Deep
Reading
to
Deeper
Writing
Using Informed
Annotating + to Improve
Student Writing
Jeanette Barry
Classroom Challenge:
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How can I help to develop my students into
more independent readers, thinkers, and
writers?
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Answer:
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Teach them to be more critical readers first!
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Why do we need to teach students
how to read critically?
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Because we want “their experience to be much
more than simply liking the story, or
understanding the characters, or being
intrigued by the resolution . . . I want my
students to move beyond the text and consider
its implications to them as human beings who
live in the world today.”
Kelly Gallagher, Deeper Reading, pages 19-20
And because. . .
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“Reading is a process of constructing meaning
or composing a text, exactly like writing. The
reading of any difficult text will entail drafting
and revision (largely in the reader’s head) and
will frequently begin with what amounts to a
zero draft. Just as writing may be defined as
rewriting, so is any reading worth doing
essentially a process of rereading.”
Robert Scholes, as quoted in Blau’s Literature Workshop, page 53
2 elements to work on in this
Demo:
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Strategies for deeper reading -- used as a
stepping stone for
Strategies for finding major ideas within
literature
Reading Strategy
Help Students Decipher Words
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30-15-10 List
(See handout)
Reading Strategy
Give reader a focus to prepare for
a reading.
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My German teacher
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Quick, 5-minute write -- no worries, just
write!
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Share
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For 2 minutes, turn to your neighbor and
share your memory of a favorite teacher.
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Read
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Now that you are focused, quietly read to
yourself the story entitled “Love” by William
Maxwell
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When you are finished with the reading, flip
the story over, so I’ll know when everyone
is finished.
Remember
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Write down on the back of your story any
ideas of foreshadowing that you remember
regarding Miss Brown’s death.
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How many did you have? Discuss with your
neighbor for 1 minute.
Re-read & Annotate
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Go back to the story, read it for a second
time, and write down any evidence of
foreshadowing that you find.
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You have 10 minutes; go!
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Discuss as a Group: How many did
you find???
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Images of death
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Images of flowers
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Sign on side of road
Why is the re-reading and
annotating important?
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First time reading is like a rough draft -you’re just trying to get the facts straight.
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Second reading with a purpose allows you
the freedom of looking for other aspects of
the writing.
Why is the discussion/sharing
important?
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Edgar Dale states in his book AudioVisual Methods in Teaching (p. 43) that
we remember
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10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we both see and hear
70% of what we talk about with others!!!
Teaching Metaphors:
A Strategy toward Deeper Reading
& Writing
We’ll use the idea of metaphors to help
students begin to think outside of a literal
reading.
Some good metaphors, just for fun!
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“The past is a pebble in my shoe.”
Edgar Allan Poe
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“I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing
God, who is sending a love letter to the
world.”
Mother Teresa
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And a couple more . . .
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Reading Strategy
Using metaphors to deepen
comprehension
Kelly Gallagher, Deeper Reading, p. 22-23
Intangible
-
Tangible
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Make your own metaphor/simile.
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Complete the following sentence by
selecting one intangible item and one
tangible item, and then explore the
relationship between these two items as
follows:
(Intangible item) is like a (tangible item)
because ______________.
Share.
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Turn to your neighbor and share your new
metaphor/simile.
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Stretch.
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Now, extend your metaphors by completing
the following:
(Intangible item) is like a (tangible item)
because __________,
_________________, and
_________________.
Share again.
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Turn to your neighbor, and share your new
extended metaphor/simile.
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Apply . . .
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Now complete the following sentence,
using your new metaphor strategy.
The boys’ love for Miss Brown is like (a)
__________ because
_______________________.
Reading Strategy
Teaching Students to
Infer
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Many students only see literature literally, and
they must be taught to think beyond what is
written.
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If I tell you . . .
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“I can’t believe I have been sitting here
among all these sick people for over an
hour waiting for them to call my name. Why
do they over-schedule so many people? I
hope I am called next; I don’t know how
much longer I can tolerate this sore throat”
(Gallagher 81).
Where do you suppose the narrator
is?
How would you know that?
Share.
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Now write an example of your own, where
you do not give the actual place, but you
give hints that might help your reader. 1
minute
Share with a neighbor when you are
finished writing. 2 minutes
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Now, read the following:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
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Surprise!
Humpty Dumpty is not really about an egg.
What do you think it might really be about?
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3 Leading Theories:
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King Richard III, who fell from his horse in the
Battle of Bosworth Field & was butchered on
the spot.
Charles I of England, who was booted by the
Puritan majority in Parliament. The King’s Army
could not restore his power, and he was
executed
The name of a powerful cannon during the
English Civil War. Mounted on top of a church;
when church tower was hit by enemy fire and
knocked off, cannon went tumbling to ground &
could not be repaired.
What if our inferences are wrong?
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“That doesn’t mean you stop inferring; it
suggests that inferring correctly takes a lot
of practice. The more you infer, the better
you get at it” (Gallagher 82).
