Reading Comprehension Strategies

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Video Table of Contents

• 0:00 EVALUATING (real-life example)
• 0:23 Introduction to Active Reading and Comprehension Strategy (slides 1-9)
• 1:49 Real life example of Evaluating (slides 10-35)

EVALUATING Reading Strategy Example Part 1 – Modelled Reading with teacher think-aloud (slides 36-68)

• 8:23 4 PRO TIPS to EVALUATING
• 8:28 #1: Restate as a question (slides 36-42)
• 10:05 #2: Clarify the criteria (slides 43-52)
• 12:40 #3: Play with the words (slide 53-63)
• 17:59 #4: Start with the other side (slides 64-68)

20:42 EVALUATING Reading Strategy Example Part 2 Practice – Modelled / Shared Reading with teacher think-aloud (slides 69-115)

• 21:15 #1: Restate as a question (slides 69-73)
• 22:40 #2: Clarify the criteria (slides 74-88 )
• 24:08 CAREFUL: The real underlying concept may not be stated in the text
• 27:55 #3: Play with the words (slide 89-97) *
• 29:56 WATCH OUT: Be aware of how you phrase things
• 31:35 HEADS UP: Be aware of bias!
• 32:30 #4: Start with the other side (slides 98-115)
• 34:19 Be FULL minded
• 34:36 WARNING: Most informational texts are secondary sources of information

36:00 EVALUATING Reading Strategy Example Part 3 More Practice (Your Turn) – Whole Class Shared Reading (with pauses for student response) (slides 116-146)

• 36:22 #1: Restate as a question (slides 116-120)
• 37:42 #2: Clarify the criteria (slides 121-132)
• 40:46 #3: Play with the words (slide 133-136)
• 41:47 #4: Start with the other side (slides 137-146)
• 42:36 Try to be more FULL Minded
• 43:35 SUMMARY (slides 147)

44:26 BIG PICTURE: Reading for Meaning / 21st Century Learning (slide 148-152)

Evaluating Reading Strategy Lesson

Today, we’re going to be talking about the Evaluating reading comprehension strategy.

What is Active Reading?

Now before we begin, let’s talk about active reading. Active reading means we think about the text as we are reading. It takes work to try to figure out what the text means. It takes more work to figure out what we think about that.

If we use strategies, we can get better at reading. Comprehension strategies help us figure out the meaning in a text.

Today, we will use a strategy called evaluating also known as forming opinions.

Evaluating is a strategy we use to judge ideas and information.

Do we really need a lesson on how to form an opinion?

Yes, yes we do. Here’s why:

• Sometimes, we get stuck trying to come up with an opinion. For example, the  teacher asks what you think and you say, I don’t know.
• Sometimes, we get stuck trying to explain what we think. So, we give our opinion and then the teacher says, “well why do you think that?” and we say, “I don’t know” and we shrug.
• Or, sometimes it’s the opposite and it’s easy to come up with an opinion because we feel really strongly about the topic. In that case, strategies can help us clarify our ideas or think more critically about them.

Remember, our first reaction is not always right. Shocking, I know.

We have opinions all the time. For example, are cats better than dogs?

• If you love cats, you might say, yes, absolutely.
• If you love dogs, you might say, no dogs are better. 
• Or, if you don’t like either of those options, you might say, neither! Birds are better because they can fly.

Let’s see if we can think more critically about these ideas.

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is about making an informed opinion or decision that is unbiased, rational and fact-based.

Let’s look at some strategies to help us think more critically. We can use criteria, try to be open minded, and try to be full minded.

CRITERIA

Criteria help us make a rational decision or a logical decision instead of an emotional decision.

• Criteria is a principal or standard that we use to make decisions.
• It helps us to make consistent decisions.

OPEN MINDED

Being open minded can help us be unbiased about an issue, instead of just relying on our personal instincts.

• Open-minded is the opposite of being close minded.
• It means we wonder how the opposite point of view might actually be right.

FULL MINDED

We can also try to be full minded.

• Sometimes, we make quick decisions with limited information.
• Being full minded means we try to get high quality information to help us make an informed decision

So, let’s look back at our cats versus dog issue.

Sample Critical Thinking Question: Are cats better than dogs?

Well, it depends on what criteria we’re using to judge which is better.

• Are we talking about which is the better pet?
• What animal provides better security?
• Are we thinking about which animal is a better work animal?
• Are we talking about which one is better tasting?

Let’s pretend in this case, a family is thinking of getting a pet. We need to figure out what we mean by good pet.

Well if you’re a kid in the family, you might say…

• I want a pet that’s cute,
• one that loves me,
• plays with me,
• a pet that’s my friend forever,
• and doesn’t destroy my stuff.

After we brainstorm, we need to narrow down our list of criteria.

• Well, I guess I can accept that you my stuff will get broken because that’s just part of having a pet.
• And, I guess I can combine “be my friend forever” with “love me” forever since they’re kind of the same thing.

Now, we if we’re trying to get rid of one more, do we get rid of “cute”, “loves me forever”, or “plays with me”?

And, this will depend on who you are.

• Some people will think, it doesn’t matter what the animal looks like as long as it loves me and plays with me.
• Someone else might say, look, I just want a cute puppy or a cute kitten that loves me forever. I don’t need the pet to play with me – I just want to snuggle with the cat or dog.
• And, other people might say, you know what, I don’t want a lazy animal that’s just lying around. I want to play with my pet and take it for walks. In that case, maybe you get rid of loves me forever.

In this scenario, let’s get rid of cute. If we rescued an animal and it loves me forever and play with me, then, even if it’s the ugliest creature on Earth, I’ll learn to love it because it’s my pet now.

All right, let’s think about the criteria that a grown-up in the family might say. What makes a good pet?  

• Well, a pet that doesn’t cost a fortune.
• And, I don’t want a huge mess.  
• I’m really busy, so I want a pet that fits into my life.
• I don’t want the pet to destroy the house and have to spend even more time cleaning the house.
• Oh, I want the pet to be loyal. I want my pet to love me. And my family. But, really me.

Let’s try to narrow down this list. What can we get rid of?

• you know what – if I get a pet, I just have to accept that the pet is going to make a mess and break things. That’s part of having a pet.

Now, let’s combine these two lists together.

Our checklist so far about what what makes a good pet includes:

• a pet that loves me forever,
• plays with me,
• doesn’t cost a fortune,
• fits into my lifestyle, and
• loves me.

Once again, we have to try to narrow down the list to make it easier to use.

• We have “love me” down twice so let’s combine that.

Are there any deal breakers or must-haves in this list?

• A dealbreaker means if we don’t have this item, we don’t have a deal and it absolutely can’t happen.
• A grown-up might say, look, I want to have a pet but if we can’t afford the pet, then we can’t afford the pet. End of story.
• So being affordable would be an example of a dealbreaker.

Now, we have a checklist to help us make a much more informed decision:

• A pet that will love us forever,
• a pet that will play with us,
• a pet that is affordable, and
• a pet that fits our life.

Let’s use this checklist. Are cats better than dogs?

• Well, will a cat love you forever?
• Will, a cat play with you?
• Is a cat affordable?
• Does a cat fit your life?

Everyone will probably have different answers depending on their situation.

What about a dog?

• Will a dog love you forever?
• Will a dog play with you?
• Will a dog be affordable?
• Will a dog fit your life?

Again, everyone will have different answers to that.

So, based on your answers personally, do you think cats are better than dogs? What do you think?

Evaluating and critical thinking doesn’t mean we end up with the same opinion or decision. It just means that we end up with an informed opinion or decision.

Sample Critical Thinking Question: Boy with autism not allowed to have service dog at school

Try this one: “Boy with autism not allowed to have service dog in class”

Do you

• strongly agree with that,
• kind of agree,
• disagree, or
• strongly disagree with that statement.

Take a moment to think of some reasons.

4 PRO TIPS for the Evaluating Reading Strategy to help us think more critically as we read.

Evaluating Reading Strategy – Pro Tip #1: Restate part of a sentence from the text as a question that includes a modal verb or a value word.

What do we mean by that?

• A modal verb are words like should, could, would, or might.
• A modal verb is a helper verb that changes the meaning of the main verb.
• How likely could this happen? Is this possible? Is this required? Is this an obligation?

So, let’s try to restate part of this sentence as a question using a modal verb.

• For example, should service dogs be allowed in class?
• Could a service dog be allowed in class for a different reason?
• How might a service dog help a boy with autism?

We are just coming up with questions here to help us form an opinion.

The other way to come up with a question would be to use a value word.

• For example, better / worse, more / less, fair / unfair, right / wrong.
• You could even use words like hero / villain, leader / follower. You get the idea…
• Here are some examples of questions that use value words.
• For example, was not allowing a service dog in class right or wrong?
• Is it fair for one student to have a service dog but not all students?
• Who learns better with a service dog?

So now, we have a bunch of potential guiding questions to think about.  

Evaluating Reading Strategy – Pro Tip #2: We need to clarify the criteria for evaluating

We need to define the underlying concept word that we’re going to use to evaluate our guiding question. We need to figure out what’s the point of that word.

Then, we make a checklist.

We narrow down the checklist and we identify any deal breakers.

