Coaching Institute Presentation
1
Presented by
Evaluating:
Sandy Giles
LNS
A Building Block of
and Laurel
Whitham
YRDSB
Critical Literacy
Learning Goals 2
This presentation is intended to:
• introduce evaluating as a
comprehending strategy that
requires critical thinking;
• demonstrate how to use a
carefully-constructed graphic
organizer and the gradual
release of responsibility to
deepen comprehension;
• familiarize participants with the
second Comprehending in
Action module.
Turn and Talk 3
Introduce yourself to
the person sitting
next to you.
Share with your partner
your most recent
experience using the
INTERNET.
Something to Think About … 4
Turn and talk
to a
neighbour
about your
initial
reactions to
this media
clip.
High-Yield Strategy: Turn and Talk
Why Revisit Text? 5
“On a first reading, aspects of
craft are transparent, because
you are responding to the
deeper meanings. Revisiting a
text, however, leaves more
attention free for analysis and
can add to the enjoyment and
interpretation of a text.”
Fountas & Pinnell, 2006, p. 41
Revisiting the Text … 6
Turn and talk a
different member
of your table
group.
Discuss the
intended
message of the
clip.
How accurate is
the message?
High-Yield Strategy: Turn and Talk
One Last Look … 7
Turn and talk to
a different
member of your
table group.
Discuss the
validity of the
message.
What are you
basing your
perceptions on?
High-Yield Strategy: Turn and Talk
What is Evaluating? 8
As a table group,
use the information
in the three columns
of your chart paper
to write a definition
of “evaluating”.
What is Evaluating? 9
When you evaluate,
you combine
information in your
head with information
from the text to
assess and make
judgments based on
standards or criteria.
High-Yield Strategy: Summarizing Key Information
Interacting with Text
Author’s Words
Vocabulary Strategies
Punctuation Using cueing systems
Style Activating prior knowledge 10
Syntax Predicting
Language Knowledge Visualizing
Phonology Questioning
Morphology Drawing inferences
Syntax Finding important information
Vocabulary Summarizing
Synthesizing and evaluating
Monitoring/ revising comprehension
Text Features
Use of organizational tools
Use of informational
tools (glossary, captions)
Format/Layout
Use of space and graphics
Use of illustrations
Author’s Purpose
Topic
Ideas
Text Knowledge
Organizational &
Message informational structure
Artistic elements of text
Self-Concept as a Reader Print concepts
Purpose for reading Text type
Interests & Experiences
Factual Knowledge
High-Yield Strategy: Visual Representation
Integrated Processing
11
When Evaluating
You Might Say … 12
• I like this because …
• It is really clever to … because …
• This is effective/not effective because …
• This information sounds/does not sound
correct because …
• I’m sure/not sure … is accurate because …
• I don’t think it is fair to … because …
• That doesn’t sound right to me because …
• That sounds biased to me because …
High-Yield Strategy: Anchor Charts
Our Standards 13
“… our tacit knowledge acts
as a framework within
which we understand,
interpret, generate, and/or
judge new ideas of
strategies and evaluate the
options we consider viable,
acceptable and so on.”
Hannay, Wideman & Seller, 2006, p.
Levels of Evaluating 14
Use the Ranking Ladder and
the four examples of student
evaluations provided.
Rank the evaluation statements
from the least sophisticated on
the bottom rung to the most
sophisticated on the top rung.
Be prepared to justify your
ranking.
Making Judgments 15
When you evaluate text, you can
assess and make judgments
about:
• the suitability of the text for the
intended purpose;
• the quality of the writer’s craft;
• the authenticity, accuracy or
reliability of the content;
• the validity of the perspectives
presented.
High-Yield Strategy: Anchor Chart
Placemat Activity 16
Think and record your ideas in
one of the blank spaces on the
placemat.
Why Shift the paper to the right so
that each person can read the
teach work of the person sitting next
to him/her.
evaluating?
Continue shifting the paper in a
clockwise fashion until everyone
has read everyone else’s work.
Synthesize the information in
the middle circle.
Curriculum Expectations 17
Overall Expectation:
• Read and demonstrate an
understanding of a variety of
literary, graphic, and
informational texts, using a
range of strategies to construct
meaning.
What specific expectations
address “evaluating” for
your grade level?
Critical Literacy 18
“The ultimate requirement of the reader
is to take a critical stance. Reading
critically is a necessity in a free society.
Not everything you read is accurate,
often persuasive material must be
judged on its merit and connected to
its source. One perspective may be
presented but the reader must seek
other perspectives. Moreover, readers
are required to judge the quality of a
text.”
Fountas & Pinnell, 2006, p. 59
Social Justice 19
“Teaching is a matter of
awakening and empowering
today’s young people to
name, to reflect, to
imagine, and to act with
more and more concrete
responsibility in an
increasingly multifarious
world.”
Maxine Greene, 2001
Promoting Critical Literacy 20
• “Texts that engage students in
deep thinking about societal
values provide opportunities for
rich dialogue and learning in the
junior classroom.”
