Critical Assignment One

1. Flip Chart:
Before, During, and After Reading Strategies
Critical Assignment One
Jasmine Krauss
RED4348
Non-fiction text: Plants and Food (6th)

2. Non-Fiction Text: Plants and Food
• The text I have chosen talks about the importance of knowing about the different fresh
food and plants that you consume and what makes them safe.
• The grade level for this text would be 6th grade
• LAFS.K.RI.1.1With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a
text.
• LAFS.K12.W.3.9Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
• Link to text: chrome-
extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents
/PlantsandFoodnonfiction6thgrade.pdf

3. Before Reading Strategies
• Anticipation guide
• KWL chart
• Think-pair-share
• Mind Mapping
• Preview Vocabulary

4. Anticipation Guide
• Anticipation Guides are used before so that students can use their prior
knowledge to answer questions.
• The questions being asked will be related to the text and can be answered
using newly learned knowledge once more after the text has been read.
• These guides help students to think critically about a question and engage
them in the topic they will be reading about.
• Students have the opportunity to see their growth by comparing answers
from before reading to their answers after reading the text.

5. Anticipation Guide Example

6. K.W. L. Chart
• KWL charts represent what students know, what they want to learn, and what they
have learned.
• This strategy is perfect for before reading because the first two columns focus on prior
knowledge and creating an interest in the topic. The final column should be completed
after reading.
• This strategy makes learning more meaningful for students as they read
through the passage.
• Teachers can create a KWL chart for the whole class to complete on the
whiteboard or projector or have students complete individually by providing
handouts with the KWL charts.

7. K.W. L. Chart Example

8. Think-Pair-Share
• Think-Pair-Share is a collaborative
strategy that allows students to think
about the given topic or question,
pair up with a classmate, and share
their thoughts with each other based
on prior knowledge and interest.
• Students are more engaged when
discussing thoughts and ideas with a
classmate.

9. Preview Vocabulary
• This strategy gives the teacher an
opportunity to select words from the text
that students may not be familiar with and
review the words and their meanings with
students before reading through the passage.
• This strategy will increase student
comprehension while reading the selected
text.

10. Mind Maps
• A mind map is similar to a word web where you have a topic or main
idea in a center bubble and you attach connecting ideas in smaller
bubbles to the main bubble.
• When introducing a text, students can create a mind map before
reading to show what they already know about the topic.
• You can have students create an additional mind map after reading so
that they can compare their previous knowledge to what they just
learned from the passage.

11. Mind Map Example

12. Applying These Strategies Before Reading:
• Anticipation guide- Ask students questions regarding different plants and foods that they eat and have them
answer yes/no questions using prior knowledge. Ask questions again after reading text and compare answers.
• KWL chart- Have students complete this chart before reading the text. Provide them with the topic and ask
them what they know about different foods and plants and what they want to learn. After reading the text,
have students fill out the section for what they have learned.
• Think-pair-share- Ask students pre-reading questions about shelf life of tomatoes or what types of plants
are used to flavor foods and have them discuss with their partner.
• Mind Mapping- Give student the topic of the text, plants and food, and have them create a mind map before
they read the passage with information they already know. Have them create another after reading and let
them compare their answers.
• Preview Vocabulary- Teach students vocabulary words or unusual words they may not understand when they
come across them in the text, such as distinguish or antiseptic from the Plants and Food text.

13. During Reading
• Marking in the Text
• Partner Reading
• Table Talk
• Think-Alouds
• Comprehension Monitoring

14. Marking In the Text
• During reading, have students mark in the text.
• Students can underline, circle, number, or use
symbols to mark words or sentences they deem
important.
• Teachers may have students use certain marks for
specific parts in the text such as using bubbles for
important words and underlines for important
ideas.
• This strategy turns students into active readers and
has them analyze the passage rather than quickly
scan paragraphs.

15. Partner Reading
• This strategy has students working with a partner by
reading a selected text together. These students can either
take turns reading parts of the passage or they can read it
together.
• This allows students to help each other with the reading
process, such as showing their partner how to pronounce a
certain word when they are reading.
• The teacher is free to move from pair to pair in order to
help students when needed on a more individual basis
rather than in a whole group setting.

16. Table Talk
• Table talk can take place during whole group reading.
• With this strategy, the teacher will pause the reading
process to ask questions. Students will then have a short
time to discuss the given question with peers at their
table.
• Students are able to reflect ideas off of one another and
grow their knowledge based off of information their
peers know and understand.
• Communication with peers also keeps students engaged
in the reading.

