DIRECTED READING-THINKING ACTIVITY ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
The Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Assignment builds critical awareness of the reader’s role and responsibility in interacting with the text. It involves readers in the process of predicting, verifying, judging, and extending thinking about the text material.
INSTRUCTIONS
For this Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Assignment, you will need to work with at least three elementary or middle school-aged students who are close in age and can meet at the same time. This will give you a hands-on classroom-type experience. Choose a reading selection that is age-appropriate for the student with whom you will be working. The reading selection can be a narrative, informational text, story, etc. As you work with the students, follow these directions:
1. Have students focus on the title and illustrations, and ask them:
• What do you think this story will be about?
• Why do you think it’s about that?
2. Write the students’ predictions on a chart, paper, or the board.
3. Direct the students to read to a logical predetermined stopping point, then ask:
• Now that you’ve had a chance to read the beginning of the story, what do you think it’s about?
• Would you like to change your predictions or make new ones?
4. After the predictions have been changed or refined, ask why they made the change, or find the specific part in the book that made them think that.
5. Redirect questions as needed.
6. When there are no more ideas, direct students to read the next segment of the book silently.
7. Ask similar or other related questions.
8. Have students continue reading the book, stopping at logical predetermined points, and engaging in the same cycle of questions until the story is finished.
After you have read with your students, complete the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Template. Make sure you fill in the three questions in the top portion, add your student’s names, use checks where appropriate in the middle section, and write either confirms or refutes for the last row.
At the bottom of the template, you will type a summary of at least 250 words that thoroughly explains how you conducted this assignment. Then type a reflective analysis of the experience in at least 250 words to thoroughly explain how you felt about the experience and if you would use it in the future. This must be submitted as one Word document and not as a PDF.
• Direct Reading-Thinking Activity is discussed on pages 337-338 section 11-2b in the textbook.
As you work with the children, complete the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Template provided in the Resources section. Compare your submission to the grading rubric provided.
