Students who have trouble connecting different parts of a text need to learn to synthesize. In order to synthesize, a student must develop critical-thinking skills, such as noticing how a character changes over time and contrasting multiple perspectives. To carry out these skills,, a student must be able to successfully self-monitor and to ask and answer questions, and must be familiar with elements of different text structures. The following pages include strategies that you can use to support your students' ability to synthesize. As you read, consider which of these interventions best aligns with your students' strengths and needs in the whole-learner domains.
Explicit Instruction
To support your students' ability to synthesize, you should start by explicitly teaching the concept. This sounds like:
Explain the Skill/Concept. Define synthesize, and explain the activity ("Synthesizing means that we are able to connect ideas across a text. To do this, we need to make sure that what we are reading aligns with information we've read in previous chapters. Today I am going to show you how to synthesize information so that I can determine a character's trait." "Today, we are going to practice synthesizing.")
Model Skill with Examples. Think aloud about how you synthesize. ("When I read a text, I make sure to connect different parts to build my understanding of a character. For example. in the beginning of the book we are reading, The Giver, I noticed that Jonas felt bad for a boy who didn't obey the rules. On page 6, he said, "I felt a little sorry for him...even though I don't even know him. I feel sorry for anyone who is in a place where he feels strange and stupid." This line made me start to think that Jonas is a thoughtful and empathetic person. In other places in the text, I learned that Jonas asked the Giver lots of questions about his daughter, Rosemary, because he wanted to understand how the Giver felt. I also learned that Jonas cared so much about his brother Gabriel that he was willing to risk his life to save him. When I put these three pieces of evidence together, I could conclude that Jonas was a thoughtful and empathetic person. This was how I synthesized figuring out one of Jonas's character traits.")
Model Skill with Non-Examples. Think aloud about what happens when you don't actively synthesize. ("What might happen if I only used one piece of evidence to decide on Jonas's character traits? What happens if I read this line,' Jonas was miserable,' and then I assumed that Jonas was a depressed person? Would that be an accurate reflection of his character? No. That's why when we synthesize, we need to use multiple pieces of evidence to support our claim.").
Practice the Skill. Engage in the activity below to practice the skill with your student, providing feedback as necessary. ("Now you try synthesizing.")
Activity A: Compare & Contrast
A Venn Diagram is a graphic organizer that can teach students to compare and contrast two or more concepts. This strategy can be used when students are having difficulty understanding similarities and differences between two ideas. This is an effective intervention to use with both narrative and informational texts across content areas.
Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizer PDF
Compare and Contrast. (n.d.). Copyright at Relay GSE. New York, NY: Relay Graduate School of Education.
Compare and Contrast in Action
In this example, students are learning how to use a Venn Diagram to understand character change over time.
Teacher: "We are going to use a Venn Diagram to better understand a character's internal change. Today, I'd like you to examine how Jonas changed over time. Title the circle on the left, 'Jonas, before The Giver,' and title circle on the right, 'Jonas, after The Giver.' In both circles use text evidence to examine Jonas's actions, internal dialogue, and relationships to explain how he changed over time."
Critical-thinking questions are answered by synthesizing multiple parts of a text. Students need to be able to think critically in order to figure out the "so what," or the big idea, of the text (such as theme, character change, main idea, etc.). Critical-thinking questions are the most rigorous because they require students to use clues from across one or more texts to come to a conclusion. This questioning skill can be taught once students are able to ask and answer factual and inferential questions. This page includes strategies that you can use to support your students' ability to ask and answer critical-thinking questions. As you read, consider which of these interventions best aligns with your students' strengths and needs in the whole-learner domains.