So, in our scenario, let’s think about the question, should service dogs be allowed in class?

That’s our guiding question.

What criteria are we using to judge whether or not something should be allowed in class?

• Are we talking about the criteria for school?
• Are we talking about the criteria for service dogs?

In this case, let’s think about what a school is. What’s the point of school?

There are lots of answers depending on who you ask 😊:

• some people might say the point of school is to learn skills, to learn how to do things, and to develop attitudes that help us learn.
• Other people might see the point of school is to get ready for life in general.
• Some people might say the point of school to keep the kids occupied so the grown-ups can go to work.
• Other people might say, look, the point of school is to provide an opportunity for everyone.
• One final example might be that schools about having a safe learning space. We see here again this idea about learning.

Now we need to narrow down this list.

• What could we get rid of if we are trying to get down to the core idea of school.
• We might say, well, you know what, keeping children occupied is a lovely bonus but that’s not the main point of school right now.
• And, maybe yes, we are getting students ready for life, but how are we doing that? Well, maybe we’re doing that as we help students learn skills, knowledge and attitudes.
• And maybe that’s a dealbreaker concept: learning is a fundamental requirement of school.

Now, we have a checklist to help us make a much more informed decision about our guiding question.

In our checklist, we have

• school was about learning skills, knowledge and attitudes
• school provides an opportunity for everyone, and
• school should be a safe learning space.

Does having a service dog in class line up with the point of school?

• Does it help students learn?
• Does it help provide opportunity for everyone?
• Does it help provide a safe learning space?

Evaluating Reading Strategy – Pro Tip #3: Play with the words

Modify the sentence or question to see if you can unlock any new points of view.

Here are three ways we can play with the words:

• we can ask something similar,
• we can change the sentence to ask the opposite, and
• we can change the words to simplify the question or simplify the sentence.

Let’s look at our example here and try to ask something similar.

• The original sentences is “boy with autism not allowed to have service dog in class”
• What if instead of saying a “boy with autism”, it said a “blind student” was not allowed to have is service dog in class.
• Does that change anything? Does that sound odd to you?

The phrase we changed was “boy with autism” and we changed that to “blind student”

• What is similar between these two phrases? Well, they’re both students with disabilities.
• What’s different between these two phrases? Well, one student is blind and it’s probably easy for people to recognize that the student has a visible disability. On the other hand, it may not be obvious to other people right away that a boy with autism has a disability. It’s more like an invisible disability.

When you play with the words this time, try to change the words into the opposite.

• So instead of saying a boy with autism is not allowed to have what he needs in class,
• what if we said only students with service dogs are allowed to have what they need in class.
• Does the opposite scenario sound odd?

The concept that we made opposite here was

• originally students without service dogs were allowed to have what they need to learn in class,
• and now, we changed this so only students with service dogs are allowed to have what they need to learn in class.

What’s similar between these two phrases?

• Again they’re both students and they both go to class to learn and both groups needs things in class that help them learn.
• What’s different between these two phrases? Well, whether or not the student has a service dog.
• Does it seem fair if you don’t have a service dog, you don’t get to bring what you need to be successful in class? Well no, how are these students supposed to learn?
• So then if we go back to the original scenario, how are students without their service dogs supposed to learn if they can’t bring what they need to learn? I don’t know.
• We’re just playing with words here to try to unlock a different way to think about things.

Finally, a third way to play with the words is to try to simplify the scenario.

• For example, instead of saying “boy with autism” not allowed to have service dog in class,
• what if we said “students” not allowed to have <blank> in class.

Let’s go back to that strategy of asking something similar and just play with the words here.

What if the sentence read, students not allowed to have phones in class. Does that change anything?  

• Some people might agree and say that a phone is a distraction.
• Other people might say phones are just a tool and they can help us to access the Internet or do work in class, too.

What if the sentence read, student not allowed to have pencils in class? Does that change anything?

• Well, yes, it sounds kind of ridiculous because everyone needs a pencil.
• Well, if you can’t have a pencil in class, maybe there’s a different way to do things. Maybe, you could use a pen or computer to record information.

What if the sentence was students not allowed to have calculators in class?

• Maybe that makes sense because you’re trying to encourage students to do mental math without depending on a calculator.
• On the other hand, at some point calculators are just a tool. It can help you get the simple numeration stuff out of the way so you can focus on more complex mathematical ideas.

What if the sentence said, student not allowed to have erasers in class?

• Does that mean that you can’t make mistakes in class because you can’t erase them?
• Maybe it would be harder to learn without having access to erasers because then you’re spending so much time scratching things out.
• Or, you might say that not having erasers in class is not a big deal because you can just scratch out the answers.

What if the sentence was students not allowed to have glasses in class?

• I guess some students wouldn’t care about this because they don’t need glasses. So this rule wouldn’t apply to them at all.
• Maybe students who need glasses would be at a disadvantage?
• Maybe students could just sit closer to the board so they could see what the teacher was writing? Maybe someone to copy out the notes for people who couldn’t see the board?

The point of playing with words is to change things up so we can see if we can discover other points of view.

Evaluating Reading Strategy – Pro Tip #4: Start with the other side

Wonder how the other side might be correct.

Everyone can be close minded at some point. This is about trying to open our minds and trying to accept new perspectives.

The issue were thinking about is this headline, boy with autism not allowed to have service dog in class.

Do you agree or disagree with this idea?

If you disagree and you think that the boy should be allowed to have his service dog in class then come up with a good reason why a dog should not be allowed in class.

• Why might having a dog in class be a really bad idea?
• What could go wrong?
• Who might be at a disadvantage?
• Okay, what if you’re afraid of dogs or what if for you’re not allowed to have a dog as a pet because of religious beliefs or because you have serious allergies.
• Would those students be at a disadvantage?

On the other hand, if you agree with the sentence, “boy with autism not allowed to have a service dog in class” then come up with a good reason why the service dog should be allowed.

• Why might having a service dog in class be a great idea?
• What could go right?
• Who might be at an advantage?
• Well, the boy with autism would probably learn more or learn better because he has his service dog with him. Is it an advantage compared with not having his service dog? Probably. Is in an advantage over other students? I’m not sure.
• What could go right? Well, may be the boy with autism learns better.
• Why might having a service dog in class be a great idea? Maybe other students get to see how the service dog works? Maybe it helps build acceptance of different people?

Finally, if you don’t care about this issue at all, then try to think of the opposite and come up with a good reason why you should really care about this.

• Why might people feel so strongly about this?
• What might someone have experienced that makes them close minded about this issue?
• Well, maybe people feel strongly about this because they have a dog allergy or their kid has a dog allergy and they don’t want their kids to be near a dog.
• Or, maybe someone knows someone personally who needs a service dog in their life and if they weren’t allowed to have the service dog in a public space, then this make them mad because this is something they feel they have a right to have.

Alright, practice time.

Let’s look at an informative text about this issue.

The title of the article is “Service dog not allowed in class to help boy with autism”

We just spent some time exploring that issue, so let’s go into the next sentence.

“In Canada, a human rights tribunal said it was okay for school to deny a boy with autism his service animal in class.”

Now there’s more to this paragraph, but there’s a lot to take apart in this first sentence, so let’s think about this for a bit.

Evaluating Reading Strategy – Pro Tip #1: Restate part of a sentence from the text as a question that includes a modal verb. (For example, should, could, would, or might.)

We might say something like

• Could this happen in my country?
• A tribunal’s like an informal court. Would a different court give a different answer?
• Or maybe the question is, “Should a human rights tribunal say this was okay?”

Pro Tip #1 is also about coming up with a question that includes a value word. (For example, better, less, fair, wrong all include values.)  

We might ask something like

• Is Canada a better place because of this decision? Is this a step in the wrong direction for Canada in terms of human rights?
• Will this ruling prevent more people from reporting this type of issue? I mean, what’s the point? Schools can just get away with things like this.
• What about, how do courts and tribunals make things fair?

Let’s focus on one question. Right now, our guiding question will be, “should a human rights tribunal say this was okay”

• As in, should a human rights tribunal say it was okay for the school to prevent this kid with autism from bringing his service animal in class?

Pro Tip #2 We need to clarify the criteria for evaluating.

So, we need to define the underlying concept that we’re going to use to evaluate or judge our guiding question.

We have to come up with a concept word.

• I see the phrase “human rights tribunal” in the guiding question so let’s start with that.
• What’s the point of a human rights tribunal?
• If we Google it or find a definition of this phrase we find out that a human rights tribunal is like a court
• Okay. If we keep looking, it turns out that a human rights tribunal specifically deals with claims of discrimination.
• I think we need to figure out what discrimination is because then we can figure out for ourselves if we agree or disagree with this human rights tribunal. Did they make the right call?

What’s the point of discrimination?

• Well, it’s kind of an odd way to phrase it but basically discrimination is about putting people down because they’re different from us.
• If we look up the definition of discrimination, we see something about unfair treatment based on a category of people.
• By category of people, we could be talking about race, gender, religion or a person’s ability or disability.
• When we talk about unfair treatment, this could be about excluding people, denying them something good, or imposing an extra burden and making it harder for people in this category to succeed.

BE CAREFUL!

