Think Big with Think Alouds
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Description
I’m guessing that those two are planning a surprise. . . . The author keeps mentioning the storm because she wants us to think that the character’s upset. . . . Wait—yikes, I gotta go back and reread because I’m not getting this part. . . .
These are the flickering thoughts of a strategic reader. If only we could bottle all these mental moves and pour them into the minds of our students, then readers’ achievement would grow exponentially. In Think Big With Think Alouds, Molly Ness delivers a process that comes close to bottling that magic.
Molly spent a year researching teachers’ think alouds, and she uses these findings to help you know just what to do. The big time-saver? You focus on just these five strategies: asking questions, making inferences, synthesizing, understanding the author’s purpose, and monitoring and clarifying. Select the one or two strategies that align to your text, and get ready with a stack of sticky notes! Grab a pencil, and you are on your way to dynamic lessons using Molly’s three-step planning process:
Read Once: Go wild, putting a flurry of sticky notes on spots that strike you
Read Twice: Whittle your notes down to the juiciest stopping points
Read Three Times: Jot down what you will say so there’s no need to wing it in front of the kids
Other practical tools include
- More than 20 ready-made think aloud scripts for favorite texts by Sandra Cisneros, Seymour Simon, Shel Silverstein, and many others, to use for think alouds for fiction, informational text, and poetry.
- Fun small group and partner activities to gradually transfer comprehension strategies to your students.
- Downloads on the companion website, including spinner and dice templates, planning forms, and think aloud scripts
Molly Ness is an associate professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University and earned her PhD in reading education from the University of Virginia. A former Teach For America corps member, she is an experienced classroom teacher and reading clinician. Her numerous books and articles focus on reading comprehension, the instructional decisions of teachers, and the assessment and diagnosis of struggling readers. Contact Molly Ness at http://www.drmollyness.com.
Contents
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
Acknowledgments
- CHAPTER 1 The Genius of Think Alouds: To Think Big, Readers Need to Hear What “Big” Sounds Like
- What Think Alouds Are
- What Think Alouds Are Not
- Why Think Alouds Are Relevant Today
- The Educational Theories Behind Think Alouds
- Practice Makes Perfect: The Three-Step Process to Planning Think Alouds
- A Final Note About the Three-Step Process
- How to Use This Book
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 2 Think Aloud With Focus: Five Comprehension Strategies That Go the Distance
- How Think Alouds Benefit Our Readers
- Arming Yourself With the Five Essential Think Aloud Strategies
- The Five Essential Think Aloud Strategies
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 3 Read Once: Identifying Juicy Stopping Points
- An Overview
- Using Poetry in Kindergarten
- Using Narrative Text in Third Grade
- Using Informational Text in Fifth Grade
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 4 Read Twice: Determining Where and When to Think Aloud
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in “Sick” by Shel Silverstein
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in Eyes and Ears by Seymour Simon
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 5 Read Three Times: Writing the Scripts on Sticky Notes
- Signaling for Think Alouds
- Think Aloud Sentence Starters
- Introducing the Three-Column Chart
- The Think Aloud Scripts for Our Model Texts
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 6 How Did They Go? Teachers Share Successes and Challenges
- Inside K–5 Classrooms: A Yearlong Study
- Lessons Learned From the Yearlong Study
- Ideas to Hone Your Thinking Aloud
- Evaluating Your Own Thinking Aloud
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 7 Students Do: Tips and Tools for Helping Your Readers Think Aloud on Their Own
- Using Gradual Release of Responsibility to Scaffold Think Alouds
- Encouraging Self-Evaluation With Think Alouds
- Applying Think Alouds Across Content Areas
- Thinking Aloud With Visuals
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
Appendices
- Appendix A: Sample Think Aloud
- Appendix B: Sample Texts
- Appendix C: Think Alouds for Sample Texts
- Appendix D: Think Aloud Sentence Starters
- Appendix E: Three-Column Think Aloud Chart
- Appendix F: Think Aloud Script for The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen
- Appendix G: Think Aloud Script for A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
- Appendix H: Think Aloud Self-Evaluation
- Appendix I: Think Aloud Scripts
- Appendix J: Putting It Together: Think Aloud Scripts
References
References
Index
Index
Resources
Companion Website
https://resources.corwin.com/ness-thinkaloudsAdditional materials
Description
I’m guessing that those two are planning a surprise. . . . The author keeps mentioning the storm because she wants us to think that the character’s upset. . . . Wait—yikes, I gotta go back and reread because I’m not getting this part. . . .
