Increasing Reading Comprehension

When students are confronted with content-heavy text, they sometimes skip ahead or read too quickly and miss critical bits of information which results in compromised reading comprehension. This classic protocol forces students to pay attention to the details and maximize understanding! 

BECAUSE . . . BUT. . . SO . . .       Reading, Writing, Discussion, Questioning, Collaboration

Description: The power of conjunctions and question-stems is at work here! This activity provides strategies to increase reading comprehension, most especially when students are engaged in content-heavy text.  It also allows students to see varying perspectives amongst classmates.  This protocol is based on the work from Hochman/Wexler’s The Writing Revolution.

Application: Because . . . But . . . So . . . can be used in many disciplines, but most especially in social studies or language arts courses. It can easily be modified for middle school level.
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Process: Model activity first before requiring students to use it individually. Before class, select relevant readings or passages and create “because, but, so” question-stems based on the material. On day of activity, instruct students to read the passage. (This can be done silently or out loud in round robin fashion) Once finished, discuss key take-aways, focusing on vocabulary, bolded words, events, etc. Display the three prepared questions using the conjunction because . . . in the first sentence, but . . . in the next sentence, and so . . . in the final question. Direct students to refer to the passage and write-out all three answers, providing a generous amount of time for the first few attempts at the activity. Once completed, prompt students to share their answers for the first question. (This can be accomplished by the teacher jotting down a few answers on the board or students can contribute digitally and answers projected.) Repeat for the other two question-stems.  Review the answers with students, pointing out misconceptions, but also, as a learning opportunity, to highlight those student-generated answers that are structured in a more formal academic format. For an advanced challenge, provide a quote within the passage and include it as part of the question-stem. For additional reading assignments, use other conjunction question-stems such as before . . . after . . . since . . . to denote chronological understanding.
 
Resources and for more information: 
https://www.thewritingrevolution.org/high-school-class-using-basic-conjunctions/
Lemov, D. Teach Like  Champion “Field Notes” 02.27.19 “BECAUSE, BUT, SO” GOES 2.0 WITH DIRECT QUOTATIONS
Shanks, K. “The Washing Hands of Writing”  http://www.Medium.com


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