Unit of Study: Schema K
Recommended Model Text for Making Connections
Title
Author
Notes
About Hummingbirds
Cathyn Sill
informational text
Be Quiet Mike!
Leslie Patricelli
Diary of a Wombat
Jackie French
Ducks!
Gail Gibbons
The Great Gracie Chase
Cynthia Rylant
I Hate to Go to Bed!
Katie Davis
If You Give a Pig a Pancake
Laura Numeroff
Jamaica Tag-Along
Juanita Havill
Katie Loves the Kittens
John Himmelman
Little Pea
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Meanies
Joy Cowley
No, David!
David Shannon
Olivia
Ian Falconer
One Morning in Maine
Robert McCloskey
Owl Babies
Martine Waddell
Peter’s Chair
Ezra Jack Keats
Pete the Cat
Eric Litwin
Pip’s Magic
Ellen Stoll Walsh
Roller Coaster
Marla Frazee
RRRALPH
Lois Ehlert
Shark vs. Train
Chris Barton
Thomas’ Snowsuit
Robert Munsch
informational text
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Text Set Items
Poems
Short nonfiction selections
Fiction
Picture books
Newspaper articles
Short stories
Vignettes
Biographical information
Internet pieces
Student writing
Mathematical writing
Lists
Historical recounts
Photos
Primary sources Quotes
Almanacs
Magazine articles
Document Based Questions
Menus
Catalogs
Charts and Graphs
Maps
Brochures
Recipes
Calendars
Pictures of Artwork
Letters and Journals
Stamps
Song lyrics
What are text sets? Text sets are collections of resources from different genre,
media, and levels of reading difficulty that are designed to be supportive of the
learning of readers with a range of experiences and interests. A text-set collection
focuses on one concept or topic and can include multiple genres such as books,
charts and maps, informational pamphlets, poetry and songs, photographs, nonfiction books, almanacs or encyclopedias. Text sets are designed to give readers a
choice of interesting and accessible text. They provide opportunities for learning and
practicing reading strategies.
JANIE RIDDLE GOODMAN
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
TEXT SETS: PROVIDING POSSIBILITIES FOR
ADOLESCENT READERS
6
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 1
Pre-assessment
What is schema? - Drama
Turn and talk to your partner about what strategies
readers use.
Notes to Build
Next Lesson
Drawing/Discussion
Select the
Materials
Name the Strategy Today we are going to learn about another strategy
reader’s use. Readers not only figure out the words as
Explain
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
they read, they use their schema to help them
understand the words and the ideas in the text. Schema
is a reader’s background knowledge. It is all the
information a person knows – the people you know, the
places you have been, the experiences you have had, the
books you have read – all of this is your schema.
Let’s pretend that our class is going to the cafeteria at
the _____________ school. (Pick an elementary school
in a nearby town). Has anyone in this class ever been to
the Lilja School’s cafeteria? (no) I am going to prove to
you that even though you have not been to the cafeteria
at the Lilja school your schema will help you to have a lot
of ideas of what you might see.
This will only work if
your students have
been to the cafeteria
in your school. Change
the place so that it
will make sense for
your students.
Turn and talk to your partner. What are all of the
items/people you might see in another school’s cafeteria?
This list is our schema about school cafeterias.
Let’s try it with a different topic. Let’s pretend that we
are going to go visit a grocery store. Raise your hand if
you have ever been to a grocery store. Turn and talk.
What are all of the things you know about grocery
stores?
Record the students’ ideas.
The lists we wrote shows our schema for school
cafeterias and grocery stores. Over the next few weeks
we will learn how to use our schema when reading. When
readers’ read about things they know about or have
experienced, they use their schema to connect to what
they are reading and they are naturally more engaged.
Conference Points
Not applicable for this lesson
Share/Reinforce
Not applicable for this lesson
7
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 2
Pre-assessment
How do readers use their schema?
Select the
Materials
I Hate the Go to Bed!, Katie Davis
Turn and talk to your partner about what you
know about schema.
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Name the Strategy Today we are going to learn about how readers
use their schema. Schema is a reader’s
Explain
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
background knowledge. It is all the information a
person knows – the people you know, the places
you have been, the experiences you have had, the
books you have read – all of this is your schema.
Readers use their schema or background
knowledge to understand what they are reading.
When readers’ read about things they know about
or have experienced, they connect to what they
are reading and they are naturally more engaged.
Watch how I use my schema before I read a
book. Preview the text - Read the title, the title
page, the synopsis on the inside flap or back cover
and look at the pictures. Share your schema for
this topic, author and/or genre with the students.
I have schema about this text. I know this book
is about someone who doesn’t want to go to bed..
I know a lot about wanting to stay up late.
Share your schema for this topic:
§ Sometimes grown ups get frustrated when
kids don’t go to bed.