You need to make sure that you get to the real underlying concept that you’re trying to evaluate in your guiding question.

• This core concept may not be directly stated in the text
• In this example, in order to answer the guiding question, the concept we need to really understand is discrimination.
• But that word discrimination isn’t in what we’ve read so far.

To summarize what we did,

• We started with a word from the text. In this case, we started with “human rights tribunal”
• then, we defined the word.
• A human rights tribunal’s like a court.

Does thinking about a court help us to answer our guiding question?

• Should a human rights tribunal say this was okay?
• Well, a court makes decisions to figure out if things are fair.
• But we don’t know whether something is fair or not fair because this tribunal rules on issues of human rights.
• So, we have to dig a little deeper with this definition. We keep on defining the word until we get to the big issue.
• In this example, we figured out that a human rights tribunal is about dealing with claims of discrimination. So, they deal with issues where people feel they’ve been discriminated against.
• Really, we need to figure out what discrimination is.

When you’re figuring out a key concept to answer your guiding question, you need to stop and check your work.

• The real underlying concept may or may not be directly stated in the text
• When you think you figured out the key concept word, you need to double check that key concept word helps answer your guiding question.
• In our example, knowing about discriminations help us figure out whether this human rights tribunal should have said it was okay or not okay for a school to deny a boy with autism their service animal.

Evaluating Reading Strategy – Pro Tip #2: We are clarifying the criteria and now we’re going to make a checklist.

Just copy down our ideas about discrimination and then we narrow down the list.

Sometimes, it may not be possible to narrow down the list because you only have a few key ideas in there.

• In our list, we only have two criterion. Discrimination is 1) unfair treatment that’s 2) based on a category of people.
• We have different examples of unfair treatment but they’re just examples
• We also have different examples of categories of people, but again, there just examples.
• So, there’s not much to narrow down here.

Are there any deal breakers or must-haves? Is there anything here that we can get rid of?

Well, if we got rid of unfair treatment, then is it really discrimination?

• People were treated fairly.
• That’s like the opposite of discrimination, so we can’t get rid of unfair treatment.
• This is kind of a dealbreaker. Something has to be unfair treatment for it to be considered discrimination.

Can we get rid of category of people? Let’s see what it sounds like.

• If we said discrimination is random unfair treatment but not based on a group of people then it’s just unfair treatment.
• There is no pattern. It’s not a pattern of disadvantage for a group of people because of who they are.
• So, this is probably a deal breaker, too.

So here’s our checklist to help us decide if we agree that the human rights tribunal should be okay with what the school board did. Remember, coming up with criteria doesn’t mean that everyone will come up with the same answer in the end. It does mean that we are trying to be rational and logical in our decision-making process.

Evaluating Reading Strategy – Pro Tip #3 is about playing with the words.

Let’s modify the sentence or question to see if we can unlock any new points of view.

We can play with the words by asking something similar, asking the opposite or simplifying the scenario.

Let’s try to ask something similar.

What if instead of saying “service animal” we said the school denied a boy with autism “from attending class at all”

• does this change anything? Does it sound wrong if you said a kid with a disability couldn’t come to class at all?

What if instead of saying “human rights tribunal”, it said “person in charge”?

• This makes me wonder if there’s anyone in charge of a human rights tribunal? Or can a human rights tribunal say whatever they want?  

We could also make something into the opposite

Canada is a democracy. That means people vote and choose who they want to lead them in government.

What’s the opposite of democracy? Would that be a dictatorship? A country with a totalitarian regime?

What if we said, “In an undemocratic country, a human rights tribunal said it was okay for a school to deny a boy with autism his service animal in class.”?

How does that sound?

• Well, would you really expect human rights to be respected or protected in an undemocratic country?
• No. People in power can do whatever they want if they are a dictator.
• In this case, Canada is a democracy. People vote for their leaders. These elected officials control the systems and laws that affect all Canadians…
• If you see examples of discrimination that are built into a system, then being an active citizen means participating in your community to make it better.
• In other words, if you see something, say something. I imagine people who live in a country with a dictator don’t have that opportunity.

Okay, we need to watch out with how we communicate.

We have to be aware of how we phrase things.

Words matter.

How we say  things may impact others in ways we haven’t considered.

We want to make sure that we are not diminishing the atrocities of real-world dictators by comparing their horrible actions to a much smaller issue. For example, earlier I talked about a general undemocratic government instead of naming a specific individual or country.

We play with opposites to help us see a different side of an issue, but we always have to be conscious of how we phrase things – especially when we’re trying to think critically about controversial issues.

Let’s try another example. Another way to ask the opposite question might be to wonder what’s the opposite of “human rights”?

• Well, I know human rights can be taken away – maybe in wars?
• So what if we asked, should a war crime tribunal say this was okay
• Well, that kind of sounds like an odd question. This isn’t a case that a war crime tribunal would even look at. It’s kind of like going to a phone store and saying hey, can you help me fix my bicycle? I think something is wrong. Well, we specialize in phones here – I don’t really know anything about bicycles.
• I guess in the same way, “should a war crimes tribunal say this was okay?” Well, this isn’t something that a war crime tribunal would take care of – it’s not the right issue for them.

Let’s try to simplify the question

What if instead of saying that the school denied this boy with autism his service animal in class, what if the sentence read, “In Canada, a human rights tribunal said it was okay for a school to discriminate”

We’re just trying to simplify the idea here. How does that sound?

Heads up!

We have to be aware of bias in how we phrase things because we could also simplify the sentence this way:

“In Canada, a human rights tribunal said it was okay for a school to make fair but unpopular choices”

and that slants the question in a very different way

so now I wonder, was refusing a boy with autism access to HIS service dog this discrimination or was it not discrimination but people don’t like that answer?

Playing with words helps us gain a deeper understanding of an issue.

Evaluating Reading Strategy – Pro Tip #4: Start with the other side

Let’s try to be open-minded. Based on what you know so far, is this discrimination?

If we only look for information that proves our point, then we might be close minded.

We also have to

• choose to look for information that supports the other side of the issue and then
• wonder how that information might actually be correct.

So in this scenario, let’s say we see the word “deny” in the sentence and in our checklist we see the word “deny” – as in denied benefits. So maybe, this is unfair treatment.

And I can see here, it says boy with autism and I know people who have autism spectrum disorder are a group of people. Autism is a recognized disability protected by human rights here in Canada, so then it seems like this is unfair treatment based on a category of people.

So now, we have to wonder what how might this actually be an example of fair treatment.

• What if he was denied something that wasn’t a benefit?
• If we play with the sentence, and we change the sentence to say the school denied the boy with autism his stuffed animal toy – does that help us to see it from a different angle?
• Is it unfair treatment for a school to deny a kid their stuffed animal? Could a stuffed animal be considered a denied benefit?

Remember, critical thinking is about using criteria to help us make more logical rational decisions.

It’s about trying to be open-minded, thinking about our biases, and trying to be unbiased.

But it’s also about being full-minded.

We’ve done some great active reading here, but we’ve only read two sentences so far.

If this is the only information we know about this topic, then our minds might be kind of empty.

We need more information from the article to be more full-minded.

Using the Evaluating Reading Strategy is an ongoing thing, you know?

WARNING!

Most informational texts are secondary sources of information. What does that mean?

A primary source of information comes straight from the source – people who are directly involved with an issue or an event. A secondary source of information is one step away from a primary source of information.

The author of an informational text is usually not directly involved with that issue or event. They’re writing about the topic to explain something to the reader. A textbook, article on the internet, or an article studied in class might include information from primary sources, but the author has done some thinking of their own to figure out how to best explain this issue to the reader.

In other words, the author of the text gets to choose which quotes and which facts you get to read in the article. They’re providing a layer of analysis (or a filter of analysis) before you even read about this issue.

So, if we want to be full-minded about this issue, as we read the article…

• we need to think about what information we might be missing and then
• we actually have to go out and try to find the missing information straight from the primary source,
• and of course, we have to try to keep an open mind as we digest that new information.

More practice – your turn to try the Evaluating Reading Strategy.

Here’s the next sentence:

“The ruling is controversial. It has sparked debate over service dogs in school. it also shows barriers that students with disabilities face in the education system.”

What do we do first?

We restate part of the sentence from the text as a question that includes either a modal verb or a value word.

• Let’s come up with some questions right now that use a modal verb.
• Pause the video.
• Now, brainstorm some questions that include part of the text and the value word.
• Pause the video.

Okay, we have a list of questions that we’ve brainstormed. Now, choose one question to focus on. (As we continued to read the text, you may decide later on that there’s a bigger issue to think critically about. It’s okay to change your guiding question later on.)

• So, what is your guiding question for right now?
• Pause the video.

What do we do next?

• Pro Tip #2 – we’re going to clarify the criteria that we will use to judge this question.

How do we do that? What are four steps we can use to clarify criteria?

• First, we need to identify and define the underlying concept word
• Then, we take our brainstormed ideas and we make a checklist.
• Next, we narrow down our checklist to just the most important criterion.
• Finally, we identify any deal breakers or must haves.

So, take a moment right now to try to identify your underlying concept word.

• Look at your guiding question.
• Try to figure out what’s the key underlying issue that we really have to understand in order to be able to answer our guiding question well.
• Pause the video.

