The Directed Reading/Thinking Activity
Level of Expertise: 4
What is the instructional strategy?
The Directed Reading/Thinking Activity or DR/TA Is an instructional scaffold which encourages students to first consider what they already know about a particular topic and activates their own prior knowledge. The prompts ask students to preview the text so that they can look over titles, graphics and headings that the students might gloss over or skip entirely. The strategy forces students to take a closer look at the pages of a reading. Finally, students are required to make predictions or hypothesis about what they will read. Students often relate the word hypothesis with science class and in other content area teachers could use this strategy to get students thinking about making predictions. The DR/TA strategy helps scaffold the readers comprehension process by allowing students to consider before, during, and after reading type questions. The before reading questions allow students to generate ideas on what they already know, making the topic and ideas less foreign to the students. Next, students will consider text features to better help them understand the organization of the text and comprehend areas of the text that students often skim over such as images and side notes. Lastly, the after reading questions, students must critically consider what they have learned from the text.
Why does the strategy work?
The strategy will enhance my students’ abilities to comprehend Chapter two and three of African Americans and American Indians Fighting in the Revolutionary War (Micklos Jr, 2009, pp. 12-31). I think that my students will benefit from making predictions or hypotheses before reading because it will give them a purpose for reading and they will have to read clearly and fully understand the text to agree or modify what the actually story was about. I believe that this book may be challenging to several of my students due to the large variety of primary source documents, images, and short biographies and stories that are found in the margins of the chapters. Often times my students will only read the main chapter text and will not look at the images or additional information found in the margins or located outside of the “main text.” I believe this strategy will be beneficial to my students because students are asked to make note of pictures and any other texts or text features that could easily be skimmed over or difficult primary sources that could be misunderstood. Students must slow down and write in the graphic organizer about these pictures or text boxes and their meaning.
How does it work?
First, I determine what I want the students to know and understand from chapters two and three of my selected text and design a DR/TA guide for the assigned reading. My students should know what side that most African Americans fought on and why, how many African American’s served, what types of jobs they performed, and the successes and hardships these people faced.
When I give students the guide, I expect they will follow these steps:
1. Students will write down what they already know about the texts topic either working independently or in a small group. Question number one of the comprehension guide asks, what I already know I know about African Americans who fought in the American Revolution.
2. Students will write down what they think they will learn from the text.
3. Students will examine the text and note the title, subheadings, graphic aids, and any other text sections in the reading. On page twenty one, students will need to identify a slave in the famous painting showing George Washington crossing the Delaware
4. Students will then create a hypothesis or prediction about what they think they will read, which will help students plan and prepare for the reading on African Americans during the American Revolution.
5. Students will then read the assigned text (chapters two and three) and will reconsider the hypothesis that they created. Students will either agree or disagree with the hypothesis they created and adjust or rewrite a new hypothesis based upon the information they read in the text.
6. Lastly, students will write “What do you know you learned” in the graphic organizer. This will allow students another opportunity to think again about what they read and revise their understandings. For example, I know I learned that at first George Washington was skeptical of having because he feared white soldiers would not serve with black soldiers, however, Congress allowed black soldiers to serve because the number of members of the army dwindled.
What It Looks Like:
Directions: Before reading African Americans and American Indians Fighting in the Revolutionary War, answer questions 1-2 in the graphic organizer below. During reading, please answer questions 3-7. You will need the book after reading as well to answer questions 8-9.
Statement/Question | Response |
Before Reading 1. What I already know I know about African Americans who fought in the American Revolution: | *Acceptable Responses I know that a few brave African American Men served in the military but that they faced many challenges and often received the worst hand me down items and even struggled to find warm clothing. Many slave owners refused to allow their slaves to participate in the war. |
2. What I think I know about African Americans who fought in the American Revolution: | I think that many slaves would have liked to fight because they thought they would earn their freedom once the war had ended. I think that only 2,000 African Americans fought. |
During 3. What is the title? | African Americans and American Indians Fighting in the Revolutionary War |
4. What subheadings do I see? | - Which Side to Choose -The First Martyr - -African Americans in the Army - Names of Freedom -Successful Spy |
5. What pictures/graphics are in the reading and what do they mean? | - A letter showing slavery was illegal in - An African American was killed during the Boston Massacre - Black soldiers were in pictures from 1781 - A slave was painted in George Washington Crossing the |
6. What other features do I notice in the reading? | - Stories about slaves who fought - Pictures of slaves - Letters from the war |
7. What do I think the chapters are about? “Hypothesis” | Chapter 2- I think that slaves would choose the British side since slavery was illegal in Chapter 3- I predict that African Americans in the Army faced my challenges but helped the war efforts. |
After 8. Do I still agree with my hypothesis? If not how would I change it to fit with what I read? | Chapter 2- Yes, many slaves fled to the British side in hopes of earning their freedom. Chapter 3- Yes, many African Americans faced challenges on both sides of the war efforts. |
9. What I know I learned from the reading: | I know I learned that many African Americans wanted to join the British and would flea to try to fight with the British because slavery was illegal in |
Source:
Billmeyer, R., & Barton, M.L.(1998). Teaching reading in the content areas: If not me than who? Alexandria , VA
