RECIPROCAL TEACHING

AKA the “Fab Four”

  1. Reciprocal teaching provides guided practice in the use of these“fabulous” four specific comprehension-fostering strategies:

predicting,

questioning,

summarizing,

and clarifying,

all which can be applied to the reading of fiction or nonfiction texts.

  1. The instruction takes place in the context of the teacher modeling a passage of text;a picture book or short passage, a paragraph or segment of content area text, basal story or the read aloud book.
  1. The teacher assumes the major responsibility for instruction by explicitly modeling the process of using these strategies on a selection of text. Model all four within the same text. The students then practice the strategies on the next section of text, and the teacher supports each student's participation through specific feedback, additional modeling, coaching, hints, and explanation.
  1. Student participation in a small group can include a) elaborating or commenting on another student's summary, b) suggesting other questions, c) commenting on another's predictions, d) requesting clarification of material they did not understand, and e) helping to resolve misunderstandings.
  1. During the dialogue students are provided instruction in why, when, and where such activities should be applied to new text.
  1. A major assumption of using reciprocal teaching in small groups is that by participating in groups in the classroom, students will gradually take over responsibility for leadership of the dialogue within their group, with individual students taking turns leading the reading group, and with the students taking over the major thinking role while the teacher observes and helps only when needed. The ultimate goal is that eventually students internalize use of the four strategies practiced in the group to enhance their ability to construct the meaning of text when they read independently.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Model and Teach the Fab Four Strategies

Good readers do some very special thinking while they are reading. Scientists have studied that “reading thinking” very carefully for a long time, and they have discovered that, among those things that good readers think about, four things stand out:

Good readersPredict: The best readers try to guess what is going to happen in the story they will be reading or what they will learn from the informational book they have. How do good readers predict?

  1. Look at pictures.
  2. Look at the book cover.
  3. Read the book or selectiontitle.
  4. Read the chapter titles.
  5. Read the table of contents.
  6. Think at the end of each chapter or section, “I think this is going to happen next.” OR “I think I will be learning about this next.”

Good readers Question: They askquestions before, during, and after reading to make sure they understand what they have read and towonder about text that hasn’t yet been read, to determine the author’s intent, to locate a specific answer in the text, to focus on important information in a passage, and to predict the kinds of questions which might be asked on a test.How do good readers question?

  1. Ask who, what, when, where, why, how.
  2. Use the stem, “I wonder. . .”
  3. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to ask more specific, high-level questions.

Good readers Summarize:Good readers keep in mind the overall meaning and the important ideas in the text as they read. They are aware of text elements and patterns in fiction and nonfiction, and they understand that being aware of them as they read helps them predict and understand the overall meaning.How do good readers summarize?

  1. Use graphic organizers to keep track of the main characters, setting, story action and resolution.
  2. Use graphic organizers to keep track of most important ideas.
  3. Read table of contents, chapter titles, section headings, italicized words.
  4. Know that a summary is NOT a retelling, but a short statement or two that conveys the “gist” of what was read—the most important ideas.

Good readers Clarify: Good readers know instantly when their comprehension breaks down or when they come across a key word that is unfamiliar.How do good readers clarify?

  1. Reread to clear up meaning or confusion of a passage or a word.
  2. Use the context, subheadings, or pictures to help make sense of the text.
  3. Use phonemic strategies, including the relationships between letters and letter clusters and phonemes within words to sound out the unfamiliar words.
  4. Use meaning strategies, including the meanings of prefixes, suffixes, and other word parts, to solve unfamiliar words.
  5. Use structural information, using what they know about how words work in our language, to solve unfamiliar words.
  6. Find similar words or word parts within larger, unfamiliar words and solve them.
  7. Use resource material such as dictionaries, thesauruses, etc., to learn more about words and to solve unfamiliar words as you read.

INSTRUCTIONAL GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

To use during whole group, guided reading groups, literature circles with books, passages, chapters, sections of fiction or nonfiction texts to organize, model and practice the “Fab Four.”

Teacher Model/Group Organizer:

Activate Prior Knowledge
Students place sticky notes here regarding what they already know about the topic, the author, etc.
Predictions:
Before
During / Questions:
Before
During
After
Clarifications: / Summary:

Four Door Organizer

Individual Student or Small Group Organizer to practice Fab Four and for accountability:

cut / cut
  1. Fold a paperin half lengthwise, fold into thirds so that the two edges meet in the middle. Cut to fold as shown in illustration above to make “doors.”
  2. Fold and label the Four Doors—Predict, Question, Summarize, Clarify.

Predict / Question
Clarify / Summarize
Predict:
Nonfiction: I think I will learn. . .
Fiction: I think this will happen. . . / Question:
Assign a different stem to each group or row of individuals:
Who?
What?
When?/Where?
Why?
How?
Clarify:
Choose one word to focus on. / Summarize:
No more than 25 words.

WHEN SHOULD I USE “FAB FOUR”

COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES?

Use during Whole GroupReading and Content Area Classes:

Model during read aloud

Use with basal stories

Use with content area text book selections

Use during Independent Reading

Use during Guided ReadingAND What you do with the rest of the class:

On every page in the book you are reading, write an “I think. . . statement.

On every page in the book you are reading, write an “I wonder. . . statement.

On every page in the book you are reading, record a word or idea you aren’t sure about.

When I call time, write a summary of what you have read using no more than 3 sentences.

Use during Literature Circles:

Use the Fab Four strategies as student roles in literature circles PLUS a Discussion Director: i.e., Predictor, Questioner, Clarifier, Summarizer.

After instruction (above), have students model using Fishbowl Method: One target group demonstrates while all other students watch and learn.

Have students take turns with roles so that all students have the opportunity to practice the Fab Four as well as the Discussion Director.

Prior Knowledge
Predict: / Question:
Clarify: / Summarize:

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