W1- Recognition of Central Idea or Theme

• Central idea (informational and persuasive) is what the passage is about

• Theme (narrative) is the “big idea,” message or lesson the author wants the reader to learn

Notes:

A central idea or theme is a statement that is broad enough to cover the entire scope of the reading passage. The central idea or theme may be stated directly or implied, but clues to it are found in the ideas that tend to recur in the text. Example of a central idea or theme statement include:

Imagination helps us to solve problems.

The destruction of the environment today will hurt our world tomorrow.

W2- Recognition of Supporting Ideas

• Supporting ideas are used to develop the central idea of the passage.

• Supporting ideas are used to develop that main idea of a paragraph or subheading

• In a narrative, details are pieces or information that add interest or a deeper meaning to a story

• Supporting details tell who, why, what, when, where, and how something happens

Notes:

These questions focus on meaningful details that contribute to the development of a character or the plot, or that develop ideas and information that are essential to the central idea of theme of a text.

W3- Extrapolating Information

• When a reader is extrapolating information, he/she is using literal information from the text and extending it to reach a conclusion.

• These questions ask the student to do any of the following:Demonstrate comprehension through retelling or summarizing

ideas;Extend information form the text based on literal information given;Use literal details from the text to draw a conclusion.

Notes:

These questions focus on ideas and information that are implied by, but not explicit in, the text. For example, students may be asked to draw from cues provided by the text in order to identify how a character feels.

W4- Paraphrase, retell, or interpret meaning of words, phrases, or

sentences from the text.

• Context means the words that come before or after a particular word or phrase.

• Context may be a phrase, a sentence, or a paragraph.

• The reader is inferring a word’s meaning by combining the text’s information with personal knowledge.

Notes:

These questions focus on the meaning of words used in the text and elicit students’ use of effective reading strategies to determine the meaning. Targeted vocabulary will always occur within a semantic and syntactic context that students should draw on to respond to the question. These questions provide page numbers to encourage students to turn back to the text to examine the context.

W5 – Recognition of organizational structure of text

• Organizational patterns used in non-fiction include time order, cause/effect, sequential, comparison/contrast, problem/solution, decreasing or increasing importance

• Organizational elements in fiction include plot structure, character development, chronological order, effect of setting and mood.

Notes:

Text organization encompasses the patterns of organization that characterize the respective genres. For narrative, questions focus on setting, character, and plot as well as on any distinctive pattern within the story such as repetition. For everyday text, questions address structural features such as section topics, charts, and illustrations in addition to patterns of organization within the text (such as sequence, comparison and contrast, or cause and effect).

W6- Recognition of a purpose for reading

• Knowing the author’s purpose helps the reader understand and focus on the main points / ideas of the article.

• When a reader recognizes the author’s purpose for writing, he/she understands what the author is trying to make the reader think, learn, or feel.

Notes:

These questions, which focus on the reader’s purpose, address reasons for reading a particular text. A story read for enjoy may, for example, convey specific information about a species of animal or a culture although that was not be the primary purpose of the text.

A1 - Questioning

• Students should be able to extend reading comprehension by actively interacting with the text.

• Students should be able to link aspects of the text with other experiences and people.

Notes:

These questions draw on students’ use of reading strategies to construct meaning. The questions introduce a focus and a context for responding (e.g. asking a question of the author or a character), and ask students to analyze ideas and information from the text to develop a response. Given the nature of this task, these questions are almost always open-ended.

A2- Prediction of tentative meaning

• Sometimes a writer uses a phrase or sentence whose meaning is inferred by the events or situations that surround it.

• The meaning of this phrase or sentence is not a literal interpretation and understanding what is meant is important to understanding the passage.

• A reader must examine other facts as he/she reads to get the correct meaning.

Notes:

These questions focus of statements within the text that introduce some ambiguity: either the ideas are not fully explained or the statement uses language that can be read two or more ways. For these questions, students use their knowledge of language and of the context within the reading passage to analyze the meaning of a particular statement.

A3- Forming of opinions

• A reader should be able to form an opinion based upon prior events as well as examining the writer’s technique (point of view).

• Like drawing conclusions, forming an opinion is a judgment that is made after having read the passage and knowing the events and characters in the story.

Notes:

• These questions elicit students’ response to aspects of the text. The question introduces a focus (e.g. whether the main character would make a good friend) and asks students to select and analyze ideas and information from the text to develop a response. Due to the nature of the task, these questions are often open-ended.

A4- Make judgments and draw conclusions from the text

• Draw conclusions and inferences from the text.• Cite evidence from text to support conclusions.• Respond critically to text ideas and the author’s craft by

using textual evidence to support interpretations.• Whenever a reader makes a judgment or draws a

conclusion, he/she needs to combine the facts and details of what is inferred by the text with personal knowledge, experience and judgments.

• Combining this information, the reader is making an educated guess.

• This type of inference takes the reader beyond what the author states directly.

Notes:

• These questions ask the students to draw conclusions based on knowledge they have garnered from the ideas and information with the text. For example, students might be asked to analyze how the setting (e.g. season of the year) affects the sequence of events within a story, or to analyze the effect of skipping a step in a certain procedure.

A5- Interpretation of conventions of print and literary

forms• A reader should know why words, phrases, or

sentences are italicized, quoted or printed in boldface.

• Reader needs to examine and understand the meaning for the different reasons print will change within a passage.

Notes:

• These questions focus on devices used by the author. Students might be asked to analyze what a specific metaphor conveys about a character in the story, or why an author uses italics for certain words.

A5- (continued) Interpret figurative Language and literary

devices• Figurative language is the use of words in an

imaginative, non-literal sense so that words do not have their usual meaning.

• Literary devices are the tools a writer uses to tell a story.

Notes:

In answering these questions, the students need to know and/or recognize metaphors, similes, personification and imagery.

Literary devices a student needs to know is irony, flashback, foreshadowing, and symbolism. Also included is sarcasm

Open ended questions

Write responses to literature and develop insights into interpretations by connecting to personal experiences and referring to textual information.

Demonstrate higher order thinking skills and writing clarity when answering open ended questions in content areas or as a response to literature.