Okay, this is an important place to stop and check.

• Look at your concept word.
• Does defining that word help you answer your guiding question?
• If it doesn’t, you need to keep on defining that word until you unlock a better concept word.

Once you’ve identified the underlying key concept that you need to explore, it’s time to define that word and clarify your understanding of it.

• Define your concept word.
• What’s the point of that word?
• Pause the video.

Okay, so now let’s make a checklist from our definition.

Is there anything on that checklist that we can remove to try to get our checklist down to 2-3 items?

• What can you get rid of or combine?
• Take a moment right now to do that.
• Pause the video

Welcome back. Are there any deal breakers or checklist items that have to be in your checklist. This means if what you’re thinking about doesn’t have this checklist item, then it doesn’t really fit into your concept word.

• Circled the really important checklist items. The must haves.
• Pause the video.

Now, we have our criteria checklist. What do we do next?

Pro Tip #3: We play with the words to see if we can discover other points of view.

• How do we do that?
• What are three ways that we talked about to modify the sentence or question?

We can:

• ask something similar,
• ask the opposite, or
• simplify the question.

What new ideas can you find using this strategy?

• Take a moment right now to look at your guiding question and the text we read from the article.
• Play with the words and see how things sound.
• Pause the video.

Now what do we do?

• Pro Tip #4 we start with the other side and we try to be open-minded.
• Look at your guiding question.
• If you agree with your guiding question then come up with a good reason how the opposite might be true.
• And, if you disagree with your guiding question then look at the criteria checklist and come up with a good reason how the opposite might be true.
• Either way, you need to wonder how the other side might actually be correct.
• Pause the video.

Okay, what do we do now?

• We try to be more full minded.

How can we be more full minded?

• We can read the rest of the article.
• We have to remember that informational texts are secondary source of information. It’s a great place to start when were thinking about an issue, but we should also go to the original source and see for ourselves what happened.
• In other words, we have to try to find primary sources of information as well.  

What does that mean?

• What are three things we can do?

As we read the secondary article…

• we figure out what information or points of view might be missing
• then, we choose to go out and find the missing information, and
• while we get new information, we try to keep an open mind.

Let’s summarize the Evaluating Reading Strategy.

• Pro Tip #1 – Restate part of the sentence from the text as a question that includes either
  • a modal verb or
  • a value word
• Pro Tip #2 – Clarify the criteria for evaluating our guiding question.
  • This means identifying and defining the underlying concept word,
  • making a checklist,
  • narrowing down the list, and
  • identifying any deal breakers.
• Pro Tip #3 – Play with the words to find other ideas.
  • We could ask a similar question, opposite question or a simpler question.
• Finally, Pro Tip #4 – Start with the other side.
  • Try to be open-minded. Wonder how could the other side be correct?

BIG PICTURE: Evaluating and 21st Century Learning

Evaluating is one of the many strategies and skills we use when we read.

We live in unprecedented times where things are too close to call, people are divided and emotions can run high.

Evaluating and Critical Thinking are things we do in life, and when we read… Thinking about the information we get and our own biases help us survive and thrive in today’s changing world.

One 21st Century Learning Competency that will help us get through today’s reading challenges and tomorrow’s tough obstacles is our personal character.

One way to make our character stronger is to actively choose to be in a growth mindset. This means accepting that we are not always right. No one is. In fact, not getting something right is an opportunity for us to change our thinking when we get new information. We have to choose to learn from our mistakes.

The Evaluating Reading Strategy and Evaluating in general are important 21^st Century Skills.

• Considering alternative ideas is a key part of trying to get to an unbiased decision. We need character to be willing to look for our biases and accept our errors or weaknesses.
• Active citizenship means helping our community to become better. We need to evaluate what we know about our community so we can make informed decisions about how to improve our local and global communities. 
• Collaborating is not about executing a plan as a team. It’s about working together to create the plan. We need to evaluate ideas from our group to decide which ones will help us reach our goals.
• Everyone communicates, but not everyone communicates well. Communication is a two-way street. We need to appreciate who our audience is in order to evaluate how to communicate effectively. We also need to evaluate when an issue is a deal-breaker that we need to be assertive and hold our ground, and when we should pick and choose our battles and let an issue go.
• Creativity is not just about art. We need to be creative to solve problems. And, we need to evaluate our ideas to identify what we already know so we can try to draw upon our life experiences to innovate and come up with ideas we haven’t thought of yet. 
• Finally, Critical Thinking is key when we evaluate and form ideas. We are bombarded by information from the internet, the news, social media, friends and family. We need to think about the things we find out to see if it’s high quality information, or if it’s misinformation or disinformation. 

What does Evaluate mean in Reading?

Evaluating is a comprehension reading strategy to help students understand the text.

Students can use these 4 pro tips to make informed decisions and opinions about the text.

Evaluating is a higher-order thinking skill on Bloom’s Taxonomy.

The evaluate / understanding reading strategy is included on this different reading strategies list.

High-interest video / slideshow lesson – perfect for your next English Language Arts class.

Students learn how to ask better questions so they stay engaged while they read.

Active reading strategies can show students how to gain a deeper understanding of the text they’re reading.

Questioning Reading Strategy – Introduction

As part of our Reading for Meaning series, we’re going to look at a reading comprehension strategy called Asking Questions.

Essentially, this is where readers ask questions as they read (instead of drifting off and thinking about what to have for lunch or when class is over!)

Now, before we start the mini-lesson, let’s turn our minds on and think about active reading.

Active reading means we think about the text as we read. Your brain should be getting a workout.

• It doesn’t matter if you’re great at reading, or if you struggle at reading. At some point in life, we all will read something we don’t quite get right away.
• If we use strategies, we can get better at reading.
• Comprehension strategies help us figure out what is going on in a text

There are lots of different comprehension strategies and today we’re going to use a strategy called Asking Questions. Asking Questions is a reading strategy we use

• before we read,
• during reading, and
• after reading.

Watch the FREE Reading Comprehension Video.

Video of the Asking Questions Reading Comprehension Lesson

Here’s the YouTube link

Asking Questions Reading Strategy Pro Tips

Here are a few tips to help you use this comprehension strategy:

Pro tip #1. Don’t ask a question you already know the answer to.

Otherwise, it’s too easy and we want your brain to work.

Pro tip #2. Try to answer your own question using evidence from the text.

Look for clues in the text and then just make a guess to answer your question. We don’t have to be right at this point. We just have to think about ideas as we read.

Pro tip #3. Ask lots of questions as you read and make sure to include higher order thinking questions.

Higher-order thinking involves things like analyzing or evaluating or creating new ideas.

One way to ask higher order thinking questions would be to start your question with why or how, and to use verbs like would or might.

• So, if you ask, “how would this help the villagers?” it might help you analyse and break down an idea into multiple parts and reasons.
• Or, if you ask the question, “why would this even matter,” your answer might help you evaluate and come up with an opinion to judge the situation – you can decide whether you agree or disagree with the text.
• Or you might ask a question like, “how might the hero defeat the villain?” Then, you’re trying to create a new idea using what you already know about the situation.

Pro tip #4.  Stop after every heading or paragraph and ask a question.

If you don’t get what you’re reading, then you might want to stop after every sentence.

If you are not struggling, then maybe don’t stop as often, but you need to know that strong readers are constantly wondering or thinking about things as they read.

Practice time.

Here’s a screenshot of the beginning of an article. Let’s use the reading strategy “asking questions” before we read the entire article.

We’re going to stop after every heading or paragraph to ask a question to force us to think as we read.

Teacher Classroom Tip: This is essentially a read aloud focusing on the first part of the text and modelling how readers ask questions

Look at the title of the article:

“Axe Body Spray stops a Florida school bus due to a hazardous materials incident.”

Let’s try to ask some higher-order thinking questions.

For example, “why would you have to stop if someone used body spray on a bus?”

• This is a higher-order thinking question because it uses the word “why” and it has the verb “would”.
• We have to infer an answer because it’s not given to us directly in the part that we read.

Remember to try to answer your own question.

• So, “Why would you have to stop if someone used body spray on a bus?”
• Well, maybe the driver stopped because someone was hurt.

Make sure to use evidence from the text to support your answers.

• Well, it does say right here that there are hazardous materials, so maybe that hazardous material caused some damage.

Remember, don’t ask a question you already know the answer to.

• For example, what was the spray?
• Well, we know it’s Axe Body Spray from the title.

Another thing to remember is if you’ve already read the text, don’t ask a question where you know the answer is given later on.

• So, in this case, asking, “how old were the students on the school bus?”
• Well, if you already know that in the next sentence, it says that they were “middle school students” that’s probably not a great question to ask because you already know the answer. 

So, to recap using the comprehension strategy called Asking Questions.

1. Ask questions you don’t already know the answer to.

2. No matter what question you ask, you have to guess at the answer based on something it says in the text.

3. Ask lots of questions as you read, and try to include higher-order thinking questions using words like “why” or “how”

4. Today, try to stop after every heading or paragraph or section and ask a question. This forces us to think as we read and that’s what active reading is all about.

Reading for meaning is just part of the many strategies and skills that we need when we read.

