Educational Leadership - September 2015

How would you describe the writer’s opinion about the mountain, and what words and phrases does he use that support your answer?)

3. What does the text mean? Now that students have a strong foundation of knowledge about the literal and structural aspects of the text, they can move into critical analysis of its inferential meanings. Questions we pose at this stage might ask students to compare the text to another text they have read or to evaluate and make informed judgments about the information. (Are Sherpas key to a successful climb?

What kind of preparation would a climber need to ascend the mountain?)

4. What does the text inspire you
to do? Critical thinking ultimately
results in new questions the reader has
about the information. At this stage,
How do the other highest mountains
on Earth compare to Everest in terms
of climate and how people live?)

See It in Action

In the video that accompanies this column ( www.ascd.org/el0915fisher frey), you’ll see portions of a text-based discussion led by high school English teacher Marisol Thayre as her students analyze a selection from

Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl’s autobiographical account of his struggle to find meaning in suffering in a Nazi concentration camp. Marisol uses text-dependent questions to guide students’ thinking, including

1. What does the text say? Marisol asks the class, What is the author telling us about? and What in the text lets us know that it’s about the Holocaust? (In the video, we see one student pointing out that the author uses the word kapo, or concentration camp guard.)

2. How does the text work? Marisol asks, What is its tone? What feelings does Frankl convey? (Students mention feelings like panic and hope.) What words does he use to convey these feelings? She suggests that students underline specific words.

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