“Be the Text”

Carol Brewer
May 25, 2009

Does your state have listening, viewing, and speaking included in the standards?  A great way to implement this is to "Be the Text". This fits nicely into a culminating assessment for a completed novel or any type of text.  Many times students read text without a true understanding of what has been read.  "Being the Text" allows students to strengthen summarizing, paraphrasing as well as comprehension.  Being a part of the text gives students a natural connection to their real life and the world around them.  It also gives the students the Reading - Writing connections that are so very powerful for higher level thinking!

Steps in the Process:
 
1.    Read the text (Many teachers find terrific results by using
       nonfiction as well as fiction.). 
2.    Rewrite the text with speaking parts and action. Summarizing and paraphrasing can be  
       strengthened during this step.
3.    Practice parts for fluency and confidence (Think of the fluency goals this can satisfy!).
4.    Present to your class, as well as others.

Refer to the Learning-Focused Literacy Collection for more ideas.