HOW ARE CHESS AND FOOTBALL LIKE READING?
Before you can play chess, you have to know the value and function of each of the pieces. The ‘King,’ of course is the most important piece. If lost to your opponent, it’s game over – checkmate. But, it’s the ‘Queen’ who holds the most power. She’s the protector of her King; she’s the all-mighty traveler across the checkered board, moving diagonally, laterally, vertically, any number of spaces at a time. The pawns, the Rook, the Knight, each has his own methods, his own power and strategies to protect the King. The board itself must also be understood – white squares and black, diagonal lines, vertical and lateral lines, L-shapes, are all important configurations, and a good chess player sees all the past action, the potential moves, the trajectory of the game being played.
You could say the same of the football game that I still strive to understand. In order to understand the game, you have to know what each player is supposed to do out there on the field: the quarterback, the running back, the receivers, guards, and centre. You have to know what the goal of the game is, the rules of play.
The same applies to the good reader. That’s why, in the early part of the year, I ask students to learn about the basic elements of a story or a narrative (the fancy-dancy adult word for story). The protagonist and the antagonist (your King and his enemies), the setting, point of view, conflicts, the way the plot curves from exposition to rising action, climax, resolution and falling action, are like the pieces on the chess board, the board itself, the whole ‘game’ in a sense. Knowing these elements can and will help students to appreciate how the story works, how each element is essential for the story to move ahead and work as a whole.
Knowing is not enough though. Knowing the function of each piece on the chess board, what the goal of the game is, the rules, will only truly make sense when you’re playing, or watching, a chess game. You have to immerse yourself in the game in order to truly understand it. That’s when you get to see the pieces in action, on the route to their goal. You need to APPLY your knowledge in order to fully understand it. And of course, the same goes for understanding football. You have to actually watch a game, or play one, for it all to make sense.
And so it goes for reading too.
In Grade 7, we applied our knowledge of the elements of a narrative to short stories, like “Charles” by Shirley Jackson, “Thank-you Ma’am” by Langston Hughes and other short pieces of fiction. We also applied our knowledge to our novel studies of “Touching Spirit Bear” by Ben Mikaelsen and “Freak the Mighty” by Rodman Philbrick.
In Grade 8 we applied our knowledge of the elements to short stories like “The Fan Club” by Mona Raynard and “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury and other short stories. We also applied our knowledge of the elements during our literature circle studies of books like: “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, “Among the Hidden” by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and many other great novels (see this post for the details).
WHERE ARE THE STRATEGIES?
You’ve got the book or the short story, and you’ve got the knowledge of the elements, but how do you approach putting the two together? That’s where the strategies come in. Students in both 7th and 8th grade have been shown how to use the elements in conjunction with:
Sticky Note Strategies for Narrative Texts:
The chart below shows how students can APPLY their knowledge of the elements of a narrative text in conjunction with the reading strategies outlined in the Ontario Language Arts Curriculum, such as: use prior knowledge, visualize, make inferences by using stated and implied ideas, make connections to extend understanding, ask questions, reread to clarify understanding, notice language elements, react, judge, analyze, and synthesize.
In order to write a good sticky note the reader must answer the questions or follow the instructions which are meant to help students think about the text being read in light of what they know about narrative text. Just like the football or chess expert who is watching the game might cheer at a particularly brilliant play or move, speculate what might happen later on in the game based on what’s happening now, judge and even criticize the actions of the players, the reader begins to see the inner workings of the novel or story, how it might progress and why, and essentially what the author is trying to tell the reader through the use of the elements.
Open Response Notes
Three Ways of Thinking
Literal: Your thought was stated directly in the text, like a fact from the text.
Inferential: Your thought was not stated directly but there is evidence for it in the text; it is hinted at, suggested, or implied.
Critical: Your original thought, opinion, connection, or critical question related to the text.
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Language Notes
- Notice when a sentence or a phrase really stands out to you as strong, interesting, or evocative (emotional) – or reread to look for one.