These are the flickering thoughts of a strategic reader. If only we could bottle all these mental moves and pour them into the minds of our students, then readers’ achievement would grow exponentially. In Think Big With Think Alouds, Molly Ness delivers a process that comes close to bottling that magic.
Molly spent a year researching teachers’ think alouds, and she uses these findings to help you know just what to do. The big time-saver? You focus on just these five strategies: asking questions, making inferences, synthesizing, understanding the author’s purpose, and monitoring and clarifying. Select the one or two strategies that align to your text, and get ready with a stack of sticky notes! Grab a pencil, and you are on your way to dynamic lessons using Molly’s three-step planning process:
Read Once: Go wild, putting a flurry of sticky notes on spots that strike you
Read Twice: Whittle your notes down to the juiciest stopping points
Read Three Times: Jot down what you will say so there’s no need to wing it in front of the kids
Other practical tools include
- More than 20 ready-made think aloud scripts for favorite texts by Sandra Cisneros, Seymour Simon, Shel Silverstein, and many others, to use for think alouds for fiction, informational text, and poetry.
- Fun small group and partner activities to gradually transfer comprehension strategies to your students.
- Downloads on the companion website, including spinner and dice templates, planning forms, and think aloud scripts
Molly Ness is an associate professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University and earned her PhD in reading education from the University of Virginia. A former Teach For America corps member, she is an experienced classroom teacher and reading clinician. Her numerous books and articles focus on reading comprehension, the instructional decisions of teachers, and the assessment and diagnosis of struggling readers. Contact Molly Ness at http://www.drmollyness.com.
Contents
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
Acknowledgments
- CHAPTER 1 The Genius of Think Alouds: To Think Big, Readers Need to Hear What “Big” Sounds Like
- What Think Alouds Are
- What Think Alouds Are Not
- Why Think Alouds Are Relevant Today
- The Educational Theories Behind Think Alouds
- Practice Makes Perfect: The Three-Step Process to Planning Think Alouds
- A Final Note About the Three-Step Process
- How to Use This Book
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 2 Think Aloud With Focus: Five Comprehension Strategies That Go the Distance
- How Think Alouds Benefit Our Readers
- Arming Yourself With the Five Essential Think Aloud Strategies
- The Five Essential Think Aloud Strategies
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 3 Read Once: Identifying Juicy Stopping Points
- An Overview
- Using Poetry in Kindergarten
- Using Narrative Text in Third Grade
- Using Informational Text in Fifth Grade
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 4 Read Twice: Determining Where and When to Think Aloud
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in “Sick” by Shel Silverstein
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in Eyes and Ears by Seymour Simon
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 5 Read Three Times: Writing the Scripts on Sticky Notes
- Signaling for Think Alouds
- Think Aloud Sentence Starters
- Introducing the Three-Column Chart
- The Think Aloud Scripts for Our Model Texts
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 6 How Did They Go? Teachers Share Successes and Challenges
- Inside K–5 Classrooms: A Yearlong Study
- Lessons Learned From the Yearlong Study
- Ideas to Hone Your Thinking Aloud
- Evaluating Your Own Thinking Aloud
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 7 Students Do: Tips and Tools for Helping Your Readers Think Aloud on Their Own
- Using Gradual Release of Responsibility to Scaffold Think Alouds
- Encouraging Self-Evaluation With Think Alouds
- Applying Think Alouds Across Content Areas
- Thinking Aloud With Visuals
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
Appendices
- Appendix A: Sample Think Aloud
- Appendix B: Sample Texts
- Appendix C: Think Alouds for Sample Texts
- Appendix D: Think Aloud Sentence Starters
- Appendix E: Three-Column Think Aloud Chart
- Appendix F: Think Aloud Script for The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen
- Appendix G: Think Aloud Script for A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
- Appendix H: Think Aloud Self-Evaluation
- Appendix I: Think Aloud Scripts
- Appendix J: Putting It Together: Think Aloud Scripts
References
References
Index
Index
Resources
Companion Website
https://resources.corwin.com/ness-thinkaloudsAdditional materials
Think Big with Think Alouds
A Three-Step Planning Process That Develops Strategic Readers
July 2017 | 280 pages | Corwin
| Format | Published Date | ISBN | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback | 01/01/2025 | 9781506364964 | $40.95 |
| Lifetime | 01/01/2025 | 9781506364957 | $37.00 |
I’m guessing that those two are planning a surprise. . . . The author keeps mentioning the storm because she wants us to think that the character’s upset. . . . Wait—yikes, I gotta go back and reread because I’m not getting this part. . . .