And, of course, reading is an important thing to be able to do to survive and thrive in today’s 21st-century world.

It takes character to have grit and perseverance and to keep going when things get tough.

And one way to work on our character is to try to have a growth mindset which means that we recognize that if we use specific strategies, these strategies can help us to persevere and to keep on going.

• Sometimes we struggle when we read. In that case, using some of these comprehension strategies will help.
• Sometimes, we find reading easy. If reading the article today is easy, can we agree that at some point in life, you’re going to come across an article which is harder to read? At that point, if you have solid strategies, you’ll be able to persevere and figure out that tough article. Work on the strategy today to practice for tomorrow.

Asking questions is more than just a reading comprehension strategy. It’s a thinking strategy which means it’s a life strategy. It’s something we can use across the 21st-century competencies.

• We ask questions to figure out ways to overcome the challenges that build character.
• We ask questions when we try to figure how to participate in the communities we belong to.
• We ask questions when we work in groups to decide how to accomplish our goals.
• We ask questions when we communicate and trying to figure out how to get our message across clearly.
• We ask questions when we try to innovate and create new ideas.
• And, finally, we ask questions when we make decisions or think critically and fairly about a situation.

Don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to the YouTube channel.

Teachers, if you want to download this Google Slide, click here.

Good luck reading for meaning!

TEACHING TIP: Why should students be asking questions during reading?

Asking questions is a way to help students engage with the text (instead of simply passively saying the words.)

The key teaching point is to remind students to try to answer their own questions (PRO TIP #2.)

A lot of students who struggle with reading make the mistake of just asking a question and then moving on. These students haven’t really put any brain power into thinking about the text. Sometimes, it also encourages learned helplessness because then they wait for someone else to try to come up with the answer.

By trying to come up with the answer to our own question, it helps us to use other reading comprehension strategies (like inferring, predicting, or synthesizing information.)

It doesn’t matter if our answer is wrong (as long as we make a reasonable, educated guess based on evidence from the text and our own understanding of the world. i.e., an inference.)

In fact, sometimes, we might think we are completely out in space with our answer, but in fact, lots of stories have plot twists, and we might actually be right!

Later on, as we read, we can monitor the text and see if our answer was correct. This then connects with repairing comprehension and monitoring our understanding.

Ultimately, the goal of explicitly teaching the Asking Questions Reading Strategy is to show struggling readers that strong readers are strong because they do specific things when they read.

Part 1. Show students how to actively engage with a text

The first handout looks at showing students what strong readers do when they read.

If you’re a struggling reader, you might think that some people are good at reading, and some people aren’t.

But, in fact, strong readers use strategies to help them understand what the text is about.

We often don’t explicitly talk about what we are thinking about. So, this active reading strategies lesson is about making the invisible process more visible.

Doing a “Say Something” can help everyone see the thinking that goes behind active reading.

Active Reading Strategies lesson – Handout #1: Say Something

The “Say Something” handout briefly goes over six reading strategies.

• 1. Ask high-level thinking questions
• 2. Make deeper connections
• 3. Infer what the author is really saying.
• 4. Evaluate and form an opinion.
• 5. Find the Main Idea. (This is really about…)
• 6. Repairing Comprehension (Oh, I get it…)

(NOTE: If you want more in-depth lessons for each reading strategy, check out the mega bundle.)

What’s nice about the “Say Something” handout is that it breaks down each reading strategy into two parts:

• What to say (i.e., Sentence stems)
• What to do (i.e. Pro tips)

Part 2. Get Reading Comprehension Marks from Students: Diagnostic, Formative, and Summative Assessment)

In this active reading strategies lesson power-up, students demonstrate their (current) understanding of the text in TWO WAYS, so you can observe, assess, or evaluate.

• Oral Communication by playing Idea Volleyball (handout 2.)

• Written Communication by using the Double-Entry Journal (handout 3.)

IMPORTANT: Text NOT included.

Use the Active Reading Strategy Lesson handouts with whatever text you’re currently studying in the classroom right now!

This resource can be used to analyze any text (printed text):

• novels,
• articles,
• poems,
• etc.

It can also be adapted to use with any media text:

• TED talks,
• songs,
• movies,
• podcasts,
• etc.

Note: If you use the “Say Something” handout with a media text, then instead of reading the text, you simply watch a few minutes of the TED talk together.

IMPORTANT: Rubric NOT included.

This resource provides a framework for students to actively engage with the text and demonstrate their understanding.

This means you can use whatever marking scheme you already have.

Here’s what you get with this ACTIVE READING strategies resource:

• Slideshow Lesson,

• Video (coming soon)

• Handouts that work with any text

• Digital Learning format (Easel by TPT™)

FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME!

• This product is currently free for 24 hours to thank people who follow my store or subscribe to my email newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter here to get free stuff!

• After Mon Dec 19, 2022 (11:59 PM ET), this will become a PAID PRODUCT and cost $3.00

• I am currently recording a YouTube video that will you through the entire slideshow lesson. When this video is published, the price of this resource will increase.

This product includes:

• PDF handouts.

• Google Docs™ / Microsoft Word™ versions of the handouts to edit.

• Google Slides™ / Microsoft Powerpoint™ versions of the slideshow lesson.

• Easel by TpT™ digital version.
  (Learn more about the FREE Easel by TPT platform here.)

This product is SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD to use!

• Look at the ACTIVE READING – PREVIEW PDF to see exactly what you get.

How to do a SAY SOMETHING (Active Reading Strategy)

GET READY

You need:

• The “Say Something” handout
• Something to read “the text”

OVERVIEW

STEP 1: Read a paragraph of the text.

STEP 2: Say something about what you just read. Use one of the reading strategies on the handout.

• Strategy #1 ASK a question
• Strategy #2 Make a CONNECTION
• Strategy #3 INFER and figure out what the text is really saying
• Strategy #4 EVALUATE and form an opinion
• Strategy #5 Find the MAIN IDEA
• Strategy #6 Oh, I get it… REPAIR COMPREHENSION

STEP 3: If you can’t do a “say something,” then go back, slow down, and re-read the paragraph.

EXAMPLE

STEP 1: Read a paragraph of the text.

• “Sky high”
• “Keeping a level head when anxiety is sky high.”

STEP 2: Say something about what you just read. Use one of the reading strategies on the handout.

• Uhh…

STEP 3: If you can’t do a “say something,” then go back, slow down, and re-read the paragraph.

Example – ASKING QUESTIONS

• Why would flying “sky high” be a good thing?
• Maybe because you can see things far away because you’re so high up?

Example – MAKING CONNECTIONS

• “Keeping a level head when anxiety is sky high”
• Keeping a level head is kind of like staying at the top of the leaderboard in a video game
• Keeping your high score and rank is hard the higher you get…
• So maybe keeping calm is hard when you get super anxious?

Example – INFERRING

Try to do a “Somebody Wanted But So”:

• A passenger
• wanted to go for a ride in a jet plane…
• … but discovered they were afraid of flying …
• … so the pilot landed the plane.

Example – EVALUATING

• Is being afraid of heights better than being afraid of what people think of you?
• I don’t think either fear is “better.”
• But if I had to choose, I’d rather be afraid of heights because then you could just stay on the ground

Example – FINDING THE MAIN IDEA

The BEST main idea is supported by evidence throughout the text (beginning, middle, and end)

The title can be a great spot to start looking for clues. But we’ll have to keep reading to see if our ideas are correct…

• I think this article might be about flying
• The author might be saying that flying is scary

Example – REPAIRING COMPREHENSION

• Oh, I get it…
• At first, I thought it was about flying a plane really high…
• … but now I think it’s about keeping the plane flat (level) during turbulence
• … maybe there’s a storm that makes even the pilot scared!

ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability means being… “required or expected to justify actions or decisions”

• In other words, do the work…
• And show the teacher what you did…
• to demonstrate your current level of understanding

GET READY

You need:

• A place to take notes (i.e. the “Double-entry journal” or the Reading Strategy handout)
• “Idea Volleyball” handout

OPTION 1: Take Notes (i.e. Using the Double-Entry Journal)

Jot down notes to show your thinking process. (Written Communication)

After you do a “Say Something”

• On the left side of the T-chart, write down the words or phrase that inspired the “say something”
• On the right side of the T-chart, jot down the ideas that came up during your “say something”

A few pro tips:

• You might have several “snippets” of evidence from the text to support your thinking.
• The goal is not to have perfect answers.
• You want to show how your understanding changes over time

In other words, there’s no need to go back and “fix” your answers because repairing comprehension shows that you are learning … which is the point of this handout

OPTION 2: Play “Idea Volleyball”

Play Idea Volleyball to show your thinking process (Oral Communication.)

Sometimes, students don’t know what to say when they’re working with a partner.

“Idea Volleyball” is a process to help students develop a more complex idea

STEP 1:

• Partner A reads a paragraph of the text out loud.

STEP 2

• As Partner A reads, they are actively thinking about what they could say about the text.

STEP 3

• After Partner A reads the paragraph, they do a “Say Something.”
• (If Partner A can’t do a “Say Something,” they have to go back and re-read the paragraph.)