§ Sometimes kids get angry when their
parents tell them to go to bed.
§ Sometimes kids ask for lots of things
(drink of water, another story, etc.) so
they can stay up later.
Now when I read this book I am going to use my
schema to understand the story.
As I begin reading, I notice that the little girl is
frustrated. The text says, “I HATE to go to
bed! I just know I am missing something.” The
words in the text (the evidence) show that the
this girl is frustrated that she has to go to bed.
I know this because I have been frustrated
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
before when I wanted to do something that I
couldn’t do. My schema helps me to connect to
this topic and to understand how the character is
feeling.
Provide Guided
Practice
Continue to read the story and point out how your
schema helped you to understand the characters
and the plot.
As you read, ask the students to turn and talk.
How is your schema helping you to understand the
ideas in this text?
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
Provide
Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read.
I put a new book in the listening center today.
Let’s talk right now about your schema for this
text. I am going to preview the text with you
now. Turn and talk. What is your schema for this
text?
“When you go to RW
try…”
Conference Points
Not applicable
Share/Reinforce
Not applicable
9
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 3
How do readers use their schema
about a topic before reading? –
Previewing the Text
Pre-assessment
Turn and talk to your partner about the word,
schema. What is schema and why do readers
use it?
Be Quiet, Mike!, Leslie Patricelli
Select the Materials
Name the Strategy.
Explain.
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Using text sets will enable
students to get better at
building their schema for
different topics, authors and
genres. Refer to the text set
information.
Remember, schema is a reader’s background
knowledge. It is all the information a person
knows – the people you know, the places you
have been, the experiences you have had, the
books you have read – all of this is your
schema. Readers use their schema to help
them think about the text they are going to
read.
Before I read a text, I am going to preview
the text and think about what I know about
the topic.
Before we read we think about the topic of
this text.
• What do we know about this topic?
• Have we had any experiences doing the
things that the characters might do?
When we use our schema to think about what
we already know about the topic, it helps us
understand the text.
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will help
them as a reader.
Let me show you how I preview the text and
think about my schema about the topic.
Preview the text by showing the front cover,
the title page, the synopsis on the inside flap
or back cover and look at the pictures.
After you demonstrate the
strategy you could read the
text aloud or wait and read the
text aloud during another time
in the day.
Now that I have previewed the text I think
about what I already know about the topic.
My schema for this topic: From previewing
this text, I know this book is going to be about
10
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
a monkey who makes a lot of noise. I know
about making noise. Sometimes when I am
very noisy the people around me get angry and
ask me to stop.
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy with
teacher guidance.
Provide Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read.
“When you go to RW try…”
Did you see how I previewed the text and
thought about my schema about the topic?
When readers activate their schema it helps
them to be understand and to be engaged in
the story.
Now I would like you and your reading partner
to take a new text out of your book bags.
Please take turns looking at the pictures to
preview your text. After you have finished
previewing, think and talk about what you know
about the topic. What is your schema for this
text?
Before you begin reading a new book, please
remember to look at the pictures to preview
the text and activate your schema. Remember
to think about what you know about the topic
of your text.
Students can write/draw about
their schema in subsequent
lessons.
Then read the text. As you are reading think
about how your schema is helping you
understand the text.
OR
Before you begin listening to our new book at
the listening center, preview the text.
Remember to think about what you know about
the topic of your text.
As you are listening think about how your
schema is helping you understand the text.
Conference Points
•
•
Share/Reinforce
Can one partnership demonstrate for us how
they previewed the text and talked about
their schema for the topic?
What was your schema for this book?
How is your schema helping you understand
the text?
11
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 4
How do readers use their schema
about the author before reading? –
Previewing the text
Pre-assessment
What do you think having schema for an
author might mean?
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Select the Materials
If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Laura Numeroff
Using text sets will enable
students to get better at
building their schema for
different topics, authors and
genres. Refer to the text set
information.
Name the Strategy
Explain
Remember, schema is a reader’s background
knowledge. It is all the information a person
knows – the people you know, the places you
have been, the experiences you have had, the
books you have read – all of this is your
schema. Readers use their schema in a few
different ways to help them think about the
text they are going to read.
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
We know that before we read a text, we
preview the text and think about what we know
about the topic.
Today I am going to teach you that we not only
think about our schema for the topic but we
also think about our schema for the author.
When we think about our schema about an
author we think:
• Have I read books by this author
before?
• What typically happens in this author’s
book?
• Does s/he use the same characters?
• Do the characters face similar
problems?
When we use our schema to think about what
we already know about the topic, and the
author, it helps us understand the text.
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will help
them as a reader.
Let me show you how I preview the text and
think about my schema about the topic and the
author.
Preview the text by showing the front cover,
the title page, the synopsis on the inside flap
or back cover and look at the pictures.
