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Reading: Informational, Grade 4: Objective 2.A.4.d: Discussion 1
Student Response, 2st Classroom
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Each teacher was asked to bring three papers to the discussion — one in the top of the class performance, one in the middle, and one in the bottom of the class performance. Papers were chosen before the team defined proficiency. After defining proficiency, teachers often changed their minds about how they ordered their papers. The online discussion will make that clearer.

Question: Write a summary of the article, “Follow That Horse”. Use information from the text to write your summary. (Acrobat)

Top Classroom Response

image of student response

What did the student understand?

  • Summarizes a narrative text
  • Understands the horse is a guide animal

What does the student still need to learn?

  • Needs to distinguish between important and unimportant details; she selected details that were interesting to her such as, ‘Cuddles’ shoes.’

Where would you go next instructionally with this student?

  • Teach her to use text features
  • Move from the identification of the topic to the main idea: what is the author saying about that topic?
  • Place 6 -8 examples on the overhead and use a highlighter to point out key ideas they included
  • Put up several pieces of writing and have them identify which one is a proficient summary
  • Ask, “What was the author’s purpose for writing about Cuddles? Why did the author choose to tell us about Cuddles?”
  • Use that line of questioning to model the thinking process
    Why did the authors choose to tell us about Cuddles?
    What else was presented in the article that was relevant and important?
 

Middle Classroom Response

image of student response

What did the student understand?

  • Understands that Cuddles is the first guide horse to be trained

What does the student still need to learn?

  • (this was not addressed)

Where would you go next instructionally with this student?

  • Put up the ideas and highlight things that she did well
  • Determine if the problem is in comprehending the text or understanding the next instructional steps for the class?

Where would you go next instructionally with the class?

  • Use several reading models — not just one
  • Focus on critical thinking skills
  • Determine the author’s purpose
  • Have a ‘think page’ for genre, my purpose, and author’s purpose
  • Differentiate between narrative and informational text; read aloud and ask, “What type of text is this?”
  • Use highlighters to differentiate important details from interesting details
 
 
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