As a special needs support facilitation teacher for ELA and Math classes, I hear from parents about their children's needs. One parent told me their child tells them that they "just read" in their Language Arts class. Well of course they are reading for a purpose, but it is clear the child does not know the purpose. I believe that this is because there is a lack of direct instruction to accompany that reading.
What I mean by Direct Instruction
Direct instruction at its core means to literally and explicitly teach something. So if I want to teach point of view, I need to directly state what point of view is and teach the students the steps that one uses to analyze it in a text.
There are steps that each person uses to analyze point of view in a text but most people probably don't think about the steps they take because it's just something they do. But that's just it. It's something that people do automatically because they have some kind of frame of reference but the students don't have this frame of reference and so it needs to be taught. THEN examples can be provided and products can be made.
How I teach explicitly using Direct Instruction
I teach various reading skills step by step explicitly by using interactive guided notes that I make called Pixanotes.
These notes down the steps for analyzing point of view in fiction into one set of notes and the steps for analyzing point of view in nonfiction were broken down into another set of notes.
There are 3 steps for breaking down a text to analyze its point of view in fiction and another 3 steps for nonfiction. We go through the notes using a PowerPoint (or a word bank for more advanced students). This is a hybrid "I do/We do" stage.
Now students have an anchor for their understanding that they can refer back to over and over. Each time they are close reading a text for point of view, all they have to do is refer back to their notes, trace the steps, and create new understanding.
Notes like these also let students know that they're not "just reading" and are concrete evidence of what is being taught. They're perfect for any kind of conference or meeting whether with a parent, a PLC, or a data coach.
Now that students have an understanding of how to use point of view, they're ready for the "You do" part of the topic and this is where examples, practice, and products come in. With direct instruction, students now have have something on which to base their independent work.
The "You do" can be many things but one of my favorites for in-class instruction is using menus. I use a menu for processing the content first. There are 2 choices which creates a kind of "buy-in" for students as they practice the skill.
In my digital classroom, I use digital games. Each game reviews the steps students need to follow to analyze the text and then students work with a new text to practice the steps. They will even put together a paragraph in the game!
After practice is complete, students take a quiz. Hopefully, the students have internalized the steps well enough to work on enrichment activities. If not, then they can have an opportunity for remediation (I like to call this enhancement). This is where I use menus again in my traditional classroom. The enrichment and enhancement menus look nearly identical so everyone gets what they need without looking different. In my digital classroom, I have students practice some more with either making games (enrichment) in sites like quizizz or gimkit or playing (enhancement) some games.
Put this all together and with the help of some direction instruction and practice, students now have a frame of reference for how to use point of view to analyze text.
Interested in trying the printable materials with your own students? They're ready to go and available by clicking here.
Or if you need digital materials, click here.