Now that I have previewed the text I think
about what I already know about the topic and
the author.
My schema for this topic: From previewing
this text I know this book is going to be about
a pig and a little girl and I can tell this pig is
going to make a mess. I know this because I
know about making messes. I have done big
cooking projects and made a mess. I also know
there are certain ways to eat politely and take
a bath. This pig is not following any of the
rules. I bet this little girl is angry at this pig.
My schema for this author: I have read other
books by Laura Numeroff. I have read If You
Give a Moose a Muffin and If you give a Mouse
a Cookie. I know that her books are about
animals and children. In these stories the
animal usually does things wrong and the child
has to clean them up. These books always
begin and end with the same event.
Now I will use my schema to help me make
some predictions and ask questions.
• Will this book end the way it begins
with the Pig wanting a pancake?
• Will the girl be able to make the pig
happy?
• How is this book different from If You
Give a Mouse a Cookie?
Did you see how I previewed the text and
thought about my schema about the topic and
the author? When readers think about what
they know, they connect to what they are
reading and are more naturally engaged.
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy with
teacher guidance.
Provide Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read.
“When you go to RW try…”
Now I would like you and your reading partner
to take a new text out of your book bag.
Please preview this text with your partner.
Then think and talk about what you know about
the topic and the author.
Before you begin reading a new book, please
remember to preview the text and activate
your schema. Remember to think about what
you know about the topic and the author of
your text.
OR
There is a new text at the listening center
today. Please preview this text before you
begin listening. Think about what you know
about the topic and the author.
Conference Points
Share/Reinforce
What was your schema for this text?
What is your schema for the topic?
What is your schema for this author?
How is your schema helping understand the
story?
Can one partnership demonstrate for us how
they previewed the text and talked about
their schema?
•
•
•
•
14
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 5
How do readers use their schema about
the genre before reading? – Previewing
the text
Pre-assessment
Turn and talk to your partner. Why do readers
preview a text?
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Select the
Materials
Ducks!, Gail Gibbons
REPEAT this lesson with several
different genres (fiction,
nursery rhymes, poetry, etc.).
We want our readers to use
genre as a cueing system.
Readers ask themselves, “What
do I know about this genre?”
Name the Strategy Remember, schema is a reader’s background
knowledge. It is all the information a person
Explain
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
knows – the people you know, the places you have
been, the experiences you have had, the books
you have read – all of this is your schema.
Readers use their schema to help them think
about the text they are going to read.
You know that after I preview a text I think
about what my schema for the topic and the
author. We also learned that readers also think
about their schema for the genre – the type of
book. We ask ourselves, what do I know about
reading this type of book? If the text is fiction
I know that there will be characters, a setting, a
problem and a solution. If this text is an
informational text I know that I am going to learn
new information. There will be main topics and
key details.
When readers preview, they think about what
they know about the topic, the author and the
genre before they begin reading. Here are some
of the questions we ask ourselves about a genre:
§ What genre/type of text is this?
§ What do I know about this genre?
Demonstrate the
Strategy
When we use our schema to think about what we
already know about the genre, the author, and the
topic, we connect to what they are reading and
are more naturally engaged.
Let me show you how.
As I preview this text my mind is already thinking
about what I know this type of book, the genre.
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
As I preview the text I notice many text
features: I see pictures with labels and captions
under certain pictures. There are also headings
on certain pages too. This book is probably
informational text/nonfiction, therefore the
information in the text is true. I know that in
information books, I am going to learn something
and the book will contain main topics and key
details.
When readers think about the type of book
(genre) they are reading, it makes reading easier.
The reader is able to understand the important
ideas and remember the information when they
know the genre they are reading
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
Provide
Independent
Practice
Remind students
before they go off to
read.
“When you go to RW
try…”
Conference Points
Add these ideas to the Anchor chart: Our
schema for reading informational text
• Read a different book with a small group and
have the students talk about their schema for
the genre before reading.
OR
• Read a book aloud and have students turn and
talk throughout the lesson. Ask students to
discuss what they know about the genre with
their partners.
OR
• Have students preview a text with a partner
and use a post-it to mark why they think the
text is a particular genre.
When you preview a text think about the genre of
the text. What type of text is it and how do you
know? Then think about what you know about
reading that type of text.
OR
There is a new text at the listening center.
Before you begin reading, remember to preview
this text. Think about what type of text it is and
what you know about reading this genre.
•
•
•
What do you know about this genre?
What do you know about this topic?
How are you using your schema as you are
reading?
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Share/Reinforce
Have students share how they determined the
genre of a particular text.
17
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 6
Schema changes as we read
Pre-assessment
Turn and talk. What have you learned about
how readers use their schema?
