ABSTRACT
Text in a specifi c sense is something written, but keep in mind that text can really comprise any artifact through which we communicate or engage our world. With that said, most teachers simply want to know how to get their students to think deeply about written words. You may want to look at the Critical Thinking Map ( Figure 1.1 ) at this point, while I describe it here. See also the Children’s Version ( Figure 1.4 ). To begin with a brief overview, you have three decisions to make as a teacher:
TEXT: If you choose to examine the text, you will have your students critically weigh what the author said (think ideas and content) or how the author said it (think medium or technique : organization, sentence fl uency, word choice, voice, and conventions; or most literary devices). Figurative language seems to comprise a hybrid exploration examining the relationship between content and technique. Regarding what are called the six traits, many fi ne resources have been published by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL), now Education Northwest, and developed to discuss these areas, precluding a need here to do anything but recommend their use. Other areas of the country or parts of the world use different nomenclature as indicated by popular, synonymous subscripts in parentheses in the expanded version
(see Figure 7.10, p. 149). While designed as an orientation tool for teachers or administrators who want to design questions, benchmarks, assignments, or assessments more carefully, teachers may project a digital version on the board to explain the combination(s) or pathway(s) your students will be taking as you examine a text.
