Professional Development Resource

Application of Theory to Practice

Sample Lesson 1: Building Reader’s Investment with Inference:

Inference represents a core skill for readers at all stages of development, particularly at the secondary
level. As the rate of difficulty arises, readers must be able to postulate what they believe transpires
between the lines of text on the page, regardless of subject area. While the initial skill involves
developing comprehension, it plays a significant role in maintaining reader’s interest and therefore
directly influences individual motivation.

In the beginning of the lesson, the process of making inferences will be identified as “Guessing with
Evidence.” The Inference structure outline presents a set of assumptions for students to draw from their
reading to be completed before moving on to infer conclusions based on details within the text.
Assumptions represented on the outline include: “We need to find clues to get answers,” “We need to
add those clues to what we’ve already read,” “There can be more than one correct answer,” “We need
to be able to support Inferences.”

Practices to Promote: Practical Assumptions, Critical Thinking, Effective Questioning, Thoughtful

Materials:

- Individually-chosen, High-Interest Core Text

-Printed Survey if Necessary

Instructions and Procedures:

 Following the reading of a particular class text, the instructor will present the idea of

inference to the class by asking “Based on what we have have read so far, can we make a

guess as to what the author might mean by...” The teacher must be thoughtful and

specific in terms of choosing a sufficiently meaningful text for this type of analysis with

several possible conclusions that may be reached.

outline strategies to support our thinking.”

 The instructor will direct students to their handouts, and have them work through

identifying the details of the text in partner groups.

 After the students have gathered sufficient information to support inferring conclusions

from the text, the teacher will guide them with the following:

“Now that we have gathered a lot of good information from the text, we are going to write
down what we know.”

 The teacher will work through each of the following directives with the class:

--It Says

--I Say

--And So

Priorities:

 Students should be encouraged to use their own understanding of the text for the “I

say” portion, and be encouraged to believe in their individual impressions

 For the “And So” portion, the teacher will do well to scaffold the notion presented in the

assumption list that there are multiple conclusions possible for any work of sufficient

meaning.

 The instructor should be extremely intentional in choosing a relatively rigorous text for

this kind of study.

Continuing the Lesson:

 Proper acquisition will take multiple attempts over a sustained period of time and

practice.

ELL Accommodations:

Research indicates that “language can grow from engaging in tasks that require higher-level thinking
(Himmele and Himmele, 2009; Gottlieb 2013). Beer’s outline of “It Says, I Say, And So” has been
implemented with a great deal of success among EL students in the classroom, and with correct
scaffolding and careful selection of texts relevant to the EL student personally, these students should
experience a great deal of success in this practice. Despite language gaps, the focus placed on critical
thinking skills should adequately bridge the gap for EL students.

Rationale:

Sharon Taberski describes the idea of inference as a reader “piecing together the clues the writer has
left…the author tells us a lot, but the richness is between the lines” (Taberski, 221). As previously
mentioned, inferring conclusions represents a critical aspect of a student’s foundational development in
literacy and maintaining interest in a given text. This practice ties directly to all subject areas and must
be executed inside and outside of every classroom across the breadth of human experience. Helping
students understand that meaning is often implied rather than plainly stated and providing ample
opportunities to practice inferring conclusions will benefit every aspect of their scholastic career. The
methods above represent only one approach to supporting the ability to infer conclusions, but may be
employed across a wide range of texts throughout a learning interval.

Sample Lesson 2: Continued Reading through Questioning the Author

Strong evidence suggests that a direct relationship exists between a student’s expectation for success
and the success itself. De Naeghel, Van Keer, Vansteenkiste, and Rossel indicate clearly that “motivated
readers not only believe in their own ability to comprehend texts, but also see reading as a pleasurable
activity and show better levels of performance on comprehension tasks (De Naeghel, Van Keer,
Vansteenkiste, and Rossel, 2012). In an effort the build readers’ expectations that they can interface
with a text, my students practice creating conversations with their chosen authors as they read. This
works at all levels of readers, and can assist in bridging complications that may arise in independent
reading—particularly in the cases of developing readers.
Questioning the Author (QtA) bolsters comprehension by facilitating a deeper engagement between the
reader, text and author. By engaging the text with specific, detail-oriented questions the reader is
enabled to gain greater knowledge of the material and improved understanding of the implied meaning
within the material at hand. Common question stems include but are not limited to: What do you think
the author is trying to say, why do you think the author uses the following phrase, does this make sense
to you etc. (Beck et All, 1997) and may be used as best befits the learning environment of a given class.