About Hummingbirds, Cathryn Sill
Select the
Materials
Name the Strategy
Explain
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
Notes to Build Next Lesson
We know that our schema about a topic, an
author, a genre and our own personal
experiences help us understand the texts we
read. When readers read about things they
know about or have experienced, they
connect to what they are reading and are
naturally more engaged.
Today I want to teach you how readers can
build their schema as they are reading. Each
time we read a new piece of text we learn
more and our schema changes and grows.
Sometimes as I read, I actually change my
schema. For example I might say, I used to
think _________, but now I understand
_______.
I can also learn new information as I read
and build my schema. For example I might
say. Now I know ______________
As I keep reading and building my schema,
my knowledge of the topic, the author, and
the genre helps me understand the text.
Watch me. My schema about the topic is
going to grow and change.
Preview the text and share your schema
before reading. Record the ideas on a twocolumn chart: My schema before
Reading/My Schema after Reading.
My schema for the topic:
This book is informational so I am going to
learn new information about hummingbirds.
My schema about hummingbirds
is_______________.
My schema for the genre. This book is
18
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
informational. My schema for informational
books is that they teach me information
about a specific topic. Instead of hearing a
story about hummingbirds I am going to learn
facts about hummingbirds.
My schema for the author. I have not read
any other books by Cathryn Sill so I do not
have any schema about this author. After I
read this text I will know a bit about this
author’s books.
Now read the text and share how your
schema is growing and changing as you read:
e.g. page 1-2. My schema for hummingbirds
is already growing. I didn’t know that
hummingbirds have long tongues.
e.g. page 3: My schema is changing. I didn’t
know hummingbirds ate insects. I thought
they only drank nectar from flowers. I am
learning so much.
Provide Guided
Practice.
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
After modeling several times, ask the
students to share how their schema is
growing and changing. Explain to the
students that each person’s schema is
different, so our schema will expand in
different ways and at different times.
Encourage students to share how their
schema about the topic, author and genre
are changing.
19
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Provide Independent
Practice.
Remind students before
they go off to read.
“When you go to RW
try…”
Today at RW, I would like you to work with a
partner to think about how your schema is
growing and changing as you are reading.
Before you begin reading a new book, talk to
your partner about your schema. What do
you already know about the topic, the genre
and the author? Write/Draw your ideas in
the column, My Schema Before Reading.
Then as you are reading and after you finish,
please write and draw how your schema has
changed.
OR
There is a new book at the listening center.
Before you begin listening, think about your
schema. What do you already know about the
topic, the genre and the author? Write/Draw
your ideas in the column, - My Schema
Before Reading.
After you have finished listening write and
draw how your schema has changed.
Conference Points
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Share/Reinforce
Tell me about how your schema is
changing as you are reading this book.
Tell me about your schema for this story
What do you know about this genre?
What do you know about this topic?
What do you know about this author?
How are you using your schema as you are
reading?
What is your schema now that you have
finished reading?
•
Please tell us how your schema changed as
you were reading. Please remember to read
us the part in the text that made your
schema grow or change.
20
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
My Schema Before I Began Reading
My Schema During/After Reading
21
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 7
Pre-assessment
What is a connection? - Drama
Select the
Materials
Classroom Discussion
Name the Strategy
Explain
We know that our schema about a topic, an
author, a genre and our own personal
experiences help us understand the text. When
readers read about things they know about or
have experienced, they connect to what they are
reading and are naturally more engaged.
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Turn and talk to your partner about how readers
use their schema
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Today we are going to learn how readers use
their schema to make connections. We make a
connection when we hear or read about
something that is in our schema and think:
§ I already know something about that…
§ This reminds me of…
§ I remember when….
§ This is the same as….
§ This is different from…
A connection can be something we have in
common with another person.
Which children in this class take bus _____? These children have a connection that the rest
of us don’t have because they have a common
experience together.
Which children have an older brother or sister?
- These children have a connection because they
know what it is like to have an older sibling.
__________ (student name) and I have a
connection because we both _____________.
Readers connect to the characters, the problem
and the setting in a text. Making connections
helps a reader become involved in the story just
like when people make connections and they
become involved in a conversation. Making
connections is like ”talking back to your book.”
22
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Demonstrate the
Strategy.
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
Provide Guided
Practice.
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
Conference Points
Share/Reinforce
Let me show you how I can use my schema to
make connections and have a conversation with
______ (child in the class).
I want to get to know _______, so I am going to
ask her questions to learn more about her.
What do you like to do? (_______ answers
playing the piano) I play the piano too. This is a
connection. Now I can ask _______ what songs
she is learning to play. After she answers, she
will ask me questions about playing the piano.
We have a connection about playing the piano.
Turn to your partner and figure out what you
have in common. Do you both play soccer? Do
you love to draw? Do you take the same kinds of
lessons?
Once you have found what you have in common
begin having a conversation about the topic.
