Using Signposts as Life Preservers Across the Curriculum

It is easy to say, “I’m not a Reading Teacher” when it comes to students struggling with the text  in your Science, Social Studies, Math or any class for that matter.  However, if a student doesn’t have the tools necessary to pull what they need from our non-fiction readings, we still have the responsibility to find a way to help them to help themselves in those situations.  So, how the heck do we do that when we are not “Reading Teachers” and haven’t had the training?  One suggestion is to introduce the students to looking out for “signposts” while reading.

Kylene Beers & Robert Probst have written a book titled “Reading Nonfiction: Notice & Note” and in it they share key “signposts” for students to look for while reading with strategies that any teacher can use to help their students see more deeply into what they are reading in order to pull out needed information.  These signposts provide a scaffold for students, especially struggling ones, to use concrete clues in a text to help them make more sophisticated moves which skilled readers seem to make intuitively (Beers & Probst, 2016).  There are five signposts suggested to signal to students this could be important.  Each signpost is  also tied to an “anchor question” that “help the kids to do the thinking” (Beers et.al., 2016, p.117).  The five signposts are: Contrast & Contradictions, Extreme or Absolute Language, Numbers & Stats, Quoted Words, and Word Gaps.  Beers & Probst have chapters dedicated to describing each of these signposts and how best to share these signposts, so I highly recommend the book.  However,  I thought I would share the graphic organizer that I made to help me “see” where these signposts might arise across the curriculum in our district..

Signpost	Short Description	Anchor Question	Potential Example
Contrast & Contradictions	Info in the text that is contradictory or contrast what you think you already know.	What is the difference and why does it matter?	-In a government class where students are examining economic stances of two political candidates.
Extreme Language	Language that leaves no doubt about a situation.	Why was this language used?	-In Environmental Science class reading about the potential impacts of climate change.
Numbers & Stats	Numbers or words that show amounts to make a point	Why were these number amounts used?	-In a story problem of a math class when all kinds of “extra info” is present.
Quoted Words	Used to share a personal perspective or voice of authority.	Why was this person quoted or cited and what did it add?	-Reading a persuasive article in an ELA class when trying to determine the qualifications or perspective of the author.
Word Gaps	Words or phrases that are not known by the student	Have I seen this someplace else or can I find a clue in the sentence to help me understand it?	-In any class that is using Tier II  or III vocabulary in a reading.

These signpost can be used as life preservers for kids that are drowning in a more complex text or in the amount of material they are being asked to read.  They will help the students to know what to do when they don’t know what to do.  Beers & Probst also go on to share a number of strategies that they believe act as “scaffolds to help make the invisible thinking processes visible” (Beers et.al., 2016, p. 182).  These strategies reminded me of those from  Ron Ritchhart’s,  “Making Thinking Visible” and his corresponding on-line Making Thinking Visible Routines resource. These are also two resources I would recommend for anyone looking to help students to become more independent in their thinking and reading.  

One last thought that resonated with me, after finishing “Reading Non-Fiction: Notice & Note”, which has to do with the difference between fiction and non-fiction.  Beers & Probst point out that “reading nonfiction, in many ways, requires an effort not required in the reading of fiction” (Beers, et.al., 2016, p.19) because “fiction invites us into the writer’s imagined world; non-fiction intrudes into ours and purports to tell us something about it” (Beers, et.al.,2016, p.39).  I love this comparison, because if that is the case, then it is more important than ever for our students to be able to understand what to do when they don’t know what to do.   A long time ago, John Dewey pointed out that “The democratic road is a hard one to take.  It is the road which places the greatest burden of responsibility upon the greatest number of human beings” (Dewey, 1939/1989, p. 100).  I am certain that an effective public education system is paramount for the success of a democracy and in order to have such a system we need readers who have the ability to question those who purport to tell us something about the world in which we live. Something to think about, especially on Veteran’s Day.  Many thanks go out to all who have, or who are serving, to protect our freedom.

 

References

Beers, Kylene & Probst, Robert. (2016).  Reading Nonfiction:  Notice & Note Stances, Signposts

and Strategies.  Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.

Dewey, J. (1989).  Freedom and culture. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus. (Original work published 1939)