Materials:

-Intentionally chosen texts that can be analyzed thoroughly with high level of engagement

Practices to Promote: Practical Assumptions, Critical Thinking, Effective Questioning, Thoughtful

Instructions and Procedures:

 Prior to delivering the lesson, the instructor will identify a specific passage for analysis

from a given text that allows for a sufficient variety of interpretation.

 Students will read through the through the passage before the instructor addresses the

class with the following questions, allowing for student interaction in between each:

“Now that we have read this far, does this passage make sense to you?”

--

“What do you think the author means by...”

--

“Why do you think the author wrote the passage this way?”

 In between each question/student response, the instructor will model the share their

own perceptions of the text as desired behavior.

Priorities:

 Students should be encouraged to share their own perceptions without fear of “getting

it wrong.”
  This activity can easily be performed in small groups with appointed roles with students

answering the questions together, and the instructor may illicit responses from this

collaboration

 The instructor must remain intentional in the depth and quality of the questions

presented in the modeling portion of the lesson—whatever questions are asked by the

instructor will most likely be emulated among the students themselves.

 Appropriate stopping points in the text must be identified ahead of time by the

instructor to best facilitate these conversations.

Continuing the Lesson:

 This practice may be undertaken with any text of sufficient rigor that allows for multiple

interpretations throughout the learning interval.

 While the initial activity may take place in groups, eventually students should be

comfortable initiating QtA individually within independent reading time.

ELL Accommodations:

Research from the CCSS suggests that ELL students may experience success in QtA provided that
sufficient text-related vocabulary and appropriate scaffolding in the form of background knowledge
relating to the subject are presented beforehand by the instructor. With these specific accommodations,
ELL students will possess enough prior knowledge to interact with the text efficiently. Additionally, the
entry question of “Does this make sense to you” should be especially prioritized and revisited frequently
as needed. Continuing studies indicate that these strategies may also be supported by engaging
“students in classroom discussion about responses to questions” (Beck et All, 1997).
Rationale:

In summation, QtA directly ties to understanding the author’s implied message, and subsequently
improves a reader’s comprehension of the text. This skill may be applied to any text—nonfiction and
otherwise—from any learning discipline. Research indicates that QtA successfully increased class-wide
conversations and productive content within discussions including “complexity of student-initiated
questions and evidence of the development of student collaboration” (Beck et all, 1997) over extended
periods of implementation, further underscoring the need for continual practice. This activity helps
solidify a foundation of critical reading and therefore higher-level thinking and may be applied at any
respective level wherein independent reading has been previously established.

Sample Lesson 3: Survey’s that Match Students to Meaningful Texts

In order to facilitate engaging experiences in class, the teacher must endeavor to gain a perspective of
their students’ history with reading itself. Interest surveys are a low-lift, easily implementable means of
gaining this understanding while simultaneously gauging awareness of what students enjoying doing
both in and outside of class. Miller references the effectiveness of these surveys in her own class as a
way to “gain insight into the preferences and personalities of their students,” and also that these
diagnostics “will form the basis for book recommendations” (Miller, 39). The surveys present within this
lesson follow the same format of those used by Miller in her own classroom based on the Reis/Renzulli
model, commonly referred to as Reading A-Lyzer surveys.

Students may interact with these surveys however they wish, and should be encouraged that all answers
are acceptable so long as they are honest. They should feel comfortable writing as little or as much as
they feel adequately illustrates their own feelings, particularly in reference to questions concerning their
opinions about reading. The initial survey provides personal interests scaled against academic interests
and may be helpful in providing a window into the student’s life outside of class. It must also be said
that a robust classroom library will support this activity, with as many reading options and genres as
possible available to the student readers themselves.