• What is a connection?
• Show me where you made a connection.
• How do your connections help you as a
reader?
How did your connection help you when you were
speaking to each other?
How would the conversation have been different
if you didn’t have something in common?
Create an Anchor Chart: Ways readers talk
about their connections
23
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 8
Pre-assessment
How do readers make connections?
Select the Materials
Owl Babies, Martin Waddell
Name the Strategy
Explain
Yesterday we discussed how we make connections
in our lives all of the time. Making connections is
when you think
§ I already know something about that…
§ This reminds me of…
§ I remember when….
§ This is the same as….
§ This is different from…
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use is…”
Introduce the Text
How does using your schema help you to make
connections? Turn and talk to your partner.
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Readers make these same types of connections
with books. Readers connect to the characters,
and the big ideas in the text, not just to small
details. Making connections helps a reader become
involved in the story just like when people make
connections and they become involved in a
conversation. Making connections is like ”talking
back to your book.”
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will help
them as a reader.
As readers read they use their schema to make
connections with the text. Here are some of the
ways readers talk about their connections:
Review the Anchor Chart:
Ways Readers talk about their connections:
§ This part reminds me of …
§ I remember when….
§ This is the same as….
§ This is different from…
§ This helps me to understand
§ Now I know how ________ feels
§ Now I think ________ will happen
It is important to show
them how your
connections must stay
within the “4 corners of
the text.” Extraneous
connections such as, “I
have a friend named Bill”
doesn’t help the reader
understand the text.
Students need to
connect to the ideas in
the text, not isolated
items.
I am going to read the text aloud and I will stop
reading and share how I use my schema and the
text to make connections
As I read the first 2 pages, it reminds me of a
time when I was little and got lost. I couldn’t find
my mom. This helps me to know how the
characters, Sarah, Percy and Bill, are feeling. I
know how worried and scared they are. I wonder
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
how they will find their mother?
Readers, did you see how I used my schema to
make a connection? I understand how Sarah,
Percy and Bill are feeling because I have felt that
same way. I used my schema to understand the
characters and the bigger ideas in the text.
Provide Guided Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy with
teacher guidance.
Provide Independent
Practice
Remind students before they
go off to read.
“When you go to RW try…”
Continue reading until you find something you can
connect with, using one of the prompts from
above. When you are modeling show the students
how your connections helps you to understand the
characters and the bigger ideas in the text.
Read the next few pages aloud.
Turn and talk. Please share any connections that
you might have. Remember that these are some
ways readers talk about their connections. (Point
to the anchor chart). If students share
connections that do not help them understand the
characters and the bigger ideas in a text, model
the types of connections that help us understand
the text.
As you are partner reading, continue to think
about your schema. Make connections to the
characters and the bigger ideas in the text.
Making connections helps you become involved in
the story. As you are doing this you will find that
you are almost ”talking back to your book.”
OR
As you are listening to a text at the listening
center think about your schema as you are reading.
Make connections to the characters and the
bigger ideas in the text. Making connections helps
you become involved in the story. As you are doing
this you will find that you are almost ”talking back
to your book.”
Please remember to use our anchor chart as you
are thinking about your connections.
Ways Readers talk about their connections:
§ This part reminds me of …
§ I remember when….
§ This is the same as….
§ This is different from…
§ This helps me to understand
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Conference Points
Share/Reinforce
§
§
§
Now I know how ________ feels
Now I understand the message in the text
Now I think ________ will happen
§
§
Show me where you made a connection.
How did your connection help you to
understand the story?
Who would like to share a connection they made
when reading their book today? Please explain how
your connection helped you to understand the
text.
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 9
How does making connections help you
understand the characters?
Pre-assessment
Turn and talk to your partner about how you can
use your schema to understand the characters
in a book.
Jamaica Tag- Along, Juanita Havill
Select the
Materials
Name the Strategy
Explain
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Yesterday, we talked about how readers use
their schema to make connections. We learned
that readers sometimes say…
Ways Readers talk about their connections:
§ This part reminds me of …
§ I remember when….
§ This is the same as….
§ This is different from…
§ This helps me to understand
§ Now I know how ________ feels
§ Now I understand the message in the
text
Readers make these connections and think about
how the connection helps them to understand
the text. Today I want to teach how making
connections can help you understand the
characters in the text. We can use our
connections to understand the main characters’
feelings, the type of person s/he is, and
understand why these characters act certain
ways.
As I read, I will think about how the connections
I am making are helping me to understand the
main characters.
• How are they feeling?
• What are they thinking?
• Why are they making certain choices?
• What type of person is this character?
Read the first few pages of Jamaica Tag-Along.
