The Literate Learner

Vocabulary, Curriculum Content, Personal & World Experiences

Understands diverse vocabulary

Text Features/Structures

Intent/Critical Literacy Stance

Text Forms/Formats & Thinking Processes

• Readers integrate all four roles/practices simultaneously

• Model shifts the focus away from finding “the recipe” to an emphasis on a range of roles/practices utilized in literacy instruction

• Learning tasks need to integrate the four roles/practices in meaningful ways across all subject areas

Four Roles of The Literate

Learner

A robust thinking task is…

a task that asks the student to simultaneously engage in all four roles of the Literate Learner.

What is a robust thinking

task?

Meaning Maker – Questions for Consideration

• What would engage this particular group of learners?• What are the significant details from the text?• What are the big ideas at work in the text?• How do these big ideas link to curriculum content

across subject areas?• What is the key vocabulary that helps one

understand the big ideas in the text?

Creating a robust thinking task –Thinking Aloud

Creating a robust thinking task –Thinking Aloud

Text User – Questions for Consideration• Why is this text format effective for this

particular purpose and audience?• What features of the text format help the

learner to understand the big ideas?• What thinking processes will help the

learner understand the big ideas?

Code User – Questions for Consideration

• What conventions (i.e., punctuation, phrases, or other grammatical structures) and text features are significant and lead to the big ideas in the text?

Creating a robust thinking task - Thinking Aloud

Creating a robust thinking task –Thinking Aloud

Text Analyzer – Questions for Consideration

• Who might have a different opinion “within” the text?

• Who might have a different opinion “outside” the text?

• Is this a fair and accurate representation?

Transferring Knowledge to Classroom Practice

Demonstration

Modelling

Shared Practice Guided Practice

Independent Practice

Dependence Independence

Teacher modelsexplains, demonstrates, thinks aloud

Shared Practiceteacher explicitly teaches and teacher and student practise strategy togetherthe student gradually assumes more and more responsibility for the reading

Guided Practicestudents practise the strategy with coaching from the teacher

Independent Practicestudents apply strategy on their own and receive feedback

Student Applicationnew genre or format/more difficult text/transfer of learning to a new situation