BEST CRISS STRATEGIES
FOR TAKS
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Selective Highlighting/Underlining
Marginal Notes: Power Thinking, Two
Column Notes, Venn, Read and Write
Something
Question/Answer Relationships(QARS)
Questioning the Author(QtA)
SELECTIVE
HIGHLIGHTING/UNDERLINING
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P.42-44 CRISS Manual
Magazine or newspaper articles, old
textbooks, photocopies, or TAKS selections
Teacher models. Talk about the author’s
plan.
Divide into groups of three using a
transparency of a selection. Selective
highlight together and present to the class.
SELECTIVE
HIGHLIGHTING/UNDERLINING(Cont.)
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Use with teacher notes and study guides
Use different articles or selections with each
group(differentiation)
Use clear transparencies over selection
pages-transfer information onto paper, erase
and reuse
Use non-fiction material dealing with current
events, history, or science
MARGINAL NOTES
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Power Notes P.38: Power 1-selection title or thesis
statement, Power 2s-topic sentences of the body
paragraphs, Power 3s,4s,5s-details in the body
paragraphs
Read and Write Something-Variation of Read and
Say Something
Two Column Notes P.118 Main ideas/Details
One Sentence Summaries P.111 over the
paragraphs of the selection
QUESTION ANSWER RELATIONSHIPS
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Easy example P. 71 CRISS Manual:
Popcorn
Start with In the book questions: Right
There / Think and Search
After mastery, add Author and You
Model, model, model (Dr. Seuss
books work well for modeling and
practice)
Start with easy material: Well known
fairytales or picture books
QARS(Cont.)
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About 85% of the TAKS questions are Author and
You
Put the students in groups of 4 and have them make
up all four types of questions
After the students have used QARs successfully
several times, model how to use it as a tool to
identify and answer TAKS questions.
Practice in groups or partners with release TAKS
materials. Discussion is important.
Move to independent practice
THE PLAN FOR QARS
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Phase 1: Introduce the Strategy
Phase 2: Modeling/Think Aloud (Teacher
does, Students observe)
Phase 3: Scaffolding (Teacher does,
Students help)
Phase 4: Coaching (Students do, Teacher
helps)
Phase 5: Independent Practice (Assessment)
QUESTIONING THE AUTHOR
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QtA P.37-38 CRISS Manual
Ask and answer these questions while
reading: What is the author trying to tell
me? Why is the author telling me this?
Does the author state it clearly? If not,
how might have the author written it more
clearly? What would I have wanted to say
instead?
Partners, small group, independently