1. Strategies to Think Deeply About Texts
Writing about Reading
Strategies to Think Deeply About Texts

2. Why write about reading?
“Speaking or writing about a source text contributes to deeper comprehension than merely reading since both actions require intense scrutiny and examination. Reading and then engaging in a meaningful and fruitful discussion with others challenges us to extend our thinking, arrive at new insights, and consider different perspectives. Writing about what we read requires critical thinking and active engagement in order to compose a coherent piece for a particular purpose and audience. Therefore, learning experiences that include writing, speaking, and listening tasks foster further introspection and analysis of text.”
From Complex Text Decoded, by Kathy T. Glass

3. What does writing about reading look like in your classroom?
Writing in the classroom has undergone many changes
Writing workshop and writing instruction remain a part of teaching, but what about writing during reading instruction?
How does it differ from traditional writing instruction?

4. Let’s talk about what we are doing right now in our classrooms
Take 5 minutes to add your thoughts to these 4 charts around the room
What am I currently doing to teach writing about reading?
What do I want to improve?
What do I want to know more about?
What particular skills do my students struggle with?

5. Mclass and writing
Mclass testing has changed how many of us view writing about texts
How can we teach students to write about the books they read without “teaching to the test?”
How can we integrate Mclass style writing into our reading instruction?

6. What are your thoughts?
“Writing About Reading—To write about reading—to hold onto ideas and develop those ideas in longer entries—connects to many writing goals. In order to write about reading, a reader needs to generate an idea, have some way to structure the writing, and be sure that the writing is focused on one idea. To write longer, the writer needs to elaborate on their thinking with details and support from the text.”
-Jennifer Serravallo

7. So how do we make this happen?
Read, think, talk, write
The focus is not on the writing itself, but on showing deep understanding of the text
Combine daily quick writes with longer writing at the end of the text
For example...

8. Guided reading and writing about text
Students read the text “Poisonous Animals”
Each day, students re-read yesterday’s section and do a one sentence quick write to answer a question
How do poison dart frogs use their poison? When does a funnel web spider attack?

9. Guided reading and writing about text
At the end of the text, students write to answer a more in depth question
Describe two different ways animals use their poison.
Compare and contrast the marble cone snail and the poison dart frog.
Writing about text becomes a natural part of reading

10. My keys to writing about reading
Spell the words as best you can, but don’t stress about spelling
Make it readable, but it doesn’t have to be perfect
What you write should match what happened in the text
Show what you know

11. Reading and writing connections
How can we make sure reading and writing skills are correlated?
If you’re focusing on strategy X in reading, focus on strategy Y in your writing
Jennifer Serravallo’s Reading and Writing Connections

12. What will this look like in your classroom?
In K-1, teachers should model writing about texts (perfect for shared reading)
Choose a question about the text you are reading (What happened at the beginning and end? What was the problem?)
Model how to use the text to write the answer; gradually release responsibility to students
Continue to model in upper grades as needed

13. What will this look like in your classroom?
1st grade should be a combination of modeling and practice
Do Not wait until mid-year to introduce writing to 1st graders; it should become a natural part of the reading process
By late 1st grade on, students should be writing about a text at least once a week

14. Resources for Planning
Academic Language Word Wall
Comprehension Question Bookmarks
Digital Graphic Organizers for Google Classroom