“Another reason to use text-dependent questions is to get students to talk to each other about the structure of the text. And when students learn how writers write—by answering and talking about text-dependent questions related to structure—they become better writers.” –Dr. Doug Fisher
On Day 13, Dr. Fisher revisits the value of text-dependent questions and delves into how to develop structural questions that will drive students back into the text and promote collaborative conversations with peers. He explains, “Collaborative conversations are an important part of close reading. Students understand text at deeper levels when they interact with one another.”On Day 13, Dr. Fisher revisits the value of text-dependent questions and delves into how to develop structural questions that will drive students back into the text and promote collaborative conversations with peers. He explains, “Collaborative conversations are an important part of close reading. Students understand text at deeper levels when they interact with one another.”
Revisit the text, teaching points, and literal questions that you developed in the previous session.
Craft at least four structural questions that will require students to go back into the text and think about the way the author put the text together. List the structural questions in this template.
Invite students to engage in close reading of the text. First, have students read/annotate the text for flow and then use the literal questions to drive them back into the text. Lastly, have them revisit the text again, using the structural questions to focus their reading.
After you engage your students in this close reading session, consider using the Learning Log to reflect on the process you used to prepare and how your students responded to/engaged with the text.
This template can be used across multiple sessions to help guide the development of literal, structural, and inferential questions, and progression into inspirational tasks.
This log can be used to capture new learnings as you develop close reading techniques.
