Directed
Activities
Directed
Reading Activities or DRAs are reading activities
that use different types of open ended questions along with purpose setting to
guide the reader to a more informed and relevant interpretation.
Teacher Preparation
Concept
mapping is important to the preparing of a directed reading activity because it
allows the teacher to see where they want the activity to go. The concept map should show the central theme
or idea that the lesson will be exploring.
Connected to the central theme or idea should be personal as well as
text bound examples. These examples show
that the central theme is relevant and that your students will probably be able
to connect their personal experiences to it as well. We will try to direct these connections in
the eliciting prior knowledge portion of the lesson.
Example:
In
the preparation of successfully executing a directed reading activity, it is
important to choose at least three key quotes that relate to the central
concept of the lesson and can be interpreted in different ways. In the discussion portion of the lesson, you
should try to use these quotes to get your students talking about the book.
Example:
- “Nothing
in the tribal way of the Takers prepared them for the responsibility they
undertook when they overran their neighbors at the beginning of the
revolution.” (109)
- “All the old tribal ways were equally
meaningless in the new world order being built by the Takers. It is
pointless for the Hullas to teach their children
what has worked for Hullas for tens of thousands
of years, because they were no longer Hullas.”
(111)
- “To the tribal mind, it’s asinine to
formulate a law that you know is
going to be disobeyed. To formulate a law that you know is going to e disobeyed is to bring the whole concept of
law into disrepute.” (112)
Eliciting Prior
Knowledge
To
begin a DRA one must start by eliciting prior knowledge. Eliciting prior knowledge helps students to connect
they’re lives, their knowledge, to the central theme that the lesson is
exploring. When asking students prior
knowledge questions, there are different types of knowledge that we are trying
to elicit. The three different types of
connections teachers are trying to elicit from their Text-to-self: Connections
between the text and the reader’s experiences and memories.
Text-to-world:
Connections the reader makes between the text and what he knows about the world
(facts and information).
Text-to-text:
Connections the reader makes between two or more types of texts.
students are text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text
connections.
Tovani 69
All
questions asked to students in the directed reading activity should be
open-ended. Open-ended questions are
questions that can’t be answered with yes or no. We’re looking for more thoughtful answers to
the questions posed.
Example:
1. Explain that
security laws in the
2. Explain that
sometimes we do not like the changes in laws that occur because of a specific
event, but we accept the inconveniences that come with the changes. Give
example of DUI license plate color change. Then ask: What are other examples of law changes or adaptations that are
sometimes met with resistance?
3. We have just read
the chapter, “The Fertile Cresent.” How did the law adaptation or change of
Erratic Retaliator to Annihilator affect the Leavers?
Purpose Setting
It
is important to set goals for students while reading so they know what reading
strategies to use to comprehend the text.
It has been proven that the purpose of reading determines the depth of
which the reader comprehends a text (Blanton).
When setting the purpose for reading in a DRA, the purpose should be
clear and concise focusing on the theme discussed in the graphic organizer
prepared before the activity.
Example:
Read
pages 40 to 44 to find a way to balance sexual needs with one’s desire to be
respected in the community.
After
setting the purpose, give your students some time to reread the material. It will be easier for them to go back over
material they’ve already read as they look for things that specifically pertain
to their purpose for reading.
Discussion Questions
The
discussion portion of the activity should focus on the central theme explored
in their purpose for reading. The questions
should also help student to explore the concept in depth in a way that allows
them to consider different interpretations of the text. The quotes that you found to be important to
your central concept should not be overlooked when writing the discussion
questions. You should also make sure to
go back to the purpose for reading and make sure that they’ve understood
everything that you’ve hoped that they would.
These discussion questions should ask students to make explanations and
support the explanations with specific examples from the text.
Example:
1.
What
is a way to balance sexual needs with one’s desire to be respected in the
community according to Sherwood Anderson?
2.
Read
a passage from the text that suggests one way that the characters balanced
their sexual need with their reputation.
What’s the connection between this passage and balancing sexual need and
reputation?
3.
Explain
your interpretation of the following passage using examples from the text and
your personal experiences. What does the
passage say about balancing sexual need and reputation?
·
“The
whispered tales concerning her that had gone about town gave him
confidence…’Ah, come on, it’ll be all right. There won’t be anyone know
anything. How can they know?” (43)
·
“...he
stopped whistling and stood perfectly still in the darkness, attentive,
listening as though for a voice calling his name. Then again he laughed
nervously. ‘She hasn’t got anything on
me. Nobody knows.” (44)
4.
I
see two characters in this story that are balancing their sexual needs and
their reputations. Who are these
characters and how are they going about balancing these two things? Use text examples to support this.
5.
Why
do you think individuals balance their sexual needs and their reputations in
different manners?
Time Line
15
minutes- Eliciting Prior Knowledge
15
minutes- Purpose for
20
minutes- Discussion
More DRAs
Resources
Tovani, Cris. (2000). I Read It, But I Don’t Get
It:
Comprehension
Strategies for Adolescent Readers.
Blanton, William E.; Gary B. Moorman; Karen D. Wood.
(1990).“The Role of Purpose in
Reading Instruction.”
Reading Instruction for
Adolescents. Edited by Alan Frager.