• “Picture books for mature
readers have many layers of
meaning and are ideal for
teaching critical literacy skills.”
A Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction,
Grades 4 to 6, Volume One, p. 63
Choosing Substantive Texts 21
Let’s Review Evaluating 22
• When you evaluate, you combine
information in your head with
information from the text to assess
and make judgments based on
standards or criteria.
• When evaluating is at work in the
foreground, other comprehension
strategies are at work in the
background.
• Evaluating is an essential part of
critical literacy.
High-Yield Strategy: Summarizing Key Concepts
Evaluating in Action 23
Run Time:
15:17 minutes
Wolves
Written and Illustrated by
Emily Gravett
Published by Macmillan
Children’s Books
London, UK
Using Diagnostic Information 24
Take a look at the sample of
assessment information gathered
at the closure of the think-aloud
lesson.
What do the students know?
What do the students need to
learn next?
What strategies could be used to
promote this new learning?
High-Yield Strategy: Graffiti Activity
Graffiti Activity 25
• For a short period of time, every group in the
room writes their “graffiti (words, phrases,
graphics) to answer the question on the sheet
of chart paper found on their table.
• At the signal, each group moves in a
clockwise fashion to the graffiti sheet on the
next table.
• The question on the new sheet is read and
answers are recorded.
• This continues until each group gets back to
its’ original sheet of paper.
• As a group, they read, discuss and
summarize the “new” comments.
Using Graphic Organizers 26
“A graphic organizer is a visual
diagram that shows the
relationships among a number of
ideas. Use graphic organizers to
help students see the important
interrelationships in the
information they are reading or to
become aware of the way authors
have structured a text.”
Fountas & Pinnell, 2001, p. 441
High-Yield Strategy: Check for Understanding
Tips for Using
Graphic Organizers 27
• Co-construct the graphic organizer
with your students whenever possible.
• Use chart paper or a projected image
to demonstrate how to use the graphic
organizer.
• Demonstrate the form several times in
the whole group and in small groups
before asking the students to use it
independently.
• Be sure your students understand how
the graphic organizer helps them to
record, analyse, and reflect upon their
reading as opposed to being just
another assignment.
Strategy Instruction 28
High-Yield Strategy: Using Graphic Representations
Scaffolding the Learning 29
• Watch the following video clips
to see how one teacher utilizes
scaffolding and the gradual
release of responsibility model
to teach her students how to
Here’s So
What What
formulate more effective
evaluation statements.
Now
What • After watching each segment,
record your observations on
the first section of Teacher
Resource 12.
High-Yield Strategy: Questioning the Author
Deconstructing the
Evaluation Process 30
Run Time:
5:11 minutes
Wolves
Written and Illustrated by
Emily Gravett
Published by Macmillan
Children’s Books
London, UK
What are your key observations
about student learning?
Saying Something about
Your Key Observations 31
• “Say something” is a paired
learning strategy developed by
Egawa & Harste (2001).
• A selection of text is divided into
segments.
• When each partner has reached the
chosen stopping point, both
partners exchange comments,
questions, key points, or new
connections.
• Partners continue saying something
until all segments of the selection
have been discussed.
High-Yield Strategy: Accountable Talk
Using a Graphic Organizer 32
Run Time:
5:16 minutes
Evaluating Text 33
Run Time:
8:04 minutes
Key Messages 34
• As a table group,
write one item on
the strip of chart
paper that might
appear on an anchor
chart for the teaching
of evaluating.
i.e. Model the evaluation process
using a think aloud.
Making Judgments 35
When you evaluate text, you can
assess and make judgments
about:
• the suitability of the text for the
intended purpose;
• the quality of the writer’s craft;
• the authenticity, accuracy or
reliability of the content;
• the validity of the perspectives
presented.
High-Yield Strategy: Anchor Chart
Next Steps? 36
If you were a
literacy coach
in this classroom,
what might be
your
next step?
Other Parts of the Module 37
• Video segment about organizing
a Junior classroom for greater
independence.
• A Grade 6 Guided Reading
lesson
• A Grade 6 cross-curricular
Guided Writing lesson:
“A Day in the Life of an Explorer”
• Information about graphic
novels
In conclusion … 38
• Evaluating is a comprehending
strategy that requires critical
thinking;
• Carefully-constructed graphic
organizers and the gradual
release of responsibility help
students to evaluate text
thereby deepening their level of
comprehension;
• The Comprehending in Action:
Evaluating module contains a
variety of supports for coaches.
Some Evaluating Activities 39
• Value Lines (p. 154)
• Four Corners (p. 129)
• Questioning the Author (p. 144)
• Ranking Ladder (p. 145)
The page numbers indicate
information found in A Guide to
Effective Literacy Instruction,
Grades 4 to 6, Volume One
High-Yield Strategy: Accountable Talk
Evaluating the Session 40
• How effective was this
session at deepening
your understanding of
evaluating?
• Place your sticky note on
the line from “Very
Ineffective” to “Very
Effective” as you head out
the door.