In the article, Text Talk, what seem to be the most important points? Discuss several of them.
In the very beginning, the two points that were clearly made were the kinds of text and talk we should have when reading aloud to the students. We need to make sure the texts are challenging enough for the students but not too challenging to where they cannot figure out what is going on in the story. The talk we should use should make the children really think about what is going on in the story that is being read to them. We need to make sure to point out what may be unfamiliar texts to the children and help them figure out its meaning by using either synonyms or the context around the word. In the Text Talk overview we learn that we should show pictures in the book after the students have proven that they know what is going on. Also, when it comes to background knowledge we need to help the students stayed geared to the background knowledge given in the story and not just the real world. The questions we should ask the students should require responses that are more than just one word. If they are having difficulty with this than an easy way to help them is to either rephrase or repeat what the children were saying or reread the section of the story that can help bring back the relevance of the question.
Summarize the key steps in planning and performing a Text Talk lesson.
The key steps in planning a Text Talk lesson is to first find a book that challenges the students at an appropriate level. Then come up with questions for that story and would help in the development of the students minds. As you read a page or two ask the students a question that would show that they know the main points to the story. Make sure to not show the pictures until after the students have given an accurate response. Whenever you come across a word that would be unfamiliar to the students make sure to point it out and help the students figure out what the word means with examples shown in my paragraph above. If you follow these steps and make sure that you are asking the appropriate questions then your students are sure to become better at reading comprehension.
I think you picked out some great points from this article! Your summary was also very effective!
I think that it is important to choose a book that is challenging for your students not only to help them to increase their understanding, but to increase their vocabularies as well. It is important that when you have a challenging book that you help to encourage discussion and help discuss unfamiliar terms that they may come across while you are reading.
You made a lot of interesting points in your post! There were some things you said that really made me think since I had never thought about them before!!!
Great discussion Barbara. Pleas note the following:
Please pay attention to your language. I saw typos in your post, e.g., “help the students stayed geared” in the first section of your response.
In your last sentence you said: “If you follow these steps and make sure that you are asking the appropriate questions then your students are sure to become better at reading comprehension.” Remember that in reading aloud to children our goal is to improve their conceptual knowledge by exposing them to unknown words and syntactic structures that are more complex than in everyday speech. In reading aloud, students only listen; they don’t do any reading.
Overall, I thought you did a great job with your lesson.
~Dr. Ari
[...] Barbara Abee [...]