Explicit Instruction
To support your students' understanding of asking and answering inferential questions, you should start by explicitly teaching this concept. This sounds like:
Explain the Skill/Concept. Define critical-thinking questions, and explain the activity. ("Critical-thinking questions can be answered by synthesizing multiple clues from across the text. It is important to ask and answer critical-thinking questions to see if we understand the big ideas in the text. To think critically, we must use all the clues we've gathered from a text and put them together to come to a conclusion. Today, I will show you how to think critically about two characters to compare and contrast their character traits." "Today, we are going to learn how to ask and answer critical-thinking questions as we read." )
Model Skill with Examples. Think aloud about how you ask and answer critical-thinking questions. ("Now that I've read all of Frog and Toad, I'm going to ask a critical-thinking question: How are Frog and Toad alike and different? To answer this question, I have to use multiple clues from the text. First, I'll talk about what I learned about Frog. I'll use three pieces of evidence to support my thinking. I know Frog tried to box up the cookies. I also know that he put them high on a shelf to stop eating them. Then, when he and Toad gave the cookies to the birds, he was proud because he had enough will power not to finish the box of cookies. Now I'll examine what Toad was like using three pieces of evidence: Toad wanted to cut the string on the box of cookies. He also told Frog to get the box down from the shelf. Finally. after the birds had eaten all the cookies, he decided to go home and bake a cake. Okay, now that I've collected my evidence, I'm going to compare and contrast them. First, I'll say how they are similar: Frog and Toad both love cookies! Now, I'll say how they are different: While Frog decided that he was proud of their using will power not to finish the cookies, Toad decided he wanted more sweets. This seems to be the biggest difference in their character traits. Frog has will power while Toad does not.")
Model Skill with Non-Examples. Think aloud about how to read without thinking critically. ("What if I compared and contrasted Frog without using multiple pieces of evidence? If I noticed that Frog and Toad both liked cookies, but I left out the final example, then I might say that they are the same because they both like cookies. I might not understand how they are different. So, it is important to use multiple pieces of evidence to think critically.")
Practice the Skill. Engage in teaching students to ask and answer specific questions, providing feedback as necessary. ("Now you try asking and answering critical-thinking questions as you read.")
Look at the following document to see how you might teach students to ask and answer other types of questions in narrative texts:
Critical Thinking Resource PDF
Wilson, A. (2016). Asking and answering critical thinking questions. Copyright at Relay GSE. New York, NY: Relay Graduate School of Education.
Teaching Critical Thinking Questions in Action
To learn about how to ask and answer critical-thinking questions, start by reading the following excerpt from Frog and Toad Together, by Arnold Lobel.
Frog and Toad Text PDF
Lobel, A. (1979). Frog and toad together. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Now, read the lesson plan below that describes how to teach students to ask and answer questions about critical-thinking skills.
Critical Thinking Lesson Plan PDF
Wilson, A. (2016). Critical thinking questions lesson plan. Copyright at Relay GSE. New York, NY: Relay Graduate School of Education.
Think about the following scenario, which takes place after a teacher has explicitly taught students to ask and answer critical-thinking questions and has given them multiple opportunities to practice.
Teacher: "What does Frog say and do to allow you to figure out one of his character traits?"
Student: "Well, he ate all the cookies, so I think he's hungry."
In such a case, what might you do?
When you are planning your lessons, you should anticipate that your students will make errors throughout. Here are a series of prompts that you can use to respond to errors. Keep in mind that all students are different, and that students might respond better to some types of feedback than others.
| Level of Support | Description of Scaffold | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest Scaffold | Try again! Allows student multiple opportunities to practice new skill. You are trying to determine whether the student needs to be retaught the skill or just needs an opportunity to try again. | "What other pieces of evidence help you figure out his character traits?" |
| Medium Scaffold | Provide Resources. Allows the student to use resources to figure out the answer (including helpful supports such as a visual or a prompt).
|
"Let's revisit the text. First, let's read this page and see if we can find one piece of evidence. Then, we'll look at the other pages and collect more evidence to describe his character." |
| Highest Scaffold | Rewind. If students aren't understanding how to use one of the strategies you've provided, then go back and explicitly reteach the activity, and practice using the student's text. | "Let me show you how I figure out how a character's trait. First, I'll show you how I use multiple pieces of evidence..." |
If your student struggles to meet your objective, there are various techniques that you might try to adjust the activity so as best to meet your student's needs.
| Activity | Description of Strategy | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Synthesizing and Critical Thinking Questions |
Practice, practice, practice. Have students continue to practice these strategies with various types of texts. Or, have them teach each other. |
"Let's try a new text to examine character traits." |