In the beginning we know that Jamaica wants to
play basketball with her older brother. When
her brother says, “ You’re not old enough. We
want to play serious ball.” Jamaica is
disappointed. This reminds me of when my kids
say “no” to each other. When my son asks my
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
daughter to play a game and she says no, he is
very disappointed. This connection helps me to
know how Jamaica feels. When I can feel what
Jamaica feels, I understand the story better
because I understand the characters.
Continue to model several more examples.
Now I know that Jamaica’s feelings are
changing. In the text it says, “Stay away from
my castle,” Jamaica said. “Berto, the woman
pushing the stroller said, “leave this girl alone.
Big kids don’t like to be bothered by little kids.”
“That’s what my brother always, says” Jamaica
said.
I think Jamaica’s feelings are changing. She is
learning to treat younger kids with more
respect. She doesn’t want to treat Berto the
way her brother treated her. I wonder what
she will do now?
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
Provide
Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read.
“When you go to RW
try…”
Do you see readers, how I read and pay
attention to what the main characters are
saying, what they are thinking and what they are
feeling? I understand their feelings and their
actions because I can make a connection to how
they are feeling. When I make connections to
the characters it is like I am right in the book
standing next to the characters. When I know
my characters this well I understand the bigger
ideas in the text.
Read a few more pages aloud. Ask students to
turn and talk with a partner about their
connections. Ask students to explain how their
connection helps them understand how the main
character feels and why the main character is
making particular choices.
Today, I want you and your partner to reread a
text and think about the connections you are
making. How are your connections helping you to
understand your characters:
• How are they feeling?
• What are they thinking?
• Why they making certain choices?
OR
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Conference Points
Share/Reinforce
In the drama center, there are props for you to
use to act out this story. When you are acting
out this story think about how your characters
are feeling? Make your voice sound the way the
characters might talk.
OR
At the listening center, I want you listen to this
text again and think about the connections you
are making. How are your connections helping
you to understand the characters?
• How are they feeling?
• What are they thinking?
• Why they making certain choices?
• Show me where you made a connection in
this story? What is your connection?
• How does that connection help you to
understand your characters?
• What have you learned about your
characters? Show me the evidence in
the text.
• How is your character feeling? How do
you know?
Please turn to your “turn and talk” partner. Tell
your partner about a main character:
- How are they feeling?
- What are they thinking?
- Why they making certain choices?
29
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 10
Text-to-self connections: How does making
connections help you make/revise
predictions?
Pre-assessment
Turn and talk to your partner about how using your
Select the
Materials
The Great Gracie Chase. Stop That Dog!, Cynthia Rylant
Name the Strategy
Explain.
Yesterday, we talked about how making connections helps
us understand the main characters’ feelings.
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
schema can help you make predictions.
Notes to Build
Next Lesson
Today I want to show you how we use our schema about
the characters to help us make predictions. Once we
know our characters well we can predict what will happen
next and how it will happen.
Add to the anchor chart Ways Connections Help Us
“Our connections help us to predict what will happen
next and how it will happen.”
Remember, making connections helps us become involved
in the text. As you are doing this you will find that you
are almost ”talking back to your book.” When you are
this involved in the text you understand what is
happening and pay attention to the big ideas.
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
Before I read, I preview the text and think about what I
know about the topic, the author and the genre. Once I
have a few ideas in my head, I use that information to
make a few predictions.
Let me show you how.
My schema for the topic:
The cover of the book says, The Great Gracie Chase.
Stop That Dog! and the illustration shows the lots of
people chasing a dog. I am going to think about what I
know about this topic. This book is probably about a dog
who runs away. I know a lot about trying to catch a pet
who is running away: I know that:
§ Dogs run quickly.
§ Dogs usually listen to their owners but sometimes
they don’t and they run away.
My schema for the author:
I have read other books by Cynthia Rylant. I have read a
few Henry and Mudge books. I know that there are dogs
in Cynthia Rylant’s other books. I also know that the
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
dogs in her books are friendly. I bet Gracie is friendly
too. As I read I will notice if any of my schema is the
same for this book.
My schema for the genre:
This is a fictional text. I know there is going to be
characters, a setting, a problem, a solution and a theme.
I think I already know the problem – Gracie runs away.
Now I can predict. I predict that Gracie has done
several things wrong. I think this because on the cover a
painter, children, and a cat are all chasing Gracie. I am
wondering why they are chasing her?
Sometimes we make
good, but inaccurate
predictions to show the
students how we change
our predictions as we
read.
Let’s read and make predictions as we are reading. Let’s
use our schema and our understanding of the characters
to predict what will happen next and how it will happen.
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
Provide
Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read.
“When you go to RW
try…”
Read a few pages aloud. Ask students to turn and talk
with a partner about their predictions. Encourage
students to predict what will happen and how it will
happen. Ask students to explain how their schema and
the evidence in the text helped them to make their
predictions.
