Over the summer of 2013, I attended a conference in which I was introduced to the reading "signposts" from the Kyleen Beers/Robert Probst book Notice and Note. I found it to be very similar to the Stop Think and Jot work that I generally have my students engaged in. However, my teaching of reading comprehension and the strategies thereof, was so much more powerful after reading this book.
The goal in using these signposts is not to have the students search for and collect signposts, but to be alert for significant moments in the text that will trigger deeper thinking. We want to foster readers who pay close attention, reflect, and who are willing to consider other responses to a text.
To develop as independent readers, the students must have a repertoire of a few useful questions which they apply while reading any text. Students must take ownership of these questions. We want students to develop reading habits and behaviors. The authors have developed one anchor question for each signpost.
• Contrasts and Contradictions: Why would the character act (feel) this way?
• Aha Moment: How might this change things?
• Tough Questions: What does this question make me wonder about?
• Words of the Wiser: What’s the life lesson and how might it affect the character?
• Again and Again: Why might the author bring this up again and again?
• Memory Moment: Why might this memory be important?
The sign posts helped some of my most struggling readers, the ones who read on a surface level, to become much more aware of character development, conflict, the relationships between characters, and so on. It was amazing for me to watch the students "get it" as they read and noticed the events and other particulars in the story using the signposts to help them figure out where to stop... and the questions to help guide their thinking. My students were able to eventually move this wonderfully engaging thinking work from our class read alouds to their independent work. Their talk and reading responses also improved, as they were able to write long off of the signpost question thinking
that they were doing across the text.
that they were doing across the text.
Peace!
