Where is Your Thinking?

We talk about our reading until honestly, WE ARE BLUE IN THE FACE! Sometimes I miss just reading for reading and letting the kids go. But there are some many in my class this year who are so far below grade level that we do a lot of scaffolding to bring the reading and information to their level. We are building them up so that eventually they can JUST READ! 

 So here's a simple chart that we created to help students talk about their reading in pair share partnerships. Sometimes they need a sentence starter to get started. The questions I want them to ask themselves are not just surface questions, but also deeper connection questions and eventually questions that force them to compare their reading to other readings. Gosh, wouldn't it be nifty to hear a student make the connection between the power of the Capital in The Hunger Games and the power of the Council in The Giver? Ah, pipe dreams...