My search for relevant information to assist my own research has yielded many results. My research topic can really be broken into two equal elements. First, the teaching of textual analysis. Countless researchers have published dense and thorough findings about how to best teach students to analyze a text. They mention successful strategies, as well as disproved approaches. For example, an article by Doreen Saccomano focuses on Close Reading, and addressed the importance of selecting texts that are appropriate for your students. Saccomano explained that teachers should consider what their goal for using a specific text. For example, considering the author’s purpose for writing the piece and if that will suit the needs of your students’ learning goals.
Close Reading requires the teacher and students to both analyze a reading passage and examine it for details, some of which include understanding how the text works, the author’s message, providing text evidence to support thoughts and predictions the reader is developing, and making connections between the reader and the text itself (Frey & Fisher 2013; Shanahan, 2012). The second, core element of my research topic is working with English Language Learners. As and ELD3D teacher, it came to no surprise that there were seemingly even more results on this topic. Fortunately, I was able to narrow down the results to a couple articles that were particularly relevant to my upcoming research. These articles provided me new insight to specific strategies that could benefit my own students. One specific strategy resonated with me was the use of “Think Alouds" According to Oster (2001, p. 54) think-aloud is a method in which “students verbalize their thoughts as they read and thus bring into the open the strategies they are using to understand a text”. When I first drafted my driving question, prior to conducting thorough research, I was initially concerned about the idea of integrating technology into my lessons. This was not due to a dislike for technology, I simply was unsure of how my students could use it effectively for Close Readings and textual analysis. That was until I found an article which addressed that exact idea. Using close reading as our theoretical framework, the reading strategies and web tools presented here provide visual displays of evidence found in the texts that students read. These strategies are helpful for all students and especially for struggling middle school readers as they learn to read closely, think clearly, and construct arguments about evidence found in the texts they read. (Gormley & McDermott; 2015) Discovering this article allowed me to breath a sigh of relief. I intend to look into these strategic web tools further and ideally, find one that is appropriate for my students and the work they will be doing. My work is by no means over. I still have a lot of information to sift through. I have many articles at my disposal, and each of them contain relevant and potentially valuable information that will assist me on my journey. Wish me luck! Driving Question: What is the impact of guided practice of textual analysis with English learners? *Link to my Research Table
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