LIKERT SCALES

Kylene Beers in When Kids Can’t Read What Teachers Can Do says after reading activities usually measure how much a student has comprehended what they have read, and in that context, comprehension is a product.  She suggests viewing comprehension as a process, so after reading activities are chosen to help students continue to make meaning.  Likert scales do just that.

Likert scales consist of general statements that focus on characters, themes, or conflicts in text.  Students read each statement and decide how much they agree or disagree with it, and mark that level of agreement.  Students discuss why they marked what they did.  The most effective statements don’t have clear-cut answers in the book, and so will often result in a lively discussion.  The following is part of a Likert Scale that I created for the picture book Just Kidding   by Trudy Ludwig.  It is a book about bullying, and understanding the difference between “friendly” teasing and “hurtful” teasing.  This activity was a great way to scaffold conversation after we read the book.  It led students to talk about the “big ideas”, instead of leaving it to chance.

 1.    Teasing someone is O.K. because it is just a way of kidding around.

______________________________________________________________

strongly disagree           disagree                    agree                      strongly agree

2.    Don’t tease someone about their body or family members.

______________________________________________________________

strongly disagree           disagree                   agree                   strongly agree

 

3.    “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  This sentence is untrue.

_______________________________________________________________

strongly disagree           disagree                      agree                      strongly agree    

 

Anticipation Guides

Anticipation Guides

 Reading comprehension is tied closely to what the reader brings to the page – what the reader knows before reading.  When students struggle with comprehension, it is most often because they lack prior knowledge or do not activate it.  Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels will tell you that, “most “reading difficulties” are really prior knowledge problems.” 

Anticipation Guides act as a pre-reading strategy and provide opportunities for students to explore their own thoughts about issues before reading. I find they tend to be more engaged when reading the text. Once students have completed the guide, ask them to share their reactions.  Usually there will be some very lively discussions!

 Ask students to look at their original responses after reading.  The reading may have changed their responses by strengthening their original position or make them question that position.

 When putting together an Anticipation Guide, look for the controversial issues, big ideas or themes in the text.  You don’t need a lot of items.  Kylene Beers says two items that encourage discussion are better than ten items that inspire little debate.

The following is an Anticipation Guide for The Diary of Anne Frank:

Read each statement and write agree or disagree in the blank.

BEFORE                                                                                                AFTER

___________   Hiding people that the government says                 ____________

                          are criminals is wrong.

___________   If you have limited food and limited space and        ____________

                        are trying hard to make sure your family survives,

                         you shouldn’t be expected to take in other people 

                        who will make your supplies disappear even faster.

___________   People who do cruel things can still be good            ____________

                            people.

(Beers, 2003)

Blank Anticipation Guide templates can be found on the AdLit site. Click here to get blank templates.

INSERT STRATEGY

Proficient readers:

• Know when the text is making sense and when it does not.
• Identify difficulties in comprehension at the word, sentence and whole text-levels.

 

Students:

• Need to understand that self-monitoring is essential to understanding text.
• They must identify when they understand their reading, and know when their comprehension breaks down.

 

The INSERT strategy is a way for students to be conscious of their thinking without taking extensive notes.  Students can place the codes on post-it notes. You can invent your own coding system that matches the subject area.
 

\/   This confirms what I already knew.

x     This contradicts what I thought.

!       Wow!  This is an interesting fact/idea.

+      I want more information about this.

?     This is confusing and unclear to me.

 

 

 

 

ALL ABOUT LITERACY                                                                                                  

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging!  As a consultant, I have been invited into many classrooms and am truly appreciative.  There are great things happening in our schools.  I have had abundant opportunities to work alongside teachers and engage in professional dialogue. Teachers have been so gracious in allowing me to try out new structures and instructional strategies in their classrooms, and I have learned so much along the way.  It is now time for me to take a risk outside the safety of the classroom walls, and enter the world of blogging! 

I'm going to focus on instructional strategies and best practice in literacy.  The definition of literacy has expanded from the ability to read, write, spell, listen and speak, to include critical, media, technological literacy and more.  Most of my posts will focus on instructional strategies that will help students become thoughtful, independent readers and thinkers. 

Inquiry is embedded within all Saskatchewan curricula.  During any inquiry students ask questions, do lots of reading and dig deep. It is important then, to explicitly teach comprehension or thinking strategies, to scaffold and help students gain meaning.  When students practice strategies to comprehend what they read, hear and see, their inquiries will take off!

  I welcome your feedback and comments.  Please share your adaptations or variations of these strategies, and what has worked for you and your students.