White to illustrate Contrast and Contradiction, Tough Questions and Aha Moments served as a great example of multiple signposts, an awesome mentor text for descriptive writing, and a terrific entry for our First Chapter Friday read-alouds (see here & here) that had two students reading it that very day (one with the book another with the audio). Using the amazingly creepy first chapter of Nightbooks by J.A. The online ELA community is super helpful, recommending different novels and picture books that can serve as great examples to share with students as they continue to build their signposting skills. Some are in their third year of using the signposts with me so we are becoming creative in finding new examples. This year I have students from grades 7 to 9. (See these teacher notes from the book site about signposts in Walk Two Moons.) The example texts (see Companion Resources) are completely accessible for all students and serve as crystal clear examples of how the signposts work. There are Facebook groups out there and a lot of resources other teachers have crafted, but those are not a replacement for reading this education masterpiece. To do this I stick very strictly to the text examples supplied by the authors in their amazing book. Part of our class cultureĮach year in 7th grade I get to introduce the signposts to a new group of students. We do this through using many different forms of text including short stories, picture books, video shorts and novel excerpts. Students in my class first learn to simply identify signposts and then they move to application. They’ve also written a book about non-fiction which has its own unique signposts – but what I write here will focus on the six for fiction and some ways I use them in my classroom, from guided practice to independent use through reading response and class discussion.Īll signposts assist students in looking at different elements of a story (e.g., conflict, theme) and in making predictions or an inference. The strategies have a strong research base.īeers and Probst identify six signposts associated with fiction and literature. Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading, for those who have not read the book, provides readers with signposts – tools to help detect moves made by authors that serve as indicators something is happening. It has transformed the way I approach reading instruction, and I hope this post will inspire you to take a look at it as well. A month in, I would like to focus in on the wonderful reading strategy developed by Kylene and Bob – Notice and Note – and talk about how I use it in my classroom.
In my late August post, I laid out my plan for reading instruction this year. What they have shared has changed my life as an educator. Every school year I start out talking about the work of two great literacy educators – Kylene Beers and Robert Probst.
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