Beyond Phonics
Laying Foundations in the
Grammar and Dialectic Grades for
Rhetoric Level Reading
Elementary Reading
Decoding the words on the page
 Understanding basic meaning, explicit and
implied

Inspectional Reading





Systematic skimming
Determine the structure and parts of the
text
Determine what the text is about
Determine what kind of text it is (genre)
Determine what questions or problems
the author is attempting to address
Analytical Reading





Thorough, complete reading
Active reading to gain understanding
Identify and understand the author’s use
of terms
Identify and understand the author’s
leading propositions
Identify and understand the sequence fo
arguments.
Analytical Reading (cont’d)
Determine which problems or questions
were solved (and whether the author
knows it)
 Distinguish fact from opinion
 Determine where the author is
uninformed, misinformed, illogical or
incomplete in his account or analysis

Syntopical Reading
Comparative reading of multiple works
 Begin with specific questions or problems
to be answered
 Find passages in multiple texts that
contribute to answering the question
 Come to an understanding of how each
author uses terms and, if necessary,
construct neutral terms.

Syntopical Reading (cont’d)
Define the leading issues and how each
author answers them
 Determine what each work contributes to
the discussion of the issues
 Construct an original analysis that is not
in any of the works.

Principles





Understanding builds on prior knowledge
Integrate with content areas
All teachers are reading teachers at all
levels
Teach students to read actively
Teach students to monitor their own
understanding
Teaching Vocabulary

Degrees of vocabulary understanding:
◦ Being able to provide a basic definition when
others use the word
◦ Being able to perceive subtleties and shades of
meaning that distinguish a word from other
similar words
◦ Being able to use the word to communicate
shades of meaning
Teaching Vocabulary
Teach vocabulary in context as much as
possible
 Give attention to etymology and other
words with similar roots

Vocabulary Tiers (Isabel Beck)

Tier One
◦ Common words known by nearly everyone
◦ Yesterday, house, running

Tier Two
◦ “High utility” words used frequently in sophisticated
adult communication
◦ Incessantly, repertoire, countenance

Tier Three
◦ Words used infrequently and usually in discussion
of specialized topics
◦ Isotope, metacognition, antediluvian
Studying a Word in Context

“If the citizens could dream of his
prospective arrival with his bride, they
would parade the band at the station and
escort them, amid cheers and laughing
congratulations, to his adobe home.”
(From Stephen Crane’s The Bride Comes
to Yellow Sky.)
Reading Skills to Teach





Determining the organization of a text
Determining the purpose of the book,
including the main topic(s) and the scope
Connecting the work to prior knowledge
and experience
Finding topic sentences and summaries
Recognizing that texts have human
authors who lie, make mistakes and don’t
know everything
Reading Skills to Teach





Distinguishing fact from opinion
Evaluating the surety of facts
Identifying setting, plot, characters in
fictional works
Supporting their conclusions or
interpretations with the text
Asking questions of the text
Reading Skills to Teach
Inspectional Reading
Recognizing the influences on perspective
of the author or the characters, such as
worldview, experience, knowledge or
ignorance, culture, time period, culture,
previously read works, etc.
 Recognizing the author’s craft:
manipulating plot, mood, descriptions,
rhythm, alliteration, allusions to other
works, symbolism, theme


Reading Skills to Teach
Identifying the form of the author’s
arguments (fiction and nonfiction)
 Examining the sources of an author’s
information and recognizing a poorly
sourced work.
 Evaluating the truth of an author’s
propositions and assumptions
 Evaluating whether an author was
successful in accomplishing his purposes.

Teaching Methods
Model active reading
 Fact finding (nonfiction)
 Inspectional reading assignments
 Pre-discussion assignments

◦ Guided journaling
◦ Note-taking organizers
Interpretive discussions
 Debate

Types of Discussion Questions



Factual Questions
◦ Ask for information that is stated explicitly or can be
easily inferred.
◦ Usually have one right answer and do not lend
themselves to discussion
Interpretive Questions
◦ Have more than one possible answer.
◦ Usually begin with “Why?”
◦ Why didn’t Scratchy Wilson shoot the sheriff?
Evaluative Questions
◦ Judge the effectiveness of the author’s craft or the truth
of his assertions.
◦ Evaluation cannot happen before interpretation.
Rules for Discussion Participants
All participants must have read the text at
least once and completed pre-discussion
assignments
 All ideas must be supported by the text
(avoid speculation)
 Participants respond respectfully to the
ideas of others
 Participants speak to one another, not to
the teacher.

Rules for Discussion Leaders







Leaders ask interpretive questions, but do
not answer them
Leaders can summarize, probe for
clarification or ask for textual support
Leaders should resist the temptation to offer
interpretations
Allow for pauses and time for reflection
Encourage disagreement
Focus the discussion when it gets off track
Keep a record of participation