Notice and Note Unit

Reading Response UnitNotice and Note Strategies for Close Reading by K. Beers and N. Probst is an outstanding resource that helps teachers give students signals or “signposts” to look for when they read fictional texts. 

My 73 slide PowerPoint Notice and Note Unit provides for teachers a complete resource of how to deliver and model all of the 'Notice and Note' lessons. Each signpost is presented with warm ups, videos explanations, applications, a wide variety of mentor texts, and even many practice samples from other pieces of text that students can use during independent practice. All of the slides are created in an engaging colorful format with many slide transitions that gradually build up the explanation of how to find the difference signposts in texts. 

This unit works perfectly from fifth grade through to eighth grade range. However it can be used with different aged students too as some of the mentor text are both short excerpts and some picture books. There is a wealth of practice material for each of the signposts. Teachers just need to photocopy the relevant handouts provided or check out texts from the library and copy the pages which have been identified that contain the signposts. To make this easier, many links are already provided to the majority of the texts in the unit. There is more than enough material for each signpost. Independent practice texts are also presented at different abilities for differentiation purposes. Topics such as internal conflict and the importance of settings in stories are also explained as these provide a context for the signposts.

Over 40 hours of preparation has gone into the creation of this unit and the collection of resources. Guidelines are also given in the PowerPoint slide notes section to help teachers deliver the mini lesson instruction portion. Notice and note is an outstanding resource to teach students to become more interpretive readers. This resource well enable your students to MASTER the Notice and Note strategies effectively. You will not be disappointed by your purchase.

IN ADDITION - This resource now contains samples of how to build 'claims' (opinions about the text) from the notice and note signposts. Students get to see how to build effective sticky notes that do not just SPOT the signpost but go on to interpret it. Then these stickies are developed into claims at 'below' 'approaching' 'meeting' and 'exceeding' expectations. Imagine your students comparing their thinking to the multiple continuums presented. They will instantly know how deep their interpretation of their texts are. 

In ADDITION examples of the different types of 'evidence' and how to 'interpret the evidence found' through the 'Notice and Note' techniques is ALSO included. Basically, you are getting not just a thorough unit of 'notice and note' but the next steps - Taking noting and note and using that thinking to create reading responses. Students and teachers will learn the different between claims and or evidence that discusses 'observations' (lower order thinking) -v- 'author's purpose' (higher order thinking). For this reason alone - this resource provides a SUPERB tool for reading teachers to move from 'notice and note' into reading response and deeper thinking about texts. We always tell students to 'explain' their thinking - BUT HOW? This resource teaches student 'how to interpret by make comparisons, use definitions, judging actions and much more in order to better explain their thinking. 

In addition - Formative and Summative assessment tasks added using picture books. 

Please check out the preview for examples our of some of the slides in the unit.

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There's MORE... My next unit ' READING RESPONSE'


The perfect next step to this unit is also available here. Read the product description to see how truly unique the 'trans-mediation' approach to responding to text really is. 

I state may reputation as a 25 year veteran educator that this unit will truly make a difference in the way that your students discuss texts.

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