Indiana Reading Journal Volume 44 Issue 1 | Page 41

Give it a try! Select an appropriate complex text for your students or grade-level. Develop text dependent questions for this text which align to the five types presented in this article (Fisher & Frey, 2012). Scaffold your students through a close reading of this text first in a face-to-face environment while modeling metacognitive strategies used within a teacher think aloud. Use VoiceThread to share a second, related text to support intertextual connections. Craft a prompt question to support intetextual connections and provide students with a link to the VoiceThread. Students can respond on this second text individually within the VoiceThread platform using their device.

#2: Book reviews.

HOTS level of Bloom’s: Evaluating—making judgments and defending opinions based on set criteria

VoiceThread offers a technology-enhanced alternative to a book review. Students are able to engage digitally to discuss texts and make recommendations while teachers assess comprehension and offer rich feedback. The use of digital technologies allows writing to become more meaningful and engaging for students as the audience shifts from a single teacher to a larger community (Richardson, 2010; Sweeny, 2010). Links to student created VoiceThreads can easily be shared with classmates, friends, and family members to move student work beyond classroom walls. For tips on how to help students write a book review, visit Scholastic’s Writing with Writers Workshop offering tips and strategies for writing a good book review (see: http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit).

For the Bloom’s level of evaluating, students demonstrate understanding of a concept by developing judgments in regards to accuracy, validity, and quality. Within a close read of new standards, one will note the repetitive use of terms such as interpret, assess, delineate, argument, and analyze (IDOE, 2014; NGA Center & CCSSO, 2010b). Critical evaluation will be reflected in future assessments and require students to evaluate content by making judgments and defending opinions.

Curriculum use description. To use VoiceThread for a book review, have students first organize their review using an outline or graphic organizer. The included criterion for the review is important to scaffold students toward the Bloom’s HOTS level of evaluating. It is important students are moved beyond a retell (Bloom’s remembering), to defending, criticizing, and recommending (Bloom’s evaluating). Figure 4 showcases two book review graphic organizers for primary grades (Miss Teacher Resources 101, 2013), or intermediate grades (Manis, 2011) to scaffold this process.

Figure 4: Book Review Graphic Organizer aligned to Bloom's Level of Evaluating

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