- Revisit the terms introduced earlier and discuss the meaning of the prefix in “Reduce, Reuse,
and Recycle.”
As students read the text, they: - Read the article, consulting the questions they answered earlier and their responses. The
students decide if their earlier predictions were true, and if not, look for the place in the text
that misled or misdirected them and try to figure out why. They identify parts of the text, if any,
that are confusing, and see if they can answer the question they created using the title. - View a copy of the text (projected on the board by the teacher) and discuss where the
introduction (or beginning) ends and where the conclusion (or ending) begins. The class
proposes that the teacher draw a line in various place to show the introduction and conclusion,
and they discuss their reasoning for their choices. The teacher explains that there may be
several ways to answer this and discusses with the class what the purposes of an introduction
and conclusion in an article might be. - Analyze a copy of the text divided into sections by working with their teacher to decide what
the first section is about, or what the text “says.” The class then discusses what they think the
purpose of the section is or what it “does.” Does the section give facts? Propose a solution?
Explain a problem? State a position? Give examples? Try to convince you of something? After
working with one or two examples, students work in pairs to determine what the remaining
sections “say” and “do.” - Explore with their teacher a complex sentence that includes the transition phrase, “in addition,”
and listen to the teacher’s explanation of how the phrase works in the sentence and the
paragraph. Students then work in groups to find other sentences with similar transitions. - Return to the copy of the text where they noted the content (says) and purpose (does) for
each section. The teacher asks the students now to find and mark (annotate) an element of the
text, for example the problem, the author’s argument, or the author’s examples. The students
take brief notes in the left hand margin on the element(s) the teacher has them look for. Then
students make notes in the right hand margin on their reactions or questions about what the
author is saying. Initially the teacher models this process and practices it with students, and
then students annotate on their own.
After students have read the article and annotated it, they: - Review their content and purpose statements and use them to create a summary of the article.
They sort through and discard statements that are similar or not as important to the main idea
until they arrive at the gist of the article. They use the remaining statements to write a brief
summary. - Conclude their work with the article by considering questions such as the following: “Did the
author convince you that he or she had a good plan to increase recycling? Why or why not?”
“How does the information fit with what we already know? Other texts we have read?” “Are
certain interests served by this article? Does the author have a bias? What language, images, or
features of the text suggests this?” “What information is left out of the article that might have
given the reader a different perspective of the issue?” After discussing these questions in their
table groups and taking notes, students write their responses in a concluding quickwrite. - Read other texts on the same topic or view related media and explore the similarities and
differences in ideas and information.
This is just one example of how teachers might facilitate their students’ deep engagements
with texts. Whatever the overarching approach or sequence of tasks, teachers need to ensure that
all students build advanced skill in meaning making with complex text and provide the appropriate
additional and differentiated support to those students who are learning English as an additional
466 | Chapter 5 Grade 5