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Yertle the Turtle
by
Dr. Seuss
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Read aloud while class listens.
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A bit of context . . .
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Seuss rejected the idea that children's
stories should only be about modeling good
behavior and even called himself
"subversive as hell.”
The book was written in 1958.
Guess What?
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Yertle the Turtle is not really about a turtle
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Discuss & share.
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Metaphors & Inferences -- now
what?
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Strategies for a first reading (headed
toward writing!)
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1st Reading of a Piece of Literature
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Reading something the first time is “like
getting used to the cool water in a
swimming pool before beginning a rigorous
workout” (Gallagher 53).
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And Sheridan Blau says,
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“As much as you might want to abbreviate
the process, you can’t get to your second
reading except by way of your first. And if in
your first reading you feel completely lost (a
familiar feeling to all experienced readers),
well then, that’s what it takes to get to the
second reading, in which you begin to find
your bearings” (Blau 197-198).
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Kelly Gallagher, in his Deeper
Reading, says . . .
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“When my students read a difficult work for
the first time, this is the ‘down’ reading
draft. My hope is that they get the basics
down -- familiarizing themselves with the
characters, recognizing significant plot
points, getting used to the language and
structure of the novel” (53).
Let’s Be Honest . . .
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How many of our students will read an
assigned novel twice just so that they might
really understand it?
Answer: 3 out of 284 (-ish)
So . . .
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Reading Strategy
Annotating with Sticky Notes
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For this purpose, I have found sticky
notes work really well.
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As part of their reading assignments,
students expect that they will write on
sticky notes to record new characters,
settings, or events -- I require one note
per 2 pages of reading.
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Reading Strategy
Informed Annotating
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(when students are ready to move beyond simply summarizing)
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Make a laminated bookmark with the following ideas:
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Make predictions: anticipate what will happen next, supporting
with specific references to the text
Recognize literary devices: note techniques used by author
Make connections: from either real life or other books, films,
poems, and stories
Challenge the text: challenge the author or the characters &
their choices
Kelly Gallagher, Deeper Reading, page 101.
Reading Strategy
Share
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At the end of a chapter, have students trade their books
and look for evidence of each of these elements. You
might use the following symbols for each of the elements:
Element
Symbol
Prediction
P
Literary Terms
LT
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Connections
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Judgments
J
Challenges
CH
Summary
S
Kelly Gallagher, Deeper Reading, page 101
Reading Strategy
Trading Annotations:
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“When students trade [books to analyze
annotations], they get a double dose of
deeper reading reinforcement” (Gallagher
101).
Have students mark P, LT, C, J, Ch, or S
on each of their partner’s annotations to
help readers discover how deep their
annotations really are.
Kelly Gallagher, Deeper Reading, page 101
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Avoid the “S”
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Eventually, students should move further
and further away from summarizing in their
annotations.
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I grade the completion of annotations with a
homework grade, and after a week or so, I
also grade the complexity of their
annotations.
Common Teacher Problem:
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Keeping track of annotations
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No Worries!!!
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Sheridan Blau has a solution!!!
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Mid-book Annotating Audit
(Sheridan D. Blau)
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Section 1: Description of Annotations
Section 2: Analysis of Annotations
Section 3: Reflection of Annotations
Section 4: Sample Annotation Entries
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Annotating Audit
Section 1: Description of Annotations
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What is the average length of your notes?
How many are long or short or in between?
How many chapters have you covered?
Generally, what does your collection of
annotations look like?
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Annotating Audit
Section 2: Analysis of Annotations
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What do you usually write down on your
annotations?
What elements of the chapter do you tend to
comment on?
How have your annotations changed since the
beginning (if they have) regarding length, topic,
language, etc.)
What might account for differences in the content,
language, etc.?
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Annotating Audit
Section 3: Reflection on Annotations
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Do you find any worthwhile ideas in your notes?
What value do you place on your collection or on
some of your notes?
Have you found any reason for taking these
notes other than the teacher assigned them?
If you were the teacher, would you ask your
students to do this? Why or why not?
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Annotating Audit
Section 4: Sample Annotations
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Choose six sticky notes that you feel are
representative of the content of your
annotations.
What do the sample entries you have included
show your reader about your log?
Will you change anything about the notes you
take in the next reading chapter? Explain.
Because many of our students are not as
motivated today as they one day will be . . .
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I check annotations once or twice a
week, quickly but thoroughly.
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Best news yet . . .
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This audit also works perfectly with log
books or journals that students keep during
the reading of a novel!
Sheridan D. Blau, The Literature Workshop, pages 164-167.
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Alternatives to Annotating:
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Journaling/Logging - follow the same type of assignment as
the annotations, but have students write journal-style in a
notebook or in a folder.