STEP 4

• Partner B has to respond to what Partner A says.
• GAME OVER: If Partner B wasn’t paying attention and just says their own thing, then they missed the idea ball. Don’t let the idea fall to the floor.
• GAME ON! Partner B adds to the conversation by doing a “Say Something”

STEP 5

• Partners A and B go back and forth, adding to the conversation each time.
• Do you agree or disagree with what your partner said?
• Can you build on the idea with more evidence from the text?
• The point of “Idea Volleyball” is to bounce around ideas to develop a deeper understanding.
• How complex of an idea can you develop?
• In other words, how many times can you bounce the idea back and forth (before having to serve a new idea?)

STEP 6

• Once you run out of things to say (about Partner A’s idea)…
• Then, Partner B starts with a different “Say Something.”

Once both partners have done a “Say Something” with the text that Partner A read out loud…

… it’s now the other partner’s turn to read the next paragraph and the game begins again.

STEP 1

• Partner B reads a paragraph of the text out loud…

If you want this Active Reading Strategy Lesson for free, sign up for the email newsletter here.

If you want this product with reading texts, please check out our Reading for Meaning Comprehension Strategies bundle.

Watch the FREE Reading Comprehension Video.

Hi everyone it’s Mike from Educircles and today is part of our Reading for Meaning series, we’re going to be talking about the comprehension strategy called Finding the Main Idea.

Now before we talk about this reading strategy, let’s review active reading.

• Active reading means we think about the text as we read.
• We don’t just say the words – we think about the words and what the words actually mean.

If we use strategies, we can get better at reading. Comprehension strategies help us figure out what is happening in a text.

Today, we will use a strategy called Finding The Main Idea.

Finding The Main Idea is about looking at the big picture of an article. We’re asking what general point is the author trying to make.

It’s not always easy to find the best or biggest main idea.

• The author will write several sentences and paragraphs – and in the article, there will be several key points and ideas.
• The best main idea is the overall central idea of the entire article.
• So, in this example, the big idea might be that this is a soup ladle.

Finding the main idea is like looking for constellations in the night sky.

A constellation is a group of stars in a recognizable pattern.

For example, this is the Big Dipper. If you know where to look it’s easier to see the patterns.

(Did you know that if you extend the line between the last 2 stars in the Big Dipper, you can find the North Star?)

When we read, we need to look for clues in key spots of the text.

• We need to ask ourselves, how is the text organized?
• We think about the big picture and we try to look at the entire article.

Here are 4 pro tips to help you find the main idea.

Find the Main Idea – Pro Tip #1: Focus on the Big Picture

Pro Tip #1 is to focus on the big picture – that means thinking about the entire article.

Summarize the entire article in a single word or phrase. What general point is the author trying to make about that topic?

We’re going to be looking at a series of examples.

Finding the Main Idea – Example #1: Photograph

Let’s look at example #1 which is a photograph.

• Here’s the photo.
• Summarize this entire media text in a single word or phrase.
• In other words, what is this image about?

What is the topic?

You might say stars, night, the universe, being alone, life on other planets…

Then, we have to ask ourselves what is the author saying about the topic. Maybe that “astronomy is the science of stars in space” or maybe the author is trying to say that “night is beautiful”, “the universe is expanding”, “being alone can be a good thing”, “Is there life on other planets?”

Any of these could be the main idea, but which one is the best main idea?

We need to try to figure out what is the photographer trying to say with this photo? Maybe the message is that “night is beautiful” or “being alone can be a good thing”. Or, maybe the photographer is trying to capture a sense of wonder about life on other planets. We need more information to figure out which of these might be the best main idea. Maybe there are other clues somewhere else.

Pro Tip #1 Recap

Let’s review Pro Tip #1.

Focus on the big picture – which means the entire article. Try to summarize the entire article in a single word or phrase. Ask yourself, what general point is the author trying to make.

Find the Main Idea – Pro Tip #2: Look for clues in key spots.

How is the text organized? Is there a title or subtitle? Are there headings or subheadings? Is there an introduction? Body paragraphs? A conclusion? Are there review questions?

Let’s look at example #2 which is an informational text that has 5 paragraphs.

Let’s zoom in.

Lorem ipsum is placeholder text that we use in web design. It gives us a sense of layout without having to use actual sentences. Many people just look for meaning in the sentences, but we can find a lot of clues hiding in the text organization.

That’s why in this lesson, there are fake words in the sentences. It’s to help us focus on the text form and structure instead of the words themselves.

Pro Tip #2 is about look for clues in key spots and the guiding question right now is how is the text organized?

Here’s the typical format for most informational texts.

• You have a title which gives us a big hint about the topic and the general point.
• The beginning of the article usually introduces what we’re going to find out in this article.
• The middle of the article usually includes supporting details that the author uses to explain their point
• Finally, at the end of the article, we often see a conclusion that summarizes what the author just told us.

Finding the Main Idea – Example #2: Five Paragraph Essay

This is a 5 paragraph essay.

• We have a catchy introduction to hook the reader.
• The last sentence in the introduction is usually the thesis or main idea and a quick introduction to the 3 ways the author is going to prove their point.
• Then in the body paragraphs, we have 3 ideas that prove the author’s point. We have reason #1, reason #2, and reason #3.
• Finally, in our conclusion paragraph, we usually restating the thesis – we restate our general point that we’re trying to make, and we briefly summarize our 3 reasons that we just told you about in the body paragraphs.
• We often finish our conclusion paragraph with a thought-provoking ending.

If we were doing a reading test on a 5 paragraph essay, we would know where to look in each paragraph and this could help us figure out the main idea of the essay.

The problem is most texts aren’t 5 paragraphs long.

Good writing is not always obvious and formulaic, but there are still patterns in how informational texts are organized. And we can use these patterns to help us figure out the main idea.

So, let’s look at example #3 which is an informational text that now has 20 paragraphs.

We’re going to start with our 5 paragraph essay and then add a bunch of line breaks. This means that if we were working on this article on our computer, we would literally hit the enter key to break apart longer paragraphs into shorter paragraphs.

We’re going to play with the structure of our paragraphs. Website articles typically use shorter paragraphs because shorter paragraphs are easier to read online.

• So, here we have our beginning. We have the same words in the beginning, but we broke the paragraph up differently.
• Here we have reason #1 – which has the same words in the sentences, but again we hit enter in the paragraph to break the paragraph up differently.
• We did the same thing in reason #2 and again in reason #3, splitting up the paragraph into shorter paragraphs.
• Finally, in the conclusion, we have the exact same words in the sentences, but we broke the paragraph up differently.

Finding the Main Idea – Example #4:

Now, this essay has 20 paragraphs.

A 20-paragraph essay has the same structure – the same pattern – as a 5-paragraph essay. Let’s look at the two.

• We have a title where we have the topic or the point of the article.
• We have a catchy introduction to catch the reader’s attention.
• We introduce the main idea of the article.
• Then, we explain reason #1 – this is our 1^st idea supporting what we’re trying to say with this article.
• Then, we have another reason to prove our main idea.
• Finally, we have a third reason supporting our main idea.
• Then, at the end, we summarize what we just told the reader – we summarize the main idea and we include a thought-provoking ending.

Let’s look at example #4 which is an informational text that has 20 paragraphs, but now we’re going to add headings and subheadings.

One way to make your article easier to read and quickly understand is to use headings and subheadings to organize information.

• So, for example, in the title area we might have a title, but we might also add a subtitle to give more insight into what we are trying to say with her article.
• Then, in our reason #1 section, we might add a heading and a subheading. We can also split paragraph into bullets to make those sentences easier to read.
• In reason #2, we could add a heading here as well will split paragraph into bullets again to make things easier to read.
• In the 3^rd reason section, we could add a heading and then add multiple subheadings to clarify our arguments and ideas.
• Finally, in the last part of the article, we could add a heading to make it obvious to the reader that this is our conclusion and we are wrapping things up.

This text now looks longer, but it still has the exact same organization: we have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Finding the Main Idea – Example #5

Let’s look at example #5 which is an informational text that has 20 paragraphs, headings and subheadings, and now we’re going to add images.

We use images to support what we are saying in the text.

• So, in the introduction, we might start with a catchy image to hook the reader’s attention.
• In reason #1, maybe we’ll add an image and a caption to provide more context to the ideas.
• We can add another image for the next idea in reason #2. Maybe, we’ll add an image to explain what we’re talking about there.
• Then, in reason #3, we can add some images to enhance the text and make it more interesting to read.
• In the end, we don’t have to make a change. We could add an image, but we don’t have to.

This text again looks longer but, remember, it still organized like a 5 paragraph essay with a beginning middle and end.

Imagine we read this article on a mobile device. It’s still the same structure as a 5 paragraph essay that we talked about earlier even though it looks very different.

• We have a title.
• We have a catchy introduction where we introduce the main idea.
• We have idea #1 with supporting details.
• Then, if you scroll down, we can see idea number 2 that also has more supporting details.
• If you keep scrolling down in the article, we have idea #3 which again supports the article’s main idea.
• As we scroll through the article here, we can see the conclusion of the article that summarizes the point the author was trying to make and often includes a catchy ending.

Now let’s look at one more example.

