Mrs. Daniel

Read, Think, and Question, Baby

That’s My Strategy!

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Rationale: In order to better comprehend a story, students must know how to effectively question a story’s elements. This allows them to go beyond a basic understanding of the text. This lesson will help children learn how to use the Question- Answer Relationship (QAR) strategies of “Think and Search” and “Author and You” to relate the text to their previous knowledge and help them change existing or create new schemas regarding that knowledge.

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Materials:

Poster with questions written on them

5 index cards

Pencils

One copy of Scholastic News for each student

Worksheet for each student

 

Procedures:

1. Say: It is very important for us to know the main points of a text that we read. This will help us to better understand what is going on in the story- this is called comprehension. As we get older, we have to read more and more important information. In class, we have now started to read textbooks and you need to know what you have read so that you can remember it in the future because you will use what you learn this year every year after. Today, we are going to practice our reading comprehension with some interesting non-fiction books.

 

1. Say: So, how do we discover the main points of a text? We need to come up with questions about the text to ask. The trick is to create GOOD questions that help us understand the text better. I am going to teach you a strategy to help with this.

 

1. One helpful question strategy is “Think and Search.” These questions require us to search different parts of the text and combine that information to find an answer. Some good examples of these questions are questions that start with “What caused….”, “Compare and contrast…”, “How did…”, “Retell….”, “Find examples of…”, and “Summarize…”.

 

1. Another helpful question strategy is called “Author and You.” These questions require you to use what you already know and the details from the story to draw a conclusion. Some good examples of these questions are questions that start with “Predict what will happen…”, “What is the main idea of…”, “What could be another title for…”, and “Why did the author write…?”.

 

1. Say: I know this may sound a little confusing, so I will model it for you first so that you can see what to do. Everyone turn to “Pricey Penny.” I will read this story to you. [Read the children the story. Add a blank poster beside the other one. Write questions as you say them.] Now, what are some questions I could ask about this story? Well, I could ask you to explain why the U.S. Mint started making glass pennies instead of copper. How would we answer this? Let’s look back at the story. Hmm…look right here, it says, “But during World War II, the U.S. military needed copper to make bullets for guns. This led to a shortage of copper. So the U.S. Mint…tested pennies made of other materials.” What does this mean? Well, the war caused there to be a shortage of copper because they needed it for bullets, so they started making pennies from other materials, like glass. Or, maybe I could ask you what another title for this article could be? What do you all think? [Allow answers.] Great! I was thinking maybe “Glass Penny.” Now, do you see that the questions I asked made you think? You had to think back to the story and really look at different parts of it in order to answer the questions. I did not give you an easy question that barely took any thought. If I said, “what is the main subject of this story?” would that be a thinking question or an easy question? Easy! Because the title tells you exactly who it will be about. It does not help you to really understand the story.

 

1. Say: Now, let’s move on to a story that is a little more difficult. Turn to “A Fallen Giant.” I want you to split up into groups of four. [Allow students to pick their groups.] Okay, great! Now, I am going to hand you an index card. First, write all of your names on the card. Then, I want you to read this story and work together to come up with a good question. Did you hear that? A GOOD question. It can be either a Think and Search question or an Author and You question, but it MUST be one of the two. Refer to the poster for ways that you can start your question. [Pass out index card to each group. Walk around and monitor the students’ progress as they are working. Be sure to note any students who are not contributing.] Okay, now that everyone has written their question, swap with another group. You will answer their question, and they will answer your question. [Give the students some time to answer. Have a student from each group come to the front to read the question and their answer. Offer extra support if anyone’s answers need more information or if they seem to lack a deep understanding for how they got that answer.]

 

1. Say: You guys did awesome! I am so proud of you all for working so hard! I hope that you are really beginning to understand what it means to comprehend a story that you read and how you can begin to do that. This was a short article that you broke apart, but over time we will work on longer and longer ones.

