Miscue Analysis Made Easy by Sandra Wilde,
2000
Part I: Must Everyone
Read the Same Book?
 We think it’s important [asking a small group
or large group of students to read the same
novel] because there’s a need for
community, for learning to listen to someone
else’s opinion, for learning to disagree
respectfully, for discovering how to support
ideas with reason, for discovering that when
you talk with another about a book, you
learn more than when you think it through
alone.
 P. 51
Part I: Text Complexity
of a Text
Most leveling systems are based on
numerical analysis of the text. These
formulas give information about the
vocabulary and the syntax, but nothing
about the content.
A preferable system takes into account
many factors, such as qualitative
measures.
Part I: Text Complexity
Pages 60-61
Worksheet for Analysis
of Text Complexity of
a Literary Text
Part I: Qualitative
Dimensions Features
 “Levels of meaning” refers to the complexity
of ideas in a text.
 “Structure” refers to the design of the
narrative or exposition.
 “Language conventionality and clarity”
refers to vocabulary, sentence patterns,
style, and register.
 “Knowledge demands” refers to the
experience and knowledge necessary to
deal with the text.
Part I: Text Complexity
of a Text
 Suggested Reading:
 Text Complexity: Raising Rigor
in Reading
by Nancy Frey, Dianne Lapp,
and Doug Fisher (2012)
Part I: Issues of Text
Complexity
We finally have to face the fact that the most
complex factor in text complexity is the transaction
between the reader and the text.
Consider:
 Interest is critical.
 The student’s background and ability are, of
course, also of great importance.
 In addition to ability and background, you will
want to consider the attitudes and maturity of
the students.
Part I: Text Complexity
The concept of text complexity,
moving as it does beyond the
measurable elements to include
attention to qualitative issues and
to the connection between
reader and text, transfers a great
deal of responsibility to the
teacher and the media specialist
and implies great respect for their
judgment.
Part II: The Note and
Notice Signposts
 Features that appeared in every young
adult novel read by the authors:
1. Contrasts and Contradictions
2. Aha Moment
3. Tough Questions
4. Words of the Wiser
5. Again and Again
6. Memory Moment
Part II: Signposts
 The more students noticed
these signposts, the more
they were using the
comprehension processes:
visualizing, predicting,
summarizing, clarifying,
questioning, inferring, and
making connections.
Part II: Contrasts and
Contradictions
 This is the point in the novel at
which a character’s actions or
thoughts clearly contradict
previous patterns or contrast with
patterns the reader would
normally expect, suggesting a
change or offering new insight
into the character.
Part II: Aha Moments
These are moments when a
character’s sudden insight or
understanding helps us
understand the plot’s
movement, the development
of the character, or the internal
conflict he faces.
Part II: Tough Questions
It is the point when the
main character—a
child or teen—pauses to
ask, of himself or a
trusted other, tough
questions.
Part II: Words of the Wiser
 This is the scene in which a
wiser and often older
character offers a life lesson
of some sort to the
protagonists. This lesson often
emerges as a theme of the
novel.
Part II: Again and Again
 This is the image, word, or
situation that is repeated,
leading the reader to wonder
about its significance. Repetition
might provide information about
a character, about the conflict,
about the setting, or about the
theme.
Part II: Memory Moment
 A Memory Moment is a
scene that interrupts the
flow of the story and
reveals something
important about a
character, plot, or theme.
Part II: The Signposts
Page 75: Chart
The Signposts and
Definitions
The Clues to the
Signpost
What Literary Element
It Helps Readers
Understand
Tough Questions
Questions a
character raises that
reveal his or her inner
struggles
Phrases expressing
serious doubt or
confusion:
“What could I possibly
do to . . . ?
“I couldn’t imagine
how I could cope
with . . . ?
“How could I ever
understand why she .
..?
Internal conflict
Theme
Character
development
Part II: Anchor Questions
 Students need to assume ownership of the
question.
 Notes and Notice Bookmark
 Page 79: Chart of Anchor Questions
The Notice and Note
Signposts
The Question That Follows Why We Ask This
Question
Contrasts and
Contradictions
Why would the
character act (feel) this
way?
Contrasts and Contradictions
show us other aspects of a
character or a setting. This
question encourages
conversation about character,
motivation, or the situation he is
in.
Part II: Generalizable
Language
 Chart on Page 85.
The Signpost
Our Generalizable Language
To help students think about
Contrasts and Contradictions
When authors show you a
character acting in a way that
contrasts with how you would
expect someone to act or that
contradicts how that character has
been acting, you know the author
is showing you something important
about that character. You’ll want
to pause and ask yourself, “Why
would the character act this way?”
As I think about this questions, I
wonder if it might be . . . .
Part II: Explaining the
Signposts
 Decide upon an order for teaching the
Notice and Note Signposts.
 Set aside time to teach each signpost
lesson.
 Teach each signpost lesson with a text that
illustrates the targeted signpost.
 Recognize that the model text you choose
might be one that is not at a student’s
independent reading level.
Part II: Explaining the
Signposts
 Use a gradual release model.
 Think about the generalizable language you
will use.
 And, of course, experiment.
 Section includes an example classroom
situation.
 Section includes process chart moving from
most support to least support. Page 88
Part II: Assessment
 Assess by listening to their talk

Our point is not only that you need to listen to students, but also
that you need to listen to them over time. . . . As you listen to
students, ask yourself if they . . .

Identify the scene that made them think of a signpost?

Explain why they think that scene represents that signpost?

Move to the anchor question with prompting?

Offer more than one speculative answer to the anchor question?

Remain open to other speculative answers suggested by
classmates?

Use evidence from the text to support their answers?

Connet this signpost to others (same type or different) in other
parts of this novel?
Part II: Assessment
 Assess by Reading Their Logs
 Notice and Note Reading Log
Location
Signpost I Noticed
My Notes About It
Page 2
Contrasts and
Contradictions
I noticed that everyone
had to run just because
a plane was flying and
that isn’t something I
would do. It seemed
like a contrast and
contradictions lesson
where something
happens that seems
odd. Maybe it was
during a war and they
were afraid this was
Part II: Assessment
CCSS Dcoument states, “The Standards do not
mandate such things as a particular writing
process or the full range of metacognitive
strategies that students may need to monitor
and direct their thinking and learning.
Teachers are thus free to provide students with
whatever tools and knowledge their
professional judgment and experience identify
as most helpful for meeting the goals set out in
the Standards.” (NGA,CCSSO 2010, p.4)
Part III
The Lessons We Teach
This section contains
a lesson to follow for
introducing each
signpost to students.
APPENDIX
 In this section, you’ll see many of
the figures and templates from
Parts I and II, as well as the texts
needed to support the lessons
found in Part III. All of the texts in
this Appendix also appear in
dgital format at
 www.NoticeandNote.com