Finding the Main Idea – Example #6: Textbook

Example #6 is an informational text with 20 paragraphs, headings and subheadings, images, and instead of having the layout for a mobile device, we’re going to change the layout to fit a standard piece of paper.

If we shift where the images are located to fit on paper, what started as a 5 paragraph essay now looks like a textbook.

• Here are the first two pages.
• The next two pages…
• Here are more pages,
• and then finally we have the end of this section.
• Textbooks often ask questions to see how well you understand the point the author is trying to teach you.

A textbook looks longer and more complex but, again, it is still organized like a 5 paragraph essay with a beginning, middle, and end.

• We have the title
• We have a catchy introduction that may span several pages.
• We introduce the main idea of this chapter
• Then we explain the first concept to supporting the point of this chapter.
• Then we go on to explain a second concept to backup the main idea of this chapter.
• Finally, we have a third concept section to develop the main idea
• At the end of the chapter, we have a chapter conclusion which summarizes what the chapter was about. There is usually a thought-provoking end about the significance of this chapter.
• In a textbook, we would have chapter questions for students to test their thinking.

So, as you can see, there are patterns in how informational texts are written. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading a 5 paragraph essay, a 20 paragraph essay, a website article, or a textbook – we can look for clues in key spots.

Remember, in a classic, formulaic  5 paragraph essay, you have 3 body paragraphs, each with 3 supporting details. But, of course an author could only have 2 reasons to prove their point. Or, maybe they have 20 reasons why they think something should happen. Either way, the structure is the same. There’s, a beginning, middle, and end.

Pro Tip #2 Summary

We look for clues to help us figure out the authors point in key spots by asking how the text is organized. We look in key locations like titles and subtitles, headings and subheadings, the introduction, body paragraphs, the conclusion, and review questions if there are any.

Find the Main Idea – Pro Tip #3: What role does each paragraph play?

Look at Pro Tip number 3 which is to think about each paragraph as you read it.

• Think about what the individual paragraph is about.
• Where is the main idea of this paragraph? Is it at the beginning of the paragraph, the middle of the paragraph or at the end of the paragraph?
• Ask yourself what role this paragraph plays in the article. Is the information in here catchy fluff or is this essential information to the article that helps prove the author’s point?

Here is the classic model for paragraph writing. It’s called the hamburger model.

• We start with a topic sentence which is like the bread at the top of your hamburger. The topic sentence explains what your paragraph is about.
• Then, you have multiple layers of ingredients. You have a supporting sentence which might be some tomato. Then, you have a 2nd supporting sentence which might be a slice of cheese. You might have a third supporting sentence which could be some lettuce. Maybe you even have a fourth supporting sentence which could be the beef patty.
• Finally you end your hamburger with another piece of bread which is your conclusion sentence.

Finding the Main Idea – Example #7: Paragraph – hamburger model

Let’s look at example #7 which is a paragraph and the main idea of this paragraph is in the beginning.

• So here’s some Lorem Ipsum text.
• The topic sentence – what our paragraph is about is at the beginning.
• Then, we have body sentences that support the topic sentence and develop the idea.
• Finally, at the end, we have a conclusion sentence that summarizes the paragraph.

Where is the main idea in this paragraph?

• it’s stated at the beginning, then it gets backed up by supporting ideas.

But, we can organize a paragraph in different ways.

Finding the Main Idea – Example #8: Paragraph – pizza model

Here’s example #8 which is a paragraph but the main idea of the paragraph is at the end. We might call this a pizza model where you have…

• a catchy introduction to hook the reader at the top – maybe that’s like bacon on top of your pizza.
• Then, you can have supporting ideas. Supporting sentence #1 could be the pepperoni. Supporting sentence #2 could be the cheese
• Finally, at the end, you might have a conclusion sentence where you make your point. That’s the crust in our pizza.

if we look at some Lorem Ipsum text in a paragraph, we can see…

• here is a catchy introduction that has several sentences to try to hook the reader
• Then, we go into supporting sentences that build up to…
• the conclusion sentence where we make our main point.

Where is the main idea this paragraph? It’s at the end.

In this style of paragraph, we start with a catchy intro, then we start to introduce ideas that build up our case and lead the reader to our main idea at the end.

Sometimes, the main idea is not at the beginning or end.

Finding the Main Idea – Example #9: Paragraph – hamburger with bacon

Here’s example #9 which is a paragraph that has the main idea in the middle of the paragraph. We might call this a hamburger model with bacon on top. 

In this example…

• the bacon might be a delicious catchy introduction that hooks the reader’s attention.
• Then, we still have our top bread layer which is our topic sentence where we explain what the paragraph is about.
• Next, we have some supporting sentences to backup the ideas in our topic sentence.
• We might have a concluding sentence, we might not.

Now, if you look at an example of Lorem Ipsum text, we can see…

• here’s the catchy introduction to hook the reader.
• Then, we have our topic sentence,
• Followed by a supporting sentence and or two to prove our topic sentence.
• We don’t always have a conclusion sentence, but in the classic hamburger model, we do.

Where is the main idea in this paragraph? It’s in the middle.

In this style of paragraph, we start with a catchy introduction that leads to the author’s point and then develops that idea with supporting ideas at the end.

As we read each paragraph in an article, we’re thinking about what the paragraph is trying to say by looking for the main idea in the beginning, middle or end of the paragraph.

• We have the hamburger model where the main idea is in the beginning,
• the hamburger with bacon on top model where the main idea is in the middle,
• and then we have a pizza model where the main idea is at the end.

As you read each paragraph, ask yourself

• What role does this paragraph play in the big picture of the article?
• Is this paragraph contain catchy fluff to hook the reader, or
• is it essential information that helps to develop the main idea of the article?
• Is this important and relevant to the point the author is trying to make or is this stuff just nice to know?

If we think back to example #3 which was an informational text that had 20 paragraphs, remember it started with a title and then went on to a catchy introduction. Then, we saw the main idea, idea #1, and so on.

Here’s what our mind might have thought if we could understand Lorem Ipsum text.

As we read each paragraph, we would be asking ourselves, what is this paragraph about and what role does this paragraph play in the big picture?

We might read the 1st paragraph and we might say the main idea is at the end of this paragraph. Then, we ask, okay, well, what purpose does this paragraph play? We might say this is probably “nice to know” information – it’s just a catchy hook to grab our attention

Then we read the 2nd paragraph – you might say, well what is this paragraph about? And then after thinking about it, we might guess the main ideas is in the middle of this paragraph. We ask ourselves what role does this paragraph play and we might say, well this is more “nice to know” information because it’s still trying to be catchy. It’s still part of the bacon trying to catch the reader’s attention to get them to read more.

When we read the 3rd paragraph, we’re constantly thinking at the back of our mind, “what is this paragraph about” and we might think that the main idea is at the beginning of the paragraph here. We might say, well, this seems like it’s more nice to know information, but it feels like it’s building up to something – so I think this is probably still part of the article introduction. I don’t think the author has said what their main idea is yet.

So, we keep on reading the next paragraph and we might say, okay, well, look the main idea of this paragraph is definitely at the beginning and I think this paragraph is really important because I think this is the point that the author was leading up to in their introduction. They also have introduced a list of a few things – so I’m guessing they’ll probably discuss these later in this article.

So, we keep on reading – there are no headings in this article to give us hints, so we have to base our ideas purely on what the paragraphs say.

We might read this paragraph and say, well, the main idea of this paragraph is at the beginning – and in fact, this is probably important – I think it’s the first big reason that the author is using to prove their point because I can see it connects with the stuff in the last paragraphs. So, that last paragraph was probably their thesis – their main idea.

As I keep on reading, I might say, okay, well in this paragraph, I think the point of the paragraph is here in the middle because this paragraph seems to be supporting this section about the main idea. The first part is just a catchy description, but the rest of the paragraph seems like it’s actually really important because it’s all about the author’s first big reason.

Pro Tip #3 Summary

Let’s recap Pro Tip #3 which is to think about each paragraph.

• We ask ourselves what is this paragraph about. We thought about where the main idea of the paragraph was and we know that main idea could be at the beginning, middle, or end of a paragraph.
• We also think about what role this paragraph plays in the big picture – is this catchy introduction stuff or thought-provoking conclusion stuff or is the meat of the article – essential information that develops the author’s point.

Find the Main Idea – Pro Tip #4: Not all main ideas are good main ideas

Here’s Pro Tip #4 which is to find the best main idea.

• The best main idea has strong support from the entire article – the beginning, middle and end.
• The main idea is not always directly stated by the author. We may have to infer what the author is really saying about the topic.
• Sometimes, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. That means, although you can find important hints in key locations about what the author is trying to say about the topic, if you’re only looking at a narrow slice of the article, you might be missing important information.
• The best main idea has strong support from the entire article – not just one part.
• Although an author may directly state why they are writing about the topic, the way they write might tell another story.
• In other words, there may be another unsaid-but-better-main-idea that captures the point of the article that we can infer based on the examples that the author used and their word choice.

Pro Tip #4 Summary

Let’s recap Pro Tip #4.

• It’s about finding the best main idea which has strong support from the entire article.
• The main idea is not always directly stated by the author
• We may have to infer what the author is really saying about the topic.

Okay, practice time.

