T-Chart (Double entry journal)
This is a "during reading" strategy that allows students to record noticings and questions they have as they read. It's a very easy strategy to employ and it does a LOT for driving kids to think about what they are reading. It helps the kids to become active readers because it requires them to interact with the text.
To implement this strategy...
1. Ask students to fold their paper in half or draw a vertical line down the center of the page.
2. In the left column, students write things they note in the text. This can be exact word-for-word transposing or paraphrasing of the text. (Note: this is something that can be used when looking at a math problem or science experiment as well. It doesn't necessarily have to be a written article or story).
3. In the right column, students give their thoughts, questions, or reactions to what they wrote in the left column. This can be a question, a connection, an analysis statement, etc.
4. This strategy pairs very well with the "Turn and Talk" strategy from last week. Once students have read and recorded their thinking independently, have them share with a classmate or two. This lets them see what other people saw as important in the text.
For math or science class, the t-chart can be labeled with "I Notice" on the left side and "I Wonder" on the right.
As a scaffold of this strategy, you can give the students a chart with the parts of the text you want them to interact with already filled in on the left side of the page. Then work them to more independence.
To implement this strategy...
1. Ask students to fold their paper in half or draw a vertical line down the center of the page.
2. In the left column, students write things they note in the text. This can be exact word-for-word transposing or paraphrasing of the text. (Note: this is something that can be used when looking at a math problem or science experiment as well. It doesn't necessarily have to be a written article or story).
3. In the right column, students give their thoughts, questions, or reactions to what they wrote in the left column. This can be a question, a connection, an analysis statement, etc.
4. This strategy pairs very well with the "Turn and Talk" strategy from last week. Once students have read and recorded their thinking independently, have them share with a classmate or two. This lets them see what other people saw as important in the text.
For math or science class, the t-chart can be labeled with "I Notice" on the left side and "I Wonder" on the right.
As a scaffold of this strategy, you can give the students a chart with the parts of the text you want them to interact with already filled in on the left side of the page. Then work them to more independence.