Readers Writing: Lessons for Responding to Narrative and Informational Text

Hale, Elizabeth. Readers Writing: Lessons for Responding to Narrative and Informational Text. 2014. 196p. ISBN 978-1-57110-843-2. Available at PROF 372.62 HAL on the library shelves.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, teachers asked their readers to interact with their books by writing a summary. Oftentimes, rewards programs were attached to completing as many summaries as possible. Not much information was retained, however, and this type of activity did not help develop reading skills. Over the last two decades, thorough comprehension strategies have been developed, but it continues to prove difficult to demonstrate to struggling readers how good readers create their own understanding when they read books.

Hale has created almost a hundred lessons that present specific comprehension strategies that each and every student can master. She outlines an approach to implement these strategies with the whole class, and how to monitor both for success and for further development. She discusses her conference process and how she talks with her students about their strengths and weaknesses in reading, and their next area of focus. This book centers on addressing the need to explicitly name and teach reading comprehension skills and then help students incorporate them in their writings to demonstrate mastery. Each strategy she presents includes the same format: the strategy is named, so that students can explicitly refer to it; an explanation of why this strategy is important, a model of how to discuss this strategy, the opportunity to try it on one’s own or with a partner, and the ability to share it. Readers use a notebook to keep track of strategies and to document their independent writing. Each strategy focuses on an aspect of reading, such as questioning, connecting, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, visualizing, or monitoring.

Becoming a lifelong reader is a goal everyone can reach, and Hale’s techniques and strategies are specific and easily implementable as part of a curricular approach to reading. Every reading teacher or professional librarian needs to read this book!