- Copy that sentence on a sticky note. Put the quotation in quotation marks, and add the page number in parentheses at the end.
- Explain why you chose this sentence. What is your response or connection to it?
- What do you notice about how the author has written this sentence? What makes it strong or interesting?
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Conflict Notes
When you notice a conflict in the story, make a note:
- Which type of conflict best matches this situation? (Human vs. self? Human vs. Society? Human vs. Nature? Human vs. Human?)
- What does the character want?
- Who or what is getting in the way?
- What caused this conflict?
- How might this conflict be resolved?
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Vocabulary In-Context Notes
- Copy the sentence or phrase that includes the unfamiliar word onto the sticky.
- Box the unfamiliar word.
- Underline clues in the sentence (the context) or the word itself (e.g., root, prefix).
- Write down your prediction of the meaning of the word.
- Look up the word and check your prediction agains the actual definition.
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Mood Notes
For mood notes:
- Pick a paragraph (or two) of text that has a noticeable mood (gives you a feeling).
- Write down 5 words or phrases that the author uses to convey this mood.
- At the bottom, name the mood.
- Optional: Write more about it.
Examples of moods in literature: uneasy, joyful, suspenseful, chaotic, peaceful, angry, cold, cheerful, dark, disappointment, hopeful, intense, jubilant, mellow, mischievous, melancholy, refreshed.
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Theme Notes
Theme=issue+what the author is saying about the issue
After you finish reading a section of text:
- Make a list on your sticky note of all the issues or topics you think the author is bringing up in this section. Some examples of issues involve abstract ideas like: hope, neighbourhood, friendship, identity, oppression, and love.
- After you make the list, circle the one you think is most important to this section and jot a few words about why you think this is a theme for the section and what the author is saying about this issue.
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Say What? Notes
- Find a section that confused or surprised you. Write down your initial thought. (Code: SW?)
- Use one of your chosen strategies (reread, ask and answer questions, think aloud) to reconsider the passage. Write the strategy you used if possible.
- Write down any new thoughts and questions about this section of text.
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Character Notes
- Notice when you find clues in the text about a character’s traits and write down the clue. Say what you inferred about the character from that clue.
- Notice when you find clues about a character’s motives (what he/she wants) and write down the section of text that provided the clue. What did it reveal to you about the character? Explain.
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Character Notes Cont’d
3. Notice when a character shows a flaw in his/her character. Write down the part of the text that provided the clue. How will that flaw stop him/her from achieving his goals? What would have to happen to change this character?
4. Notice when a character changes, and guess what has caused the change. Write down the clues from your text and your inference.
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Reading Response Journal Strategies
Like the sticky note strategies, the questions and suggestions below are designed to help students think through their reading, to record their thoughts, and go deeper into the underlying meanings of the story. Students use the same reading strategies as above for their sticky notes, but in a journal they have room to dig even deeper into one of the elements (or more than one) using several strategies at once. Students might choose to discuss character, for example, asking questions that lead to inferences, reacting to a character’s actions or words, making judgements and predictions based on their inferences and so on.
Reading Response Journals
Format:
Every new entry in your response journal should be clearly defined by:
The date: Right hand side
The title of your book: Centered at the top of your page
The page numbers that you are responding to: Left hand side
Quotes taken from the text: In quotation marks, write the FULL quote from the book with the page number in parentheses right beside the quote
Length: Each entry should be at least 3/4 to 1 page in length.
Below, you will find ideas for what to write about in your response journal.
Characters:
-Describe the character of your protagonist (main character) or one of the other prominent characters in your novel. Support your ideas with evidence from the text and an explanation of how the evidence shows the character traits you’ve identified. (Ask yourself, what is this character’s strengths? Weaknesses? What should this character learn about himself, the other people in his/her life, or life in general?)
-Do you like this character? Why or why not? What advice would you give this character? –Why does this character need to hear this advice?
-Can you relate to this character? How and why? Does this character make you angry, sad, happy, annoyed, or does this character inspire some other emotion in you? Does this character remind you of another literary character or someone you know?
