March 2026 Protocol of the Month: Interpretive Statements

This month's protocol is based on an article written by Jennifer Brooke from the website "English Collaborative."  At the heart of this simple activity is a break from the question-answer format that most students experience every day.  Never underestimate the power of novelty to get your students working! 

INTERPRETIVE STATEMENTS (Reading, Writing, Discussion, Feedback)


Description: Based on Jennifer Brook’s article, Forming Interpretive Statements, using a simple sentence completion format can help students dig deeper into literary content without the perceived drudgery of question and answer.  Interpretive Statements provide the scaffold for students to comment on non-tangibles like motivations, emotions, and feelings of the writer (and the characters involved). In essence, it is a kickstart for further exploration of the assigned text.   

Application: This activity can be used in subjects with a reading component.  With modification, it can also be used to discern actions of entities (both individuals and/or groups) throughout history to present-day.  

Process: Before using this activity, prepare interpretive statements based on a section, chapter, and/or the complete book.  Assign the reading.  On activity day,  re-introduce the words interpret and interpretive to students and give examples.  Start with a small reading so students can practice filling-in sentences and ask questions of procedure. Remind students that interpretive statements connected to literature most always have the author’s name and the title of the work in the statement.  From Brook’s article: 

1. When students need to explain what the text is about on the obvious and not so obvious levels: 

“On the surface, [teacher inserts name of book] is about [teacher inserts surface answer].  But really, [insert author’s name] gets the reader to think about __________________ while also considering ___________________.”

2. When students need to identify one or more ideas or issues that are raised in the text, and state what the writer is communicating about that idea:

“The text invites the reader to think about  [state the idea, thought, belief].  From the text, we can infer that [insert author’s name] thinks that [stated idea] is _____________________.  It is clear that [insert author’s name] feels _____________ about this topic; this is evident through ________________________.”

3. When relevant, students need to identify what the reader is meant to think or feel about an idea or issue: 

“[Insert author’s name] invites the reader to think about  [state the idea, thought, belief].   He/she makes the reader feel _____________ towards this idea by ____________________.  The effect of this is that the reader _____________________.”

Depending on the materials used, create additional interpretive questions that elicit strong responses. Once finished, discuss some of the student responses and mention that the perspective of the reader often creates multiple interpretations of the same work. 


​Resources or for more information: 
Brooke, J. (2021) https://www.englishcollaborative.com/formulating-interpretive-statements/