These are the flickering thoughts of a strategic reader. If only we could bottle all these mental moves and pour them into the minds of our students, then readers’ achievement would grow exponentially. In Think Big With Think Alouds, Molly Ness delivers a process that comes close to bottling that magic.
Molly spent a year researching teachers’ think alouds, and she uses these findings to help you know just what to do. The big time-saver? You focus on just these five strategies: asking questions, making inferences, synthesizing, understanding the author’s purpose, and monitoring and clarifying. Select the one or two strategies that align to your text, and get ready with a stack of sticky notes! Grab a pencil, and you are on your way to dynamic lessons using Molly’s three-step planning process:
Read Once: Go wild, putting a flurry of sticky notes on spots that strike you
Read Twice: Whittle your notes down to the juiciest stopping points
Read Three Times: Jot down what you will say so there’s no need to wing it in front of the kids
Other practical tools include
- More than 20 ready-made think aloud scripts for favorite texts by Sandra Cisneros, Seymour Simon, Shel Silverstein, and many others, to use for think alouds for fiction, informational text, and poetry.
- Fun small group and partner activities to gradually transfer comprehension strategies to your students.
- Downloads on the companion website, including spinner and dice templates, planning forms, and think aloud scripts
Molly Ness is an associate professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University and earned her PhD in reading education from the University of Virginia. A former Teach For America corps member, she is an experienced classroom teacher and reading clinician. Her numerous books and articles focus on reading comprehension, the instructional decisions of teachers, and the assessment and diagnosis of struggling readers. Contact Molly Ness at http://www.drmollyness.com.
Table Of Contents:
- Foreword by Douglas Fisher
- Acknowledgments
- CHAPTER 1 The Genius of Think Alouds: To Think Big, Readers Need to Hear What “Big” Sounds Like
- What Think Alouds Are
- What Think Alouds Are Not
- Why Think Alouds Are Relevant Today
- The Educational Theories Behind Think Alouds
- Practice Makes Perfect: The Three-Step Process to Planning Think Alouds
- A Final Note About the Three-Step Process
- How to Use This Book
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 2 Think Aloud With Focus: Five Comprehension Strategies That Go the Distance
- How Think Alouds Benefit Our Readers
- Arming Yourself With the Five Essential Think Aloud Strategies
- The Five Essential Think Aloud Strategies
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 3 Read Once: Identifying Juicy Stopping Points
- An Overview
- Using Poetry in Kindergarten
- Using Narrative Text in Third Grade
- Using Informational Text in Fifth Grade
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 4 Read Twice: Determining Where and When to Think Aloud
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in “Sick” by Shel Silverstein
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
- Examining the Original Stopping Points in Eyes and Ears by Seymour Simon
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 5 Read Three Times: Writing the Scripts on Sticky Notes
- Signaling for Think Alouds
- Think Aloud Sentence Starters
- Introducing the Three-Column Chart
- The Think Aloud Scripts for Our Model Texts
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 6 How Did They Go? Teachers Share Successes and Challenges
- Inside K–5 Classrooms: A Yearlong Study
- Lessons Learned From the Yearlong Study
- Ideas to Hone Your Thinking Aloud
- Evaluating Your Own Thinking Aloud
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- CHAPTER 7 Students Do: Tips and Tools for Helping Your Readers Think Aloud on Their Own
- Using Gradual Release of Responsibility to Scaffold Think Alouds
- Encouraging Self-Evaluation With Think Alouds
- Applying Think Alouds Across Content Areas
- Thinking Aloud With Visuals
- Final Thoughts
- Ready for a Trial Run?
- Appendices
- Appendix A: Sample Think Aloud
- Appendix B: Sample Texts
- Appendix C: Think Alouds for Sample Texts
- Appendix D: Think Aloud Sentence Starters
- Appendix E: Three-Column Think Aloud Chart
- Appendix F: Think Aloud Script for The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen
- Appendix G: Think Aloud Script for A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
- Appendix H: Think Aloud Self-Evaluation
- Appendix I: Think Aloud Scripts
- Appendix J: Putting It Together: Think Aloud Scripts
- References
- Index