Heather Lattimer, in her Thinking Through Genre, offers a
different sort of journaling:
To Get the kids focused:
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Discuss: 1) Tobias Wolff’s “Introduction to Raymond
Carver’s ‘Cathedral’”; 2) model the review: Jell-O; 3) chips:
crunchiness, messiness, aftertaste, flavor, spiciness, etc.
Heather Lattimer, Thinking Through Genre, chapter 7
“Introduction to Raymond Carver’s ‘Cathedral’” by
Tobias Wolff
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A hot night, summer of 1982. I was lying on the couch with a story of Ray’s that had
recently come out in the Atlantic. I’d had it around for several days but hadn’t yet
read it because I tend to avoid stories by my contemporaries when I’m hard at work
on something of my own, as I was then. Tolstoy, that’s the ticket. Hemingway.
Flaubert. Someone monumental, someone impossible to imitate or envy. No
complications. When you get to the end you think, Man, that Tolstoy sure could write!
-- and to on about your business.
But a new story of Ray’s always exerted a tidal pull on me. I ws bound to succumb; it
was just a matter of time, and the time had arrived. The story was “Cathedral.” I
began it with the excitement you feel when granting yourself a deferred pleasure, but
before long I began to feel this pleasure give way to discomfort and even resistance,
for reasons I will describe later. I was fighting the story. But after a few pages it
disarmed me and I surrendered to it, and as I read on I felt myself drawn up by it. I
felt as if I were levitating there above the couch. I was weightless, filled with a sense
of profound, inexplicable joy. Blessed, and conscious of it, I understood that I was in
the presence of a masterpiece. . . .
Model the Review:
Student Written Review

There are two loves in my life. One is my dog Sammie. The other is Sparkling Grape Jell-O.
I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it is, but I’ll try to describe what makes it so special.
The first time I tried Sparkling Grape Jell-O, I was sick with strep throat and
had to stay home from school. My mom went to the store and brought back a pint of
Ben and Jerry’s and two packets of Jell-O, one cherry, which is boring, and Sparkling
Grape. Normally I hate Jell-O, but my mom made the Sparkling Grape with
carbonated water. Several hours later, she put a bowl in front of me. Cautiously, I
took a tiny spoonful and the amazing taste of Concord grapes with an explosion of
bubbles went down my throat. From then on I was hooked. Now, I eat Sparkling
Grape Jell-O as often as possible. I still haven’t gotten tired of that cool, tingly feeling
every time I put a spoonful in my mouth.
I guarantee a great meal if you add Sparkling Grape Jell-O to your
menu. It is refreshing, exciting, and delicious.
Review Assorted Chips
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Offer a variety of chips: potato chips, corn
chips, Doritos, and Pringles, etc.
Have the students taste them and discuss
them.
Have the students model the review and
write a chips review
Then move toward literature and more
writing!
Finding Themes in Reading
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Teaching students to find major ideas
through the deep reading of literature
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Transfer to Writing
Find the Quote That Says Something Bigger
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Put students in a group of 3 and have them
search the chapter’s annotations for a line or
two that says something beyond the literal.
Have one person write the quote on the board
and read it aloud (Google doc); another person
explain context of quote; another person explain
the bigger idea that the quote triggers for them.
All students take notes.
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Students’ Samples
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Josh, Nate, Marcuschapter 22-It ain’t right. page 284. this shows that Jem is realizing what is right
and what is wrong, meaning that he is maturing.
chapter 22- I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who
were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them. page
288. this means that some men aer luckier than others, and some people just
have to man up and do the right thing.
chapter 23-You can scrub Walter Cunningham until he shines, you can put him
in new shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem. Besides, there’s a
drinking streak in that family a mile wide. page 224-its important because aunt
alexandra is trying to teach scout how to act properly, but really that isnt a
christian perspective, it is wrong to treat someone that way because of their
history. In summary, every man is created equal.
Transfer to Writing
Writing about a line
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Select the line of the chapter that you find most
important or interesting or puzzling in the context
of the story.
Write down the line, discussing it and explaining
its role in the chapter and the story and why you
find it so important, interesting, or puzzling.
This is quickwriting: no attention to editing or
elegance.
Sheridan D. Blau, The Literature Workshop, page 131
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Share Important Line
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Share your important line with 2 others
in your group
Read what you have written, rather than
tell about what you have written
Make one person in charge of reporting
out how similar or different your pieces
were & what issues were raised
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Report Out and Publish
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Call on groups to discuss differences &
similarities
Ask for sample pieces, read by any volunteer
(hopefully, with practice students will volunteer
good ideas within their groups)
Students might want to take notes here, in case
there are some good paper topics
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Something to think about . . .
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“. . . Reading is more like writing than writing is.
Consider how often we have seen our students in
composition revise their papers and make them
worse. But in reading, revision never fails to be
productive in yielding additional insight or the
recognition of new problems -- the confusion that
represents an advance in understanding.”
Sheridan D. Blau, Literature Workshop, page 53
So . . .
Read deeply to write deeply.
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Bibliography
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