With two weeks before April break and what seems like forever since I have had a good night's sleep, I am beginning to reflect on what works and what doesn't. Over the course of the last couple weeks, I have been working with different students on a range of different literacy tasks. As I walk them through the task and guide them along, I feel good that they are getting something out of it. When they forget to do the tasks I assign outside of my office or even to show up, I wonder who is working harder -- the student or me?
As many know, I am more than willing to give my all to any student or colleague who needs me, but in an ideal world I guess part of my job is to help provide guidance and resources so eventually I won't be needed. In working towards that theory, I have found two great strategies that focus on using a gradual release of responsibility model to help students learn higher level critical thinking and comprehension skills. In addition to the resources on this blog, there is a bulletin board with information, examples, and handouts outside my office.
Question-Answer Relationship (QAR)and Three-Level Study Guides are two strategies that focus on asking the student to know the difference between the literal, interpretative, and applied levels in the area of comprehension.
Question-Answer Relationships (QAR)
QAR is "a language for use in the classroom" for "thinking about and talking about sources of information for answering questions" (Raphael, Highfield, & Au, 2006). The two overarching categories are In the Book and In My Head. Questions that focus on information from In the Book ask for author information to develop an answer. Ones that focus on In My Head have answers that are based on a reader's experience, ideas, or background knowledge. Within these two categories, there are subcategories.
In the Book is broken down into Right There and Think and Search. Right There questions focus on answers that can be found in one sentence within a text; whereas, Think and Search require using different parts of a text to develop an answer.
In My Head is broken down into Author and Me and On My Own. Author and Me involves using information from the text and the reader's experience, ideas, and background knowledge to answer it; whereas, On My Own involves only the thoughts and ideas of the reader.
Example of Different Types of Categories:
Math Example --
Right There --
Q: "State the slide model for addition."
A: "The slide model for addition is..."
Think and Search --
The text shows an example of how to simplify
-3 + -x + 7
Q: "Simplify -2 + y + -9
Author and You --
After learning how to simplify (as in Think and Search example above), the author shows students how to solve simple equations like x + 6 = 10, and 17 - y = 12
Q: "Solve -3 + t - 4 = 0"
On My Own --
Negative numbers appear on television in many situations.
Q: "What real situation might each negative number represent? a.) -1.32 in stock market averages, b.) -9 in rocket launches, c.) -3 in golf."
Music Example --
Right There --
Q: What kind of music is this -- band, orchestra, piano?
Think and Search --
Q: What instruments do you hear throughout this piece?
Author and You --
Q: What feelings do you think the composer was trying to convey? How did the composer create feeling?
On Your Own --
Q: If you could play any instrument, what would it be and why?
Art Example --
Right There --
Q: What is the subject of the painting?
Think and Search --
Q: What colors did the artist use?
Author and You --
Q: How did the painter show perspective in this piece? What feelings do you think the artist was trying to convey?
On My Own --
Q: If you made a living as a painter, what medium would you use? Why?
From Project CRISS: Creating Independence through Student-owned Strategies by C.M. Santa, L.T. Havens, & B.J. Valdes (2004).
Social Studies Example
Science Example
English Example
Three-Level Study Guides
According to Janet Allen, Three-Level Study Guides are "instructional tools that guide students into higher levels of comprehension. The first part asks you to consider questions at the literal level. The second asks you to consider questions at the interpretative level. The third asks you to consider questions at the applied level. As a teacher, you can construct a guide that allows you to direct students' attention to the most important aspects of the text." (2008)
In creating the types of questions, it is important to use sentence starters that guide the reader to think either at the literal, interpretative, or applied level. For example, when creating a question at the interpretative level you may consider using summarize, predict, or determine; whereas at the literal level, you may consider using name, select, or define. In addition to using questions to guide the reading, you may also make statements that ask students to think at the literal, interpretative, or applied level. Check out the link at the top of the page for Three-Level Study Guides to see examples from math and science.
These strategies are just two ways to get students thinking about higher level critical thinking and comprehension skills by having them practice these strategies with you and on their own. Having students understand the language involved in this type of thinking might allow for them to move beyond the facts of a topic and really be able to apply the concepts they have learned. Guiding students through the process of learning this type of language and thinking will help them become independent in it as they move along. As always, contact me if you have questions or thoughts.
