“Thinking is invisible. Modeling provides students a glimpse into expert thinking. Students need to hear short lessons where you think aloud for them so they can approximate the kind of thinking that you do as an expert automatically.” –Dr. Doug Fisher
On Day 18, Dr. Fisher revisits modeling, this time guiding you back into a piece of complex text with a lens toward your expert blind spot—things that you know well but that your students might not be aware of.
As Dr. Fisher explains, “Effective modeling requires that teachers slow down and think about their thinking so they are more conscious and aware of what their brains did when they were reading a piece of text.”
Revisit the patterns of errors you noted in your students’ work.
Select a piece of complex text. Consider selecting a Stretch Article from Achieve3000. Read the Stretch Article once with a focus on what you notice about the text. Then, read it again focusing on areas to model for students based on their patterns of errors.
After mapping out your teaching points to model, consider using the Learning Log to reflect on the process.
This log can be used to capture new learnings as you develop close reading techniques.
