Some of you have asked why I do the text analysis portion of my read-alouds during reading instead of after. Well, I actually do a little bit of both. HOWEVER, I do definitely incorporate deeper thinking during reading. Why? Because that's what good readers do. We think before, during, and after. So my questioning depends on multiple things:
1. When is the best time to stop and analyze based on the reading strategy and objective? For example, if I'm teaching how to make a prediction and using predictions to analyze a character, then I need to stop during reading. You can't make many predictions after a book is over (though you can make few). So my modeling and questioning will be during the text. BUT I will still often go deeper with the text at the end.
2. What is the best way to keep my students engaged and comprehending the text? This is a hard one, and I'm still learning. Sometimes, stopping and modeling chops up the text too much and distracts students. (I still do this! It's hard for me!) They need to hear a flow of a text without it being interrupted, but if I'm modeling strategies it can be difficult to do that. On the other hand stopping and analyzing during reading can actually help them to process the text and comprehend what is going on and allows you to check for understanding and incorporate turn-and-talk and other engagement strategies.
3. What do I have time for? Sometimes, you just don't have time to go deep during reading. Sometimes you do.
So...what do you do with all that??? First, you've just got to know that there are always different opinions and perspectives. So, you've go to believe in yourself as a professional and do what works best for your kids! It's about them. What's going to help them learn most? What's going to help them love reading most? What's going to help them master the objective most?
I know this is a slightly vague post...but the point of text analysis isn't when you do it. The purpose of text analysis is analyzing the text. The end. As adults, we analyze text before, during, and after. SO what is important as a teacher is thinking through those three segments of reading. Post-it your read-alouds and plan out questions that will engage students before, during, and after reading...and plan out questions where it seems most purposeful in mastering the objective. You can ALWAYS go deeper after reading, and it's important to. But you don't want to miss out on engaging conversations during reading if it will help students learn. :)
Hope this helps!!
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