Directed Reading-Thinking Activity(DR-TA)

Kendell Mull

What is it?

strategy for comprehending fiction

all grade levels, all proficiency levels

Language Arts or any fiction text

whole-class

effective w/ short stories, cliff hangers

Prediction: I think ______ will happen Rationalizing: because_____. Reading: (Read story.) Proving: _____ did/did not happen because _____.

Predict

“With a title like ____, what do you think this story will be

about?”

“What do you think will happen next?”

“What do the pictures make you

think will happen?”

Rationalize“What makes you

think that will happen?”

“Where did you get that idea?”

“Tell me more about that.”

Read“Look to see if that

happens as we read!”

“Did _____ happen as we predicted?”

“Let’s read to find out.”

Prove

“Where did you get that idea?”

“Did that happen? Why? If not, why not?”

“What makes you think so?”

Revisit Predictions

impacts comprehension

metacognition

understanding characters, author purpose

short story - quickly prove/disprove

SIOP SWBATs

Content

Language

Justifying Predictionssentence frames:

- I predict ___ will happen because ___.

- I wish to change my prediction to ___ because ___.

- My prediction was confirmed when ___.

- My prediction was disconfirmed when ___.

Vote

Focus on Chapter

Higher Proficiency Level Lesson

Students will watch a teacher model the DR-TA process with a book of her own. They will then be allowed to choose their own books per group from a list of developmentally appropriate books. The students will be required to

give certain information at the beginning of each chapter. (sentence frames, predictions, justification through drawings or citations of page and

paragraph number.) students should read a chapter a week at home and they will be given time to discuss their predictions and what was read. They

will have a product to create via illustration and one sentence caption of how a group-member’s prediction did or did not come true. This is an

activity appropriate for all LP levels because it allows students lots of time to read on their own, time to discuss points of confusion, and the ability to

work together so that there is less pressure.

Medium Proficiency Levels

The teacher will have a discussion with students about the cover of a book. The teacher will model how to create a prediction about the book based on

the image and title. Students will group off together and decide collaboratively what would be the two predictions most likely to come true

in the first chapter. Each group will share their favorite prediction. The class will then read the chapter, stopping after each two pages to discuss

what has happened, make changes to predictions, and talk about what predictions have or have not happened. Afterward, the class will discuss which predictions were correct or incorrect. This will work well with all LP levels because students will use only titles and images to come up with

their products. They will work collaboratively which alleviates pressure and helps work through language issues.

Lower Proficiency Level Lesson

Students will gather for reading time and teacher will pull out The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. The teacher will ask students predicting questions before reading (based

on title and pictures) and during reading (based on what has happened and illustrations). Then she will ask students questions

about their previous predictions, whether or not they came true, and why. The teacher should use questions like the examples in previous

slides. The next day, the same activity can be performed, but with the students doing independent work with sentence frames as the teacher reads and pauses to let them work. This will work well for all LP levels

because students use images what they have discussed having happened. Students are exposed to many versions of the story

through teacher and student discussion and analyzing of images.

CCGPS & WIDA

Elementary Standards Met

ELACC2RI1: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

ELACC2RL7: Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

High School Standards Met

ELACC9-10RL1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

ELACC9-10SL4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

ELACC6SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

WIDAThis strategy incorporates WIDA suggestions through:

the use of illustrations to understand a storyparticipating in whole-group discussions

many other language-supportive methods

Middle School Standards Met

Questions

1. What would you do to assess that all students are creating predictions and justifying them?

2. What would be the benefit/(s) of using short stories over using chapter books?