Today at RW, I want you and your partner to think about
the connections you are making and how they are helping
you to understand the text. As you read, use your
knowledge of the character to predict what will happen
next and how it will happen.
Or
At the listening center, I would like you to listen to a
few pages of a story. Once you have heard a few pages,
stop the tape and draw/write what you think will happen
next. Remember to write/draw what makes you think
that.
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Conference Points
§
§
§
§
Share/Reinforce
Show me where you made a connection in this
story? What is your connection?
How did that connection help you to understand
the text?
What were some of your predictions? What
evidence in the text helped you to make that
prediction?
What do you know about your characters? Based
on what you know about the character, what do
you think will happen next and how will it happen?
Please share a prediction you today. Remember to share
not only what you think will happen but also the evidence
in the text that supports your thinking.
32
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 11
Authentic versus tangential
connections
Pre-assessment
Turn and talk to your partner. How does making
connections help you read?
Select the
Materials
Pip’s Magic, Ellen Stoll Walsh
Name the Strategy
Explain
We have been talking about how readers use
their schema to make connections and to predict
what will happen next. I have noticed that some
of the connections you are making help you
understand the text while other connections do
not. Sometimes you are making a connection
about a very small detail in the text. This
connection is helping you remember something in
your own life rather than helping you to
understand the text. Since readers focus on
connections that help them understand the text,
we need to make connections to the bigger ideas
in the text, not to small details.
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
This lesson is only appropriate
for students who are having
difficulty making authentic
connections.
Today I am going to read and make some
connections. Some of these connections will help
me understand the text and others will not. In
order to check whether my connection helps me
understand the text I will ask myself,
“How/What does this connection help me
understand?” If I can’t answer this question
then I know my connection didn’t help me
understand the story.
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
Remember, our meaningful connections help us to
stay engaged and understand the text. Our
tangential connections get us thinking about
other things rather than thinking about the
text.
Read aloud Pip’s Magic and model both authentic
and tangential connections:
For Example:
Tangential connection: “My friend’s dog is
named Pip.” How/What does this connection
help me understand?” - nothing. This connection
isn’t meaningful. I need to pay attention to what
is happening in the text.
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Authentic connection: “I am afraid of the
dark?– How/What does this connection help me
understand?” I understand how Pip feels. I bet
he is a little embarrassed about being afraid and
he wants to figure out how to get over his fear.
I know this because that is how I feel. I am also
afraid of the dark.
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
Provide Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read.
“When you go to RW
try…”
Conference Points
Share/Reinforce
Elicit connections from the students. As
students share encourage them to ask the
question, How/What does this connection help
me understand?”
Today at RW, I want you and your partner to
think about the connections you are making.
Remember to ask yourself, How/What does this
connection help me understand?”
Or
At the listening center, I would like you to listen
to a few pages of a story. As you are listening
think about the connections you are making.
Remember to ask yourself, How/What does this
connection help me understand?”
• Let’s read a bit and tell each other our
connections.
• How/What does this connection help me
understand?”
What did you notice about the connections that
helped you? What did you notice about your
connections that weren’t helpful?
Summarize the ideas and add the information to
the anchor chart:
Different ways readers make connections to
texts
:
34
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 12
Pre-assessment
Text-to-self connections
Select the
Materials
Thomas’ Snowsuit, Robert Munsch
Name the Strategy
Explain
We have been talking about making connections
as we read.
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Turn and talk to your partner about connections
you have made to a book you have recently read.
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Today I want to show you one type of connection
that readers make when they are reading a book.
Readers compare their own life with the ideas in
the text. When readers do this it is called,
“Making a Text-to-Self” connection. Making
meaningful text-to-self connections help us to
stay engaged and understand the text.
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Let me show you how I make text-to-self
connections and how they help me to understand
the book.
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
Preview the text and begin reading, stopping
when you have a meaningful text-to-self
connection.
For example,
When Thomas says, “That is the ugliest thing
(snowsuit) I have ever seen in my life. If you
think I am going to wear that ugly snowsuit, you
are crazy!”
I know how Thomas feels. He is angry because
he doesn’t like his snowsuit. I understand that
feeling. When my son has to wear his best shirt
and pants he also gets angry. This is a text-toself connection.
I also know how that mom is feeling. Thomas
spoke rudely to his mother and she was just
trying to keep him warm. I bet she is angry too.
I don’t like to be spoken to that way and it
makes me angry when someone speaks rudely.
This is also a text-to-self connection.
Did you see how both of my text-to-self
connections help me to understand the
characters’ feelings?
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
Provide Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read.
“When you go to RW
try…”
Conference Points
After you have modeled several text-to-self
connections, ask students to share some of the
connections they are making. Remember to ask
the students - How/What does this connection
help me understand?”
Today at RW, I want you and your partner
continue to think about the connections you are
making. Remember to ask yourself - How/What
does this connection help me understand?”