Materials:

-Intentionally chosen texts that can be analyzed thoroughly with high level of engagement

-Printed copies of surveys as necessary

Practices to Promote: Critical Thinking, Personal Writing, Independent Reflection

Instructions and Procedures:

the students. The initial survey should be completed in class, but subsequent surveys

and reading reflections may be conducted as homework.

 Teachers should endeavor to complete the same forms themselves, and share their

answers with the class. This can act as an introduction to what types of books the

instructor prefers as is evidenced in their responses.

 Students will read through the through questions and answer with fidelity. After

completing the survey, the teacher will read through each student’s answers at a

separate time with the intention of matching them with highly-engaging book.

Priorities:

 Students should be encouraged to share their own perceptions without fear of “getting

it wrong.”

 As before, this activity can easily be performed in small groups with appointed roles with

students answering the questions together. The instructor may illicit responses from this

collaboration, or may elect to allow the students to keep their personal responses

private.

 The instructor must remain intentional in the depth and quality of the questions

presented while modeling—this will build trust and encourage motivation on part of the

students.
Continuing the Lesson:

 Surveys that have been adapted as reading reflections may serve to form the basis of a

classroom routine.

 Surveys may be adapted as needed and according to the instructor’s prerogatives.

Differentiation/ELL Accommodations:

Providing personal surveys for ELL students and lower-level readers provides a strong window into their
individual experiences and may be used to develop improved strategies for improvement in the future.
Miller’s personal practices express that using survey’s for readers at these levels “can show amazing
growth in the volume of reading of the students did and a marked change in their attitudes towards
reading in general” (Miller, 153). She indicates that the surveys themselves can be adapted as necessary
to accommodate ELL students with no issues. Prioritization should be made chiefly around accessing any
kinds of cultural norms English learners may observe within their original cultures—and matching
students with the best possible texts to match their individual interests. The teacher may take it upon
themselves to conduct the interviews personally to improve the relationship with developing readers as
well. The questionnaire can be easily adapted to a wide variety of learning levels, and emphasis should
be placed on meeting the needs of individual learners to help establish motivation and confidence
within the activity—the students must be made to feel comfortable expressing their feelings about their
reading. Miller goes on to express the importance of modifying the surveys as needed components of
establishing personal connection: “we can spend hours determining what students should know…but
without considering a student’s right to an engaging, trustworthy, risk-free place in which to learn, what
we teach will always fall short” (Miller, 37). This is doubly true in the case of ELL students and lower-
level readers, who must be allowed to regularly express their feelings about the reading process without
fear.

Rationale:

The instructor must make every effort to determine points of reading interest on part of their students.
This is easily accomplished via simple reading surveys that may be amended as necessary as reflections
or summaries of their independent reading experiences. These must tie directly to the texts which are
made available to the readers via the classroom library—and serve to build a strong sense of confidence,
motivation, and drive to read within the individual student. Miller indicates that a student’s “needs as
readers, as people, call to (the instructor) from the pages of surveys, and (we) will answer back with
books” (Miller, 46). Providing readers of all levels an opportunity to discover themselves in highly-
engaging texts exemplifies the practicality of the surveys themselves. While the A-Lyzer reading survey
represents a reasonable standard for developing an initial opinion of any given students reading
interests, the instructor should feel comfortable adapting the format to whatever best accommodates
the individual classroom need. Additionally, the instructor should make every effort to complete an
equivalent assignment for the students on their own for presentation—this will serve to build trust and
rapport within the class experience.
 Works Cited

“Question the Author | Classroom Strategy.” Reading Rockets, 20 Dec. 2017,

Beck, Isabel L., et al. “Questioning the Author: A Yearlong Classroom Implementation to Engage
Students with Text.” The Elementary School Journal, vol. 96, no. 4, 1996, pp. 385–414.,
doi:10.1086/461835.

“Inference | Classroom Strategy.” Reading Rockets, 12 Jan. 2018,

Miller, Donalyn, and Jeff Anderson. The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child.
Scholastic Inc., 2011.

Naeghel, J D., H V. Keer, M. VansteenKiste and Y. Rosseel. "Engagement, and Comprehension: A Self-
Determination Theory Persepective." Educational Psycology 104.(n.d.): 1006-1021.