 

1. Note: In order to read the story below, students need a little background knowledge on segregation. They should have learned this in years past, but I will refresh their memories just in case. Say: Before we begin, we need to learn the meaning of a new word. This word is segregation. I will give it to you in a sentence: The little girl and her friends were victims of the segregation that occurred from African Americans and Caucasian American children. Based on this sentence, who can tell me what they segregation means? [Allow students to answer.] Those are great guesses! Segregation means to set apart from others. Segregation came about after slavery had ended; the African Americans were “free” people, but they were still seen as being different. So, they were very mistreated and faced segregation in every aspect of their lives. For example, the African American children were forced to go to separate schools, take separate buses, and eat in different restaurants. They were set apart from the Caucasian children. Segregation was very common in the South. Today, it is common for us to see segregation between men and women in other countries; the women are not allowed to work in the same places as men and cannot be in rooms with men other than their husbands. Now, before we start reading, I want to make sure that you have a good grasp on the definition of the word. We will practice trying to use it in our sentences. I will go first and make up a sentence with the word segregation. Hmmm…I know it means to set apart from. So, what is something that needs to be separated? Oh, I know a good one! Laundry- I have to separate my clean and dirty clothes. Here is my sentence: “There is a segregation of the clean clothes and the dirty clothes in my laundry room.” Okay, now what about this one? Does this work? “I wanted to make green paint, so I segregated the yellow and blue from each other. [Allow answers.] No, that doesn’t work! Why not? [Allow answers.] Right! Because you have to combine yellow and blue to make green, but segregate would mean that we separated them. How about this one? “There was a segregation of instrument players in music class because we had the recorders on one side of the room and the ukuleles on the other.” [Allow answers.] Right! That was a good example of a sentence. So, now I want you all to create a sentence using the word segregation. Write it on your paper. Try your best because I will take these up for a daily grade. [Give students a few minutes to write a sentence. Invite a few students to share when they are finished. Take the papers up before moving on.]

 

1. Say: Now, I would like for you to practice on your own. Our “Stepping Into History” article for today is “One Girl’s Brave Steps.” I want you to read this story and come up with a good question for the article. Once you think you have a good question, take the time to answer it. [Allow students time to read and perform the tasks.]

 

1. Say: Okay, friends. Now, I want you to turn to the person sitting beside you and ask them your question. They will answer your question. Compare your answer to theirs. After that, you will swap and the person who answered the first time will now read their question to the other. The other will answer the question. Compare your answers again. [Give the students time to do this exercise. Walk around and monitor their progress and make sure that they are staying on task.]

 

1. Say: Now, I want you to read “Kids Who Fought for Change” in your newspaper. This article discusses a little girl who made a big stand and had a very important part in American history. After you read, go back and fill out your worksheet, looking back at the text for proof. I want you to be sure to tell why you think that is the answer. Write the sentence or sentences from the article that told you that was the answer. I will take these up for a grade at the end of class, so be sure to try your very best. [Allow students time to read and answer. Then, take up the papers as the assessment for the day.]

 

1. Assessment: each student will have different reasons for why they chose something as the answer, but the teacher should make sure that it makes sense to provide evidence and that the answers are correct with the content of the story. Note: Worksheet is on the last page of this document.

 

References:

Scholastic News: “Kids Who Fought for Change.” https://sn4.scholastic.com/content/dam/classroom-magazines/sn4/issues/2016-17/022017/kids-fought-for-change/SN4-022017-PairedTexts-FIX.pdf

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Article Name: _______________________________________________________

 

Student Name: ______________________________________________________

 

1. Compare and Contrast the stories of Ruby Bridges and Ayanna Najuma.

 

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1. What is the main idea of “Kids Who Fought for Change?”

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1. How can you prove that Ayanna “fought for change?” Provide specific examples from the text.

 

 

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1. Based on the text, what conclusion can you draw about segregation in the years following the articles?

 

 

 

 

1. Create your own question for “Kids Who Fought for Change” using either the Think and Search Strategy or the Author and Me strategy.

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