Here is a sample article. What do we do first – and we can do this before we even start reading.

What was Pro Tip #1?

Pro Tip #1 is to remember to focus on the big picture as we read

• So even before we read, we’re thinking about this and as we read, we’re trying to summarize the entire article in a single word or phrase (that’s the topic)
• and we’re trying to piece together what point the author is trying to make about the topic.

What do we do as we read?

What was Pro Tip #2?

Pro Tip #2 is to look for clues in key spots of the article. We do this by asking ourselves how the text is organized.

Even without reading the article, we know that there will be a beginning, middle and end.

We know at the very beginning will be a title that gives us a clue. For example, in this case it says “Green leader” and we have to ask ourselves what could the topic or the author’s point be based on this clue?

• Maybe it’s someone who is a leader in environmental issues. (Being green is usually about the environment.) Maybe this is an action movie thing like leader of the Green Squadron.

The subheading tells us “Green leader says it shouldn’t have taken this long” so then it makes me wonder what shouldn’t have taken this long?

• maybe environmental change is taking too long but it finally happened?
• maybe standing up for climate change?
• I’m not sure what should not have taken this long.

We’re still on Pro Tip #2 – we’re still looking for clues in key spots even before we read this article.

At school, sometimes we have to read an article or a textbook and then answer questions. If we look at the questions before we read the article, it can give us a big clue about what to pay attention to as we read.

In this case, the questions can give us a clue about what the topic or the author’s point might be.

The first line here in the question section says, “based on the article and the collaboration mini lesson, how would you answer the following?”

• right away, I see it says “collaboration mini lesson” so I have to make sure that I read that before answering these questions.
• I notice there’s a third page in this handout package and the title of that section says “collaboration mini lesson” –  good to know.

If I go back to the chapter questions at the bottom of the article I see the first question is “why does Annamie Paul becoming leader of the Green party of Canada make a difference for some people?”

• So, now I think Green Leader – well okay, so this is about the leader of the Green party of Canada – maybe the Green party is called the Green Party because they care about environmental issues? Maybe the author of this article has something to say about Annamie Paul becoming the leader.

The 2nd question is “Do people from different cultures, genders or lived experiences have very different points of view?”

• so I might think when I see words like culture or gender, I wonder if this article is about stereotypes or racism or sexism or thinking about whether people are different or have different experiences…
• Maybe if I tie it back to that first question – maybe her becoming the leader of the Green party of Canada – maybe that has to do with her culture or her gender or something that she has personally lived through?

The third question ask if different points of view help collaboration or get in the way?

• So then it makes me wonder if this article is about people working together or being divided? and that ties into the previous question about whether or not people have different points of view – maybe this article is about a really diverse group of people trying to work together – Maybe the topic is diversity and maybe the article has an opinion about whether that’s a good thing or bad thing.

Question #4 – what does diverse leadership mean?

• Okay, well, how might having diverse leadership help create better laws okay well now I think Green party of Canada if they’re helping to make laws may be their politicians and diverse leadership so maybe something about Annamie Paul is different than leaders in the past? So I’m still not sure if the topic of this article is about the Green Party, or if it’s really about diversity. I’m not sure – I’m still looking for clues

Question #5 says Annamie Paul says, “we can’t let the people down because we need to be in the room on their behalf. Is she in a position where she can make a real impact?”

Based on this question, what do you think this article will be about? What do you think the author’s point of view will be? Pause the video.

The final question here says the new leader of the Green party also says having diverse leadership is a huge win for people in Canada every time that it happens – do you think it is a huge win, a minor win, or not really a win at all? Why do you think that?

Again, based on this question and what we’ve looked at so far, summarize this article in one word or phrase. Then guess what the author’s point about that topic will be. Pause the video.

Welcome back. Just by looking at the title and the questions at the end, we already have a sense of what this article might be about.

Now, as we read the article, we make sure that we pay attention to the beginning to see if we can find the main idea. There will be a probably catch introduction, but maybe not. In hard news article, they get right to the point and this article might read like a news article…

When we read the middle of the article, we’re going to look at the examples the author uses to back up their main idea.

Finally, at the end, the author will probably restate their main idea – we’ll need to look for clues in what they say and how they say it. There will probably be clues to the author’s intent in the thought-provoking conclusion.

Okay, practice time.

What do we do next?

What was Pro Tip #3?

Pro Tip #3 is to think about each paragraph as we read. We ask ourselves what is this paragraph about? Where is the main idea of this paragraph and then once we know what the main idea is, we have to think about what role this paragraph plays in the big picture. Throughout this article, we’re always thinking about what the topic could be and what’s the author’s point about that topic.

In the first paragraph, it says, “On October 3, 2020, members of the Green party of Canada elected Annamie Paul to be their leader. She is the first black person and first Jewish woman to be the leader of any federal political party in Canada.”

Okay, so what is this paragraph about?

• Annamie Paul is the new leader of the Green Party
• She’s making history because she’s the first Black person and first Jewish woman to be a federal leader in Canada.

Okay, so where is the main idea of this paragraph…

• It could be at the beginning, middle or end…
• Well, let’s think about this. Is this paragraph about Annamie Paul getting elected and that’s cool because she’s the first Black person and Jewish woman to even become a federal political party leader in Canada?
• Or, is this paragraph about how Annamie Paul is the first Black person and Jewish woman to become leader of a federal party because the Green Party of Canada elected her.
• I think the way it’s written, because it starts with an event and then explains why that event is important, I think the main idea is at the beginning. So, maybe the topic of this article is about the new Green Leader. And, that matches the title of the article…
• Okay, what role does this paragraph play in the big picture?

What do you think? Pause the video.

• Since it’s in the beginning, it could be a catchy introduction – but the paragraph seems pretty straightforward, and I know that in some text forms like a hard news article in a newspaper, you start with the main idea right away – who, what, when, where, why – so I’d have to keep on reading, but I’m not sure if that first paragraph is catchy fluff.
• On the other hand, being the first Black person and first Jewish woman to do something is eye-catching, so maybe that’s a catchy hook?

What could the topic or the authors point be based on this introduction paragraph?

What do you think? Pause the video.

What do we do next?

Pro Tip #3 We think about each paragraph. As we read, we wonder what the paragraph is about and where the main idea of the paragraph is.

Here’s the second paragraph:

“We need to do better because I shouldn’t represent so many firsts in 2020 said Paul during an interview on CBC radio. By being the first, she will hopefully make it easier for others to follow in her footsteps.”

Okay where can we find the main idea in this paragraph?

Pause the video.

Now what role does this paragraph play? Is it part of a catchy introduction? Is it the main idea? Is it a supporting detail of the main idea?

Pause the video.

What do we do after we finished reading the entire article?

What was Pro Tip #4

Pro Tip #4 is to find the best main idea

How do we know which idea is the best main idea?

Pause the video.

The best main idea has strong support from the entire article: the beginning, middle, and end

Remember the main idea is not always directly stated by the author you may have to infer what the author is really saying about the topic based on their examples and how they write.

Let’s recap this strategy, Finding the Main Idea:

• Pro Tip #1 focus on the big picture – the entire article. Summarize the entire article in a word or phrase. Ask yourself what general point is the author trying to make?
• Pro Tip #2 look for clues in key spots – how is the text organized?
• Pro Tip #3 Think about each paragraph –  what is this paragraph about? Is the main idea of this paragraph in the beginning, the middle, or the end. What role does the paragraph play?
• Pro Tip #4 Find the best main idea. The main idea is not always directly stated. The main idea has strong support from the beginning, middle and end of the entire article.

This video is quite long. It has a lot of content and lot of repetition to reinforce ideas.

Teachers, if you look in the YouTube description, you can find a Table of Contents with chapters and timestamps to help you break up the lesson into bite-sized chunks and to skip to the sections or examples you need.

The slideshow lesson is comprehensive, easy to use and includes everything you need for :

• DISTANCE LEARNING or 1:1 LEARNING in Google Classroom
• FACE to FACE LEARNING in your real classroom

In this package, you get:

• the slideshow lesson to walk your students through 4 pro tips to using the Repairing Comprehension strategy and an example of how to use this strategy..
• a generic Repairing Comprehension handout package that can be used with any text. This helps students ask questions before, during, and after reading. 
• a metacognition handout/reflection questions to help students reflect on the strategy
• a rubric to assess ideas generated during reading, as well as ideas generated during the metacognition reflection.

BONUS EVALUATING READING STRATEGY LESSON VIDEO: 

I’ve recorded the slideshow as a FREE YOUTUBE VIDEO so it’s easier to teach with DISTANCE LEARNING. https://youtu.be/gEsgILYL_lI

IMPORTANT NOTE: This product DOES NOT include a text for students to read! 

The package only includes the Evaluating reading strategy lesson plan, slideshow and handouts.

It is intended for teachers to use with a novel or text that they are studying in class. 

If you would like to use the informational text in this slideshow about “California surfer breaks stereotypes“, you can find the article HERE.

Reading comprehension strategies like REPAIRING COMPREHENSION help students engage with the text and gain a deeper understanding than just passively reading. 

This product is also included in our Reading for Meaning Comprehension Strategies bundle.

Watch the FREE Reading Comprehension Video.