-Which character learned the hardest lesson in your novel? Which character changed the most from the beginning of the novel? Was this change necessary in order to solve the main problem?
-Talk about the author’s craft by telling how he/she made the characters believable, likable, unlikable,
Setting:
-Is the setting of your book important to the story? Why? Why not?
-How did the author introduce you to the setting? Can you picture it in your mind? What words or phrases were the most powerful in describing the setting?
-Does the setting of your novel remind you of a place that you know? How are the two places similar? If the setting does not remind you of any place you know, would you want to live in this setting? Why or why not?
-What freedoms or limitations does this setting impose on the characters? Does it limit their thought or movement or their ability to be themselves? Does it provide them with freedom to think, move, and be themselves? Explain.
Plot:
-Which events in the novel were the most important events, the ones that inspired the characters to change their behaviour or that changed the characters’ traits in some way?
-Did the plot of this novel remind you of other novels you’ve read? How were they similar and different?
-Did your novel end with a satisfying conclusion? If so, how was the end satisfying? If not, what were you hoping to find out?
-Was the novel paced well? If so, how did the author manage to keep your interest? If not, would you say that there were events that were not necessary? Were there boring parts? —Describe these events and explain why they were not needed. Which parts were boring to you?
Plot and Conflict:
-What was the main conflict in this novel? Identify the type of conflict (human vs. human, human vs. self, human vs. society, human vs. nature, or human vs. technology) and describe the conflict. Explain what you think might have to happen in order to resolve the conflict.
-If you’ve finished the book, which event do you think was the turning point or the climax? This is the event that resolved the conflict and was likely the most intense moment of the story (usually near the end of the book)? How did it resolve the conflict?
Point of View:
-Which point of view or perspective did the author choose to tell this story (first person, second person, third person limited, third person omniscient, third person objective)?
-Why do you think the author chose this point of view? How did it affect the story? How did it affect you as a reader? Explain.
Theme:
-What was the main theme of this novel? What issues does the story address and what is the author saying about those issues (e.g., issue=bullying, love, freedom, growing up, etc.
-An author might be saying that “you have to stand up to bullying if you want it to stop” or that “bullies are people who have been bullied themselves.” Those would be themes.)
-How did the author reveal the theme? Explain how the author might have used the characters, events, point of view, conflicts, etc. to show the theme. Was it a powerful theme? Do you agree with the author’s message?
Writing:
-Talk about the writing itself. Find a passage (a section of the text) that is powerful to you in some way and explain what the author did with language to make it powerful. Did it make you visualize or laugh or shock you, horrify you or make you want to cry? Was it beautiful? Explain.
-How did the author develop the characters? Was it through their voices? Was it through their actions? How did the author make you care about the characters?
-How did the author create suspense? Note and quote a suspenseful part of the novel and explain how the author created that suspense.
-What is your favourite line or sentence in the novel? Explain why you liked it.
-Did the author use literary devices in the novel? Note the use of foreshadowing, hyperbole, metaphor, symbol, simile, etc. and explain how it affected you as a reader.
Get Personal:
-Talk about any personal reactions you had during your reading of this novel. What made you angry, sad, happy, afraid, confused, etc.? What made your heart wrench? What irritated you?
-Did you laugh or cry at any specific point in this book? Which events or ideas, which dialogue or inner thoughts from the characters made you laugh or cry? Explain why.
-Did this book shock you? Will it change you forever? Explain why.
What did you LOVE or HATE about this book? Explain.
Reflect:
-Reflect on your experience of reading this book. Is it a familiar genre for you or a new genre for you? Would you read another book in this genre? Did you read it quickly or slowly? Did you find yourself having to reread parts that were confusing or beautiful or shocking?
-Will you try to find other books by this author? Why? or Why not?
-Were there aspects of this book that were challenging for you? Was the vocabulary difficult? Was the point of view challenging? Was the format challenging? Was the length challenging? Explain the challenges this book presented and how you managed to work through those challenges.