The document discusses 5 strategies for improving student comprehension and critical thinking: 1. Picture Talk - Having students create stories based on pictures to develop language and storytelling skills. 2. Getting Into Character - Using dramatic techniques like role-playing to engage students with text. 3. Changing Questions - Asking higher-order questions that go beyond basic recall to promote deeper analysis. 4. Forming Comparisons - Having students look for patterns by analyzing different aspects of texts through "lenses". 5. Exploding Vocabulary - Breaking down words into related terms to build students' vocabulary in a comprehensive way.

1. Thinking About our Thinking
Strategies That Make A Difference
Keith Pruitt, Ed.S
Words of Wisdom Educational Consulting
www.woweducationalconsulting.com

2. Brain Gym
• I’m going to ask a question.
• The first hand I see go up to answer correctly,
wins.
• What was the first capital of……
• ……………..Tennessee?
• Correct answer: Knoxville

3. If Teaching Children Were Like This

4. --Christopher Morley
“When you sell a man a book you don't sell him just 12 ounces of
paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life.”

5. “No matter how busy you
may think you are, you
must find time for
reading, or surrender
yourself to self-chosen
ignorance.”

6. “The more you read, the more things
you will know. The more that you
learn, the more places you'll go.”
- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes
Shut!"

7. Why is it important
that students
think critically about
text?
Turn and Talk

8. “Reading without reflecting is like eating
without digesting.”
- Edmund Burke
So How Do We Get
Students To Think About
Their Thinking?

9. Strategy 1
Picture Talk

10. Fundamental Concepts
1. One has to accept the idea that literacy
involves having conversations about text.
(Donald Graves)
Float the learning on a sea of talk.
--James Britton
Who does most of the talking in your classroom?
Whoever it is, they’re also doing most of the
learning.

11. Let’s Look At an Example

12. Fundamental Concepts
1. One has to accept the idea that literacy is
about having conversations about text.
(Donald Graves)
2. Regardless of the level of language,
acquisition takes place in listening to talk and
in viewing pictures.

13. 1. Start with a story
2. Then show the picture
3. What do you think
happened to this horse?
Turn to your partner and
tell them what
happened?
4. Ask a couple of children
to share out what they
think happened.
5. Let students know that
they just created their
own story.
6. On a large sticky note,
craft a bit of a story
while the children add
details.

14. In using this method, you have used
the element of:
1. Auditory experience with language
2. Visual representation
3. Imagination and creative abilities
4. Listening and Speaking skills
5. Vocabulary development
6. Elements of story
7. Transference to writing
This is what CCSS is about!

15. Strategy 2
Getting Into
Character

16. While it is important that students
hear language, it is even more
valuable that they engage with
that language.
• Plays
• Readers Theatre
• Enactments
• Living Museums
• Dramatic Reads
These can be done in conjunction
with metacognitive instruction.

17. Abraham Lincoln Comes Home
What I Know About Lincoln What I Learned Questions?
1. He was President
Which one?
2. 16th
What else?
3. President during Civil War
4. From Illinois
5. Had a beard
6. Assassinated
By whom?
Don’t know—
John Wilkes Booth
He was an actor and
southern sympathizer
7. Buried in Springfield, Il.
1. 16th President of
United States
2. President During
Civil War
3. Assassinated by
Booth who was a
Southern
Sympathizer
1. How Did he come
to be President?
2. Why did Booth Kill
the President?
3. Where did this
happen?
Concept from Harvey and Goudvis, Comprehension Toolkit

18. Now instead of reading
this story to you, I’m
going to step into
character and tell you
the story of Luke
O’Brien.

19. Strategy 3
Changing Our
Questions

20. Players and fans were keeping cool with soft drinks and ice cream on the
hottest day of July and the first day of the Little League tournament. Brett, an
outfielder, was watching the game from the bench. Crack! Fans erupted in a chorus of
cheers.
“Cheers for someone other than me,” came a small voice from beside Brett.
Brett was surprised to see that the speaker was Omar, one of the younger boys on the
team. The few times Omar had spoken at all, his words usually consisted of yes, no,
coach, or some combination of the three.
What time of
year is it?
What is a
tournament?
What
prepositional
phrase helps
me understand
the word
erupted?
From Journeys, Grade 4, page %12,T13 Sideline Support

21. “Excuse me?” said Brett, still not positive the words had come from Omar.
“I’ve had it.” Frustration was obvious from the peculiar strain in Omar’s voice.
“Just being here now puts me in a bad mood. I show up to every practice. I do
whatever Coach asks. And where am I during the games? On the bench! Why is that?
Does Coach think the other players try harder or have more talent than I have? Are
they simply more advanced than I am?”
“Don’t be silly!” laughed Brett. “I played less than you during my first year,
and I didn’t even know how to hold a bat properly! And you know what? I had a blast.
It’s just a matter of looking at the situation differently. My Dad would call it an attitude
tune-up.”
Why does Brett tell Omar about having an
“attitude tune-up”? Turn to your elbow partner.
1 minute

22. Old Structure versus Common Core
Here is the conversation of
Comprehension as traditionally taught
Here is the Conversation of
Comprehension based on Common Core
• Who were the main
characters in Charlotte’s
Web?
• Where did they live?
• When animals are given
human characteristics it is
called _______________.
• Can you think of a time
when animals influenced
how you felt about
something?
• What descriptions are used
by the author to indicate
that Wilbur is growing
lonelier at the Zuckerman
farm?
• What is the main point of
the friendship of Charlotte
and Wilbur?
• How does the author let us
know that Fern has grown
disinterested in Wilbur?

23. Strategy 4
Forming
Comparisons

24. 1. Read through lenses.
• What characters/people: say/do/think
• Relationships
• Setting descriptions
• Time Period
• Etc.
2. Use Lenses to find
patterns.
• What details fit together?
• How do they fit together?
3. Use the patterns to
develop a new
understanding of the
text.
• Looking at a specific aspect of characters,
themes, etc.
p. 12, Falling In Love With Close Reading

25. How to Know When Students Are
Reading Closely
1. They refer often to
the text when
discussing their ideas
2. They double-check
and revise their ideas
by looking back at
the evidence in the
text
--p. 13, Falling in Love with Close Reading

26. An Example
How does Jessie Oliver Aaron’s
character change during the
story?

27. Strategy 5
Exploding the
Vocabulary

28. So excite becomes
• Excites
• Excited
• Exciting
• Excitable
• Excitement
• Enlivens
• Animates
• Enthuses
• Enthusiasm
• Magnetic
• Thrills
• Arouses
• Soothes
A Word Tree Starts with Base Word

29. In this way, you are laying the foundation for
further understanding by giving the students a
vast array of words with which to work.
I know there are voices who say do not tell
students what words mean or to not pre-teach
words. I’m telling you that isn’t sound pedagogy!
“Just let them figure it out” is not a sound strategy
for students and especially not English Language
Learners.

30. In this workshop we have looked at
five strategies that are tested and tried
with students and that have been used
successfully with ELL students.
I hope you will take them for a spin in
your classroom.

31. It becomes about Teaching children how to learn

32. Thank You
Keith Pruitt, Ed.S
Words of Wisdom
Educational
Consulting
www.woweducationalconsulting.com