Think About It

     Once upon a time, gathering information for a report entailed looking the topic up in the World Book Encyclopedia or the Encyclopedia Britannica.  These information sources were known to be true, reliable and up-to-date (if you purchased the yearbook each year).  Today, however, our students "Google" everything from "who won the football game" to "what caused the Spanish American War."  And, many students (and adults) think that "it must be true if I found it on the Internet."
     News flash:  Not everything on the Internet is true!  So, how do we teach students to be critical readers?  How do we teach them to discern fact from fiction?  How do we help them navigate the abundance of information that is literally at their fingertips in order to use the good and true information to solve problems and make good decisions.

     One way that we teach critical reading is to have students identify questions as they are reading. What information is missing?  What question does this bring to mind that was not answered in the text?  Is there a resource to back up what is being said?  Students often use sticky notes to make observations and record questions.  Then, these sticky notes can be a springboard for class discussions, ideas for more research, or small group discussions with other students.  Students will not always be able to have every question answered, but it allows them to make some decisions about how reliable a source is based on what is or is not included.
     This same procedure is used when teaching novels or other fiction materials.  Sticky notes may contain a note such as "this makes me think about a time that...", or "this makes me wonder about..." or "I don't understand what this means..."  In other words, it's not just about reading; it's about thinking.
     
     Another example of how to teach critical reading it to cite text evidence.  As students answer questions about the text they have read, they are asked to find the evidence in the text that supports their answer.  Instead of just trying to remember what happened in the story, students may be asked to find the answer in the text and "cite the text evidence that you found."  Often students use markers to highlight the evidence.  When students form opinions about a character or situation, they are asked to cite text evidence to support their opinion.  Again, it is not about just reading; it is about thinking.

    We want our students to be prepared to handle the bombardment of information that they get on the Internet, news sources, propaganda, and even textbooks.  We want students to be able to make their own informed decisions and to not just believe everything they read.