Or
At the listening center, I would like you to listen
to a few pages of a story. As you are listening
think about the connections you are making.
Remember to ask yourself - How/What does this
connection help me understand?”
•
•
Share/Reinforce
What text –to-self connections are you
making as you reading?
How does making text-to-self connections
help you to understand the story?
What connections did you make today? Explain
to us how this connection helped you understand
your story.
36
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 13
Text-to-text connections: Comparing
and contrasting characters
Pre-assessment
Turn and talk to your partner about what you
know about making connections.
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
Select the
Materials
No, David!, David Shannon (Read one text on a
prior day )
David Goes to School, David Shannon
See text set list for more
examples of texts to use.
Name the Strategy
Explain
Yesterday, we talked about how we can make
text-to-self connections. Today I want to show
we can make connections between two texts.
When we read texts that have the same
characters or texts written by the same author
we can compare and contrast the texts. This is
called making text-to-text connections. When
readers make connections between books it
helps them to get to know the characters really
well.
One piece of text should have
been read during a previous
lesson.
“I have noticed that…”
“A strategy readers use
is…”
Introduce the Text
Demonstrate the
Strategy.
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will
help them as a reader.
We are very familiar with the text, No David!
Now we are going to read another book that has
one of the same characters in the text – David.
Since both of these texts have the same
characters I can compare and contrast how
David acts in these two stories. This is called
making text-to-text connections.
Read text aloud and share your text-to-text
connections between the two books. Remember
to focus on how the characters actions are the
same and different.
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy
with teacher guidance.
Before I even read, David Goes to School, I
think about how David acted in No David and
wonder whether he we do similar things at
school:
• Will David follow the rules at school?
• What will happen to him if he doesn’t?
• Will his teacher stay angry or will she
change like David’s mom did in the book,
No, David?
Ask students to share their text-to-text
connections as you are reading. Encourage
students to talk about how the characters’
actions are the same and different.
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Provide Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read.
“When you go to RW
try…”
Conference Points
Today at RW, I would like you and your partner
to read two familiar books with the same
characters and make your own text-to-text
connections. How are the characters acting the
same in both stories? How are the characters
acting differently?
OR
Today at the listening center you will listen to
the book, David Gets in Trouble. As you are
listening I would like you make your own text-totext connections. How are the characters acting
the same in both stories? How are the
characters acting differently?
OR
In the dramatic play area I have put props so
that you can act out the different No David
books. As you are acting out the story, think
about how the characters act the same and
differently? Does David act the same in school
and at home? How do the mom and the teacher
act the same and differently?
•
•
Share/Reinforce
Tell me about the text-to-text connections
you are making between these books
How does that connection help you to
understand the characters?
Let’s share a few of our connections. How does
making connections help you to understand the
characters?
38
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Anchor Lesson: 14
Readers make connections in
combination with other reading
strategies
Pre-assessment
Turn and talk to your partner about all of the
strategies you use as you read.
Select the Materials
Use classroom read aloud
Name the Strategy
Explain
We have learned so much about using our schema
and making connections. Today I want to teach
you how readers make connections as well as use
other reading strategies when they are reading.
“I have noticed that …”
“A strategy readers use
is …”
Introduce the Text
Demonstrate the
Strategy
Say: Think aloud.
Show: Model.
Explain: How this will help
them as a reader.
Provide Guided
Practice
Invite the students to
practice the strategy with
teacher guidance.
Notes to Build Next
Lesson
When readers read, they are always combining
reading strategies. We read the words, we look at
the pictures and we make connections. Most
importantly we are always making sure our reading
makes sense and that we understand the deeper
meaning of the text.
I’m going to show you how I use more than one
strategy to help me read and understand the text.
Watch me.
The first thing I do is preview the text so that I
have an understanding of what I am going to read.
I know that I start thinking about my schema for
the topic, the author and the genre even before I
read. Previewing helps me to begin thinking about
the bigger ideas in the text too.
Show the students how you read the pictures,
read the words and make connections as you are
reading.
Continue reading and encourage students to notice
the strategies you are using. Model both word
solving strategies and thinking strategies.
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© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved
Unit of Study: Schema K
Provide Independent
Practice
Remind students before
they go off to read …
“When you go to RW try
…”
Conference Points
When you go off to read, remember to use all
of the strategies we have learned. You can
look at the anchor chart to help you
remember your strategies.
•
•
•
•
Share/Reinforce
Show me what you did when you first
picked up this text.
What strategies are you using?
Show me how you are figuring out the
words and understanding the text
Read a bit and then think aloud. Let me
hear what you are thinking.
Turn and talk with your partner and show
them a couple of places in the text where you
used different reading strategies.
40
© 2012 Teachers For Teachers. All rights reserved