This document summarizes several reading lessons taught at different schools. It describes lessons that focused on finding evidence and making inferences from pictures, close reading strategies like think-alouds, and deepening responses through structured writing. Specific lessons included using pictures to tell a story, identifying inferences and evidence in partner work, and modeling thinking with quadrants. The goal was to teach comprehension strategies that support struggling readers.

1. Reading Lessons that Make a
Difference
Burnaby
Thursday,
February
27th,
2014
Faye
Brownlie
www.slideshare.net/fayebrownlie/burnaby/
readinglessons.2014

2. According
to
teachers,
what
worked
in
CR4YR
2012-­‐13?
For
students
who
showed
major
gains,
what
worked
was:
• 1:1
support
(this
didn’t
necessarily
mean
pull
out)
• feeling
safe
and
supported;
relaHonships
• choice/personalizaHon
(kids
who
struggled
the
most
oJen
had
the
least
amount
of
choice)
• A
focus
on
purpose
and
meaning
Sharon
Jeroski,
August
2013
sjeroski@shaw.ca

3. Evidence/Inference/WriHng
South
Slope
–
Theresa
Sian,
gr.
5
Text:
Tale
of
a
Great
White
Fish-­‐Maggie
DeVries
• Model
finding
inference/evidence
with
class
se]ng
• Model
finding
inference/evidence
with
picture
from
text
• Groups
of
¾
-­‐
different
pictures
–
inference/
evidence
• 4
minute
write
–
what
do
you
know?
• Share
with
class
–
document
camera
• 10
minute
write
–
how
do
these
pictures
connect
into
a
story?

15. Close
Reading/Building
Background
Knowledge
South
Slope
–
Cassandra
Alexandra,
gr.
7
Text:
Square
and
Fair
(Reading
and
Responding
gr
6)
• Modeled
think
aloud
• Collected
students
‘noHces’
• In
partners,
read
next
chunk
• Collected
strategies
• Repeat
• Write
around
together
with
one
statement
• Ticket
out
the
door:
one
thing
that
struck
you

16. Square
and
Fair
Discover
how
fair
trade
chocolate
helps
kids
around
the
world.
The
Bi>er
Truth
about
Chocolate
It’s
the
world’s
favourite
sweet
treat.
We
eat
three
million
tonnes
of
it
every
year.
But
most
farmers
and
their
families
who
grow
the
cocoa
beans
to
make
our
beloved
chocolate
are
desperately
poor.

17. Many,
many
people
around
the
world
grow
cocoa,
so
farmers
cannot
demand
a
fair
price
for
their
crop.
Big
companies
that
buy
cocoa
can
shop
around
unHl
they
find
farmers
who
will
sell
their
crop
cheap.

18. • Half
the
populaHon
of
the
world
has
the
same
amount
of
money
as
the
85
richest
people.

20. Deepening
Response
Marlborough
Melanie
Ebsworth,
FI,
4/5
Text:
ParHes
without
Presents
(Reading
and
Responding
gr
4)
• What
do
good
readers
do?
• Modeled
quadrants
of
a
thought
• Guided
pracHce
with
quadrants,
adding
on
• Walk
and
think
about
what
you
know
• Write
for
3-­‐4
minutes,
adding
on
(hints)

28. Inferences
12th
Avenue
Louise
Thibodeau,
gr.
2/3
Text:
The
Great
White
Man-­‐EaHng
Shark
• Inference/evidence
• PracHced
one
image
together
• Worked
in
partners
around
different
images
from
the
text
• Shared
• Read
the
text