Teacher Commentary

For this activity, I do not use a graphic organizer, as I have noticed students tend to start looking for things to fill in to the chart rather than making their own initial meaning of the text. Therefore, I usually have students read for multiple purposes, such as clarifying, asking questions, making connections, etc. I try to leave it deliberately open-ended so as not to squash their inquiry. However, I do set one key purpose for reading to ensure one of the main goals is met – for students to draw one clear conclusion about the artifact based on evidence from more than one text. I usually tell students at the beginning of class that they will be expected to write a clear conclusion for the exit ticket at the end of the day. But I also encourage them to be metacognitive about their general sense-making through annotations and sharing their ideas in discussion.