The Text Talk article by Beck and McKeown was a very interesting article to me. I will certainly be able to use Text Talk lessons in my classroom to ensure my students understanding of what I am reading to them. Here are some the key point I found to be the most interesting:
1) Teachers need to ask their students questions that require them to think about what there are hearing and not just analyze illustrations. Often times teachers ask shallow questions that don’t provoke students to really think about the words. By asking “how” and “why” questions, as suggested by the article, you can ensure that the students are comprehending the story. These bring out a deeper understanding of the text.
2) The idea presented by the article that children can be distracted by the illustrations in a story, is one that I found interesting and agreeable. As suggested by Beck and McKeown, children will often draw information from pictures that is not pertinent to the storyline. Then, when asked questions about what is going on in the story, they respond with incorrect answers pulled from pictures. To avoid this problem, a teacher should read the pages and ask their questions, ensuring understanding of the story plot BEFORE showing the class the pictures.
3) Lastly, repetition of passages and words is very important. The article enforces repetition as a way of helping children grasp the vocabulary and story concepts presented in the story. Repetition is something that students of all ages can benefit from.
Steps for planning a text talk lesson:
- Choose a book that is challenging to students in vocabulary and concepts.
- Create questions that children will be able to answer based on the story and not just the illustrations.
- Read the students the story and ask them the questions.
- Show the pictures to the students.
Lindsey,
Great response! I too found the section on illustrations very interesting. You might not think that the pictures would hinder students from understanding the story but you are right sometimes they do, so teachers need to show illustrations after reading the page and asking the questions.
Ashley
Great discussion, Lindsey. Please note the following:
Please use the possessive -s correctly. In the following sentence “…ensure my students understanding of what I am reading to them.” You should have added the apostrophe to the word “students.”
You used the homophone of the word “they” in the sentence “…about what there are hearing and not just analyze.” Please correct.
~Dr. Ari
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