17. Think-Alouds
• This strategy allows teachers to model how to answer questions by thinking
critically about prior knowledge or newly learned information.
• During the reading of a passage, the teacher will stop and ask students
questions that will make them think about a section they have just read. .
• Asking questions will guide students to think critically and help them
comprehend what they have just read.

18. Think-Aloud Examples
• Examples of questions could be:
Do you think the character will do this? Why won’t the character go home?
Would you walk to your grandma’s house if it was pouring and thundering
outside?
• These questions have students use prior knowledge and experiences to give an answer
as well as referring to details presented in the text

19. Comprehension Monitoring
• Students will not enjoy or understand the text if they do not know
how to monitor their comprehension, so as a teacher this should be
a good skill to teach!
• Students will learn how to identify when they are struggling with
their reading and mark that area, come up with new wording for a
sentence they may not be able to comprehend, identify key details
in the passage, and look forward to find information that may be
helpful to them or find information that will fill in the gaps for
them.
• This strategy teaches students how to gain control of their learning
and increase comprehension while reading instead of being stuck
and giving up!

20. Applying These Strategies During Reading:
• Marking in the Text- This passage is only a page long and should be printed on sheets of paper. Pass them
out to students and allow them to mark in the text while they read silently, with partners, or as a whole
group. For example, they can circle the names of the different plants and foods mentioned in the text.
• Partner Reading- Students will read the short passage with a partner, either taking turns or together. They
will help one another understand the text.
• Table Talk- The teacher can read Plants and Food as a whole group, pausing to ask questions and allowing
the tables to discuss their answers.
• Think-Alouds- As the class reads the text together, the teacher can pause and model how to answer
questions using prior knowledge about what students have eaten and information they just read in the
text.
• Comprehension Monitoring- Teach students how to monitor their comprehension so that when they read
this selected passage they can focus on individual sections that they find challenging.

21. After Reading
• Journal Responses
• Exit Slips
• Jigsaw
• Summarizing
• Graphic Organizers

22. Journal Responses
• This strategy allows students to reflect on
what they have read and experiences they
have had in order to respond to a journal topic
in their own words.
• In some cases, journal responses are opinion-
based. Responses can also be based on the
information they have read from a given
passage and how they interpreted that
information.

23. Exit Slips
• With this strategy, the teacher asks students a question
which they respond to on a scrap piece of paper or
notecard. The questions can ask students opinion-based
questions or information-based questions depending on
what the teacher would like the students to take away from
the passage.
• Answers can be anonymous or have students include their
names.
• This provides teachers with feedback about the passage and
student’s comprehension or interest in said passage.

24. Jigsaw
• To utilize this strategy, the teacher must divide the students into groups. Each group
member will be responsible for a section of the given passage and become
“experts” on the information. Each group member will then teach their section to
the rest of the group.
• Another option is to start students off in one group and give each group member a
number. Then those students will meet up with members from other groups with
the same number, learn their section, and return to their original group and teach
them the information.
• This strategy is collaborative which engages students and can be used to show
comprehension on a topic or passage.
• Can be used after reading the passage as a class so students further analyze the text.

25. Summarizing
• After students have read a passage, they can
use the strategy of summarizing to take the
information they have learned and condense
it down to the main ideas.
• Teaches students to identify what ideas in the
text are supportive or important.

26. Graphic Organizers
• Students can create graphic organizers after reading the text to connect
information from the passage to the main idea.
• Gives students a visual representation of what they have learned from the
text.
• Students can complete graphic organizers either independently or led by the
teacher, helping students come up with connecting ideas by reflecting off of
one another.

27. Graphic
Organizer
Examples

28. Applying These Strategies After Reading:
• Journal Responses- The teacher can ask a question such as what fresh fruits, vegetables, or herbs they may be
interested in or would like to eat more of and why. Students will respond to the question by writing in their
journals or a sheet of paper.
• Exit Slips- Students can write an interesting fact that they learned from the Plants and Food text and turn it in
before they leave class.
• Jigsaw- After reading as a whole group, the teacher can split students into groups where each group member
will become an “expert” in a section of the passage and teach it to the rest of their group.
• Summarizing- After reading this short passage, students will create summaries including the main ideas from
the text.
• Graphic Organizers- Students will create a graphic organizer connecting information to the main idea of
Plants and Food, creating a visual for them to refer back to.

29. References
All About Adolescent Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.adlit.org/
Bursuck, W.D. & Damer, M. (2015). Teaching reading to students who are at
risk or have disabilities: A multi-tier, RTI approach. Boston: Pearson.
Center for Urban Education at DePaul University (2005).Plants and Food.
Retrieved from http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents/PlantsandFood
nonfiction6thgrade.pdf