Signposts help students notice significant literary moments
According to Beers and Probst, “Rigor in reading is not an attribute of a text, but rather of a reader’s behavior.” When lifting weights at the gym, it’s not the barbell that is rigorous, but rather the reps of the one lifting. Reading complex text and answering text dependent questions are challenging requirements for students as they read independently. This husband and wife team of educators distilled key teacher strategies that assist students in being more rigorous while reading. Beers and Probst’s book, Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading, describes six signposts that help readers notice significant moments in a novel. They teach students to notice something in the text and then stop to note what it means. The strategies they developed help motivate students to read a piece of text closely so inferences can be made and predictions formed. When students read a book closely, they are also likely to notice nuances about the characters.
One signpost students should look for is when a character is acting contradictory to their nature. Students are taught to ask why the character is acting out of the ordinary and what that might mean.
Another signpost is when characters have an Aha moment such as “In an instant I knew…” When students pay attention to what the character figures out, then they can ponder how that might change the plot of the story.
The third signpost is when a character raises a tough question such as “What could I possibly do…” This usually triggers the reader to wonder and frequently signals an internal conflict with the character.
In the novel, A Long Walk to Water, the main character, Salva, frequently asked himself tough questions as he walked to a refugee camp in Ethiopia such as “How can I go on without my family? How can I not go on… they would want me to survive.”
These first three signposts occur frequently and most readers, even struggling ones, can learn to identify them. Teachers often introduce each signpost with a separate lesson and a text that has several exemplars of that signpost in it.
The fourth signpost is when advice is sought and insight is shared with the main character. Usually there’s one scene in a story where advice is sought and The Words of the Wiser is used. This signpost is critical for offering insight into the theme of the piece.
The next signpost is when the author repeats an image, word or event which causes the reader to wonder why this is happening again and again. In the novel, Hatchet, Brian said his “thinking started with a single word. Divorce.” This was repeated often along with additional thoughts such as “ugly word that meant fights, yelling, lawyers and the secret.”
The final signpost is when the narrative of a story is interrupted with a memory. Pondering why this memory might be important helps the reader reflect on its significance.
In the novel, Walk Two Moons, Sal remembers that the singing tree was silent the day she learned that her mother wasn’t coming home. Momma was resting peacefully in Idaho… buried.
Beers and Probst note that one important aspect of developing more independent readers is teaching them to notice when a passage is confusing. Often pausing to reread can clear it up, but if not, students can write a question in the margin that might help to clarify it.
Each signpost has an anchor question which when asked seems to awaken students’ curiosity. Questions are the key component used by teachers to get students to analyze text. The questions move students into deeper thinking.
Students need to own the questions rather than have the teacher always supply them. If readers ask powerful questions, those can lead to further insights that keep them asking more questions.
When students take a journey through a book, it’s important for them to stop and notice the signposts along the way. Students can be taught to use each of the signposts to help them increase their rigor while reading. One of the more rigorous components of reading is when students find what the words on the page mean in their own lives.