Client Request: How do I respond when teachers struggle: We can't use those passages in x book. They are just too long and hard.

 We can't use those passages in x book. They are just too long. 

That just didn't sound right to me. I chose a 6th grade passage from The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. Chapter six in this text is after the main character's father has been put in prison. Her older brother has been murdered. Since they are living in a refugee camp in Afganistan during the Taliban's rule, no one can go outside to buy supplies or bring in money. 

This text has 1,955 words. For comparison, 6th grade STAAR has 3,700 words plus questions. Students must finish in four hours. The Hasbrook and Tindall chart has the median speed for oral reading at 150 words per minute. At that rate, it should take about 13 minutes to read the text. I read it, slowly and with expression in about 11 minutes. This text is NOT too long. Even with other activities,  it should take a maximum of two class days to read and discuss. 

Why is it taking so long to read texts? My hypothesis is that teachers are pausing too frequently to question students through the text. Remember, we are teaching students to listen, speak, read, write, and think. We are not teaching the text. When the teacher interrupts the reading, the students lose their own sense of the connections, comprehension, and engagement in making meaning. They get bored and hate reading because the approach sucks the joy out of reading. And most of the time, they can no longer complete the tasks if the teacher isn't asking the questions. 

While I have written before about why this is a bad idea, I think time is better spent here in brining a vision of a lesson plan where the students are making meaning of the text instead of the teacher asking questions where the students guess what the teacher wants them to say. 

Hook: What if only boys/men could go outside? What if only men could shop? (Discuss the outrage.) 

Objective: Today, we are going to set a purpose for reading (what) that helps us analyze a character (why). We are going to use a character sociogram to keep track of character interactions that reveal conflict, character motivation, and character traits (how). We will also use a sentence starters of "I noticed x in the text..." and "That means..." (how). Notice that Break out the what, why, and how to make sure students are secure in the relevance, the clarity of the objective, and the methods and activities we will be using during the lesson. 

Model: (I DO) 

Quickly, give the background of the story. Let's put the information we know into our sociogram. 

Today, my reading partner is Sherella. Between us, we have our note-taking guide with the character sociogram. I have also marked places in the text where you can collect data about the characters. As Sherella and I read, we are going to pause at certain places to ask questions that help us monitor our comprehension and to collect data about what kind of people our characters are and how they are reacting to the conflict. 

As Sherella and I buddy read today, we are going to trade readers at punctuation because we have been working on noticing comma use for reading fluency and expression. 

I'll begin: They were going to turn her into a boy. (Oh! What? I'm not sure she will like that.)

Sherella: "As a boy,

Me: "you'll be able to move in and out of the market, 

Sherella: "buy what we need, 

Me: "and no one will stop you,"

Sherella: Mother said. 

Me: Now I  have some important information to add to the chart. Parvana will be in disguise so that her family can have food. And we can add the mother as a character to the chart. 

Let's continue reading from paragraph 1-13 to model. I begin to collect data about Parvana and the other characters. I use a format of what I notice and then make a statement about what that means about the character: I notice...that means. I can also ask questions. 

I notice that she glares at Nooria. That means there must be conflict there. 

In paragraph 11, Parvana notices her mother looks better. That means must care for and have compassion for her mother. 

In paragraph 11 Parvana is glad that her mother looks better but states that she is not ready to give in. This means that Parvana might be stubborn and likes to make her own decisions. 

I learn that in two places (7 and 13) Nooria says cruel things to Parvana and taunts her with the scissors. That means Nooria is picking on her sister. I wonder why? 

Mother's voice "caught" when she mentioned Hosssain. She must still be grieving for her son. 

We DO: Let's look at paragraphs 14-19. What do we learn about Parvana and her sister? Sammy and Allen have prepared an oral reading of this section for us today. Let's listen to their performance. 

When the reading is completed, have students turn and talk in small groups of four to explain what they have learned. Challenge students to examine the word responsibility (using dictionary) and why Nooria can't take on the responsibility at this point. 

Bring the class back together. What text evidence did you notice? What did that reveal about the characters and their situation? Validate, extend, or refine student responses. Add new data to sociogram. If students are not successful, model the next chunk of text. If students are successful, move on to the next phase of the gradual release model. 

You Do Together: With your buddy reader, read through to paragraph 55, collecting data and making decisions about the characters. We'll come back together as a class to discuss ideas. I want you also to look for the cues that Nooria isn't as mean as she appears. 

Monitoring: As students are working in partners, move about the class with the clipboard, noting what students are doing and saying. This will help you know what discussions and questions to pose in the next phase. Pause to have a few conversations and probe their thinking. Ask students if they will share that insight with the whole class when we pull back together. If you see the same mistake the third time, freeze the class and correct the misconception for the whole group. Use the ELL and other supports to guide your interactions. 

We Do  - Check for Understanding: Meet back with the class, adding their observations to the class chart and notes. Extend, refine, and validate student responses. If students have missed a critical component, option one: model how you think through those concepts; option two: pose the text evidence and ask what students make of the information; option three: give the insight/inference about the character and ask what evidence supports that idea. This is also a good time to address vocabulary/context/connotation that support the inferences about the characters. 

Choices: If students are successful, you can allow them to continue with the collaborative reading. Or you can assign the remainder of the text as independent reading. You can also ask students to prepare a similar task from their independent reading. 

Closing: Then, you could move into closure.