Teaching

Beyond the Vocabulary List

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by Camriel Kostreva

What if vocabulary instruction helped students make meaning in a subject rather than simply memorize definitions? 

There are so many words students need to learn, and so many obstacles to teaching them well. As a teacher, I have found two challenges particularly difficult: 

  1. Choosing which words to teach explicitly.  How do we select words that strengthen content learning without taking valuable time away from the content itself? Students enter our classrooms with different vocabularies and prior knowledge, so not every student needs the same instruction. And with so many important words and so little time, vocabulary instruction can easily feel like an interruption to a lesson rather than an essential part of learning. 
  1. Helping students retain and apply what they learn.  Even after a great vocabulary lesson, students may forget the words or struggle to use them independently. Planning meaningful opportunities for students to revisit words while continuing to introduce new ones can feel overwhelming. 

Vocabulary instruction is challenging, but I believe it is worth the time and effort it takes to get it right. Vocabulary knowledge plays an important role in reading comprehension and students’ ability to access and learn disciplinary content (Brabham et al., 2012).

As a former high school English teacher and current secondary reading interventionist, I have spent years experimenting with vocabulary instructional strategies and tools. Some were helpful; others felt like a waste of time. Too often, the strategies that looked promising on paper felt disconnected from my instruction, required too many steps, or demanded more planning and instructional time than I could sustainably give.

That changed when I learned about disciplinary literacy and began rethinking my overarching instructional goal.

My goal isn’t simply to teach students a list of words—or even to cover a list of learning objectives. My goal is to help students develop the knowledge and strategies they need to become independent learners and active participants in their academic disciplines. 

Vocabulary instruction becomes much more powerful when we keep that goal in mind. Our job is to help bridge the gap between the knowledge, experiences, and language students bring to the classroom and the ways of thinking, communicating, and making meaning valued within the disciplines they are learning.

So, what does that look like in practice? 

Strategic, Student- and Content-Centered Word Selection

Choosing the right words to teach, and knowing when to teach them, is challenging regardless of the instructional strategy we use. I love words and believe they all have something to offer, but I’ve learned that I can’t teach them all and still keep content learning at the center. 

I’ve found that I get the most out of my vocabulary instruction when I prioritize words that students will encounter in an upcoming text, concept, or learning objective and that offer opportunities for connections beyond a single lesson. These words might include those with common roots and multiple meanings and are essential words for understanding instructional content. 

The key is to select words that do more than help students get through a single lesson. Vocabulary instruction should be integrated within and across content areas,  and it should be comprehensive (Blachowicz et al., 2006; Nagy & Townsend, 2012). We want students to recognize connections between the words they learn in class and the words they encounter elsewhere, gradually expanding their knowledge of language and their ability to learn new words independently.

My frustration with spending so much time on vocabulary without seeing a meaningful impact on students’ content learning began to ease when I gave myself permission to respond flexibly to student needs and let go of the expectation that I had to plan every learning experience in advance. 

Now, I begin with the content I want students to learn. Vocabulary instruction supports that goal; it doesn’t compete with it. 

At the beginning of a lesson, I typically introduce one to three words as a hook or gateway into the learning ahead. As we explore those words, students know to consider a bigger question: How do these words connect to the content we’re learning today?

Students make predictions about those connections, then revisit them at the end of the lesson to confirm or revise their thinking. Inferencing is an important skill in any field, but especially in reading and language learning (Blachowicz et al., 2006), and it’s a core skill students practice as part of my vocabulary instruction.

Words I preteach: These words are central to understanding the upcoming text or concept. They might come directly from the text, or they might be words that help students encapsulate the main idea or topic they’ll be learning about.

Of course, this is only a small part of vocabulary instruction. Much of the learning happens in context, and the words we address—and the time and strategies we use—depend on students’ needs.

That requires preparation, but it also requires flexibility. When previewing instructional materials, I try to put myself in my students’ shoes and anticipate which words or concepts might cause difficulty. I prepare possible ways to address those challenges, then adjust as I see what students actually know.

When we encounter an unfamiliar word, I ask students what they already know. If they understand it, we move on. If they don’t, I’m ready to help.

Words we discover in context: These include words that students find interesting and words I notice they are struggling to understand. As we encounter them, I teach them about the word and draw attention to previously taught words and roots that are relevant, helping students connect new learning to what they already know. Along with inferencing, building students’ morphological awareness and teaching students to think about words across contexts are two other central aspects of my vocabulary instruction. There is a significant correlation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension (Liu et al., 2024). Likewise, helping students create connections between words and contexts promotes the ability to think flexibility about words in order to generalize vocabulary and apply word knowledge in new contexts (Norman et al., 2023).

At first, letting go of rigid vocabulary routines made me anxious. I worried that students would study fewer words and miss opportunities for deeper word study. But I’ve found that when vocabulary instruction is grounded in content learning and responds to students’ needs, my students largely retain vocabulary learning and apply practiced vocabulary strategies independently. 

My students don’t complain about vocabulary anymore. More often than not, they’re excited to share connections between words with common roots and words they’ve encountered in other classes.

For my students and me, vocabulary has become a tool for understanding content rather than a disruption to it.

Keeping Vocabulary Visible & In-Use

We’ve all heard about the importance of repeated encounters with words. Research explores how often students need to encounter a word, the kinds of encounters that support learning, and the intervals at which those encounters should occur (Uchihara et al., 2019; Nakata & Elgort, 2021). We also know that understanding a word isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. A student might recognize a word without being able to define it, understand a word’s meaning without knowing how to use it appropriately, or recognize a familiar word in one context without understanding its meaning in another (Monster et al., 2021).

These are important considerations, but I found myself making vocabulary instruction unnecessarily complicated as I tried to plan and manufacture every encounter with every word. I felt as though I was failing my students whenever I couldn’t keep up.

When I refocused on content learning and meeting students where they were, I realized that many of these encounters began to happen naturally. I just needed to recognize and take advantage of them.

By selecting fewer, more purposeful words and letting student needs guide the rest of our word study, I’ve made vocabulary instruction more manageable. Words reappear naturally throughout lessons and across units. I make a point of highlighting them in texts, using them in my own speech, and encouraging students to use them in theirs. Keeping previously taught words visible in the classroom also reminds us to notice and revisit them. 

Opportunities to retrieve words, elaborate on their meanings, and connect them to new contexts can help strengthen word knowledge (Rice & Tokowicz, 2020). This more flexible approach has helped me create these opportunities for students without having to engineer every interaction. It has also made word study more enjoyable and encouraged students to become curious about language.

Rather than treating vocabulary as a separate task to complete, we make it part of how we learn, talk, read, and think.

Classroom Example: An Expedition for Meaning

This week, my students read a short text of about 600 words titled Lewis and Clark Go West. The lesson had three goals:

  1. Use knowledge of social studies values and goals to analyze the genre and structure of a social science text.
  2. Practice identifying main idea.
  3. Build background knowledge about a topic students are studying in their history course.

Here’s how vocabulary instruction fits into that lesson.

Vocabulary Pre-Teach: Expedition

I chose expedition because it appears several times in the text, captures an important idea, and offers opportunities to explore word parts, morphology, and how knowledge of roots can help us learn unfamiliar words.

I began by writing the word on the whiteboard. Students copied it into their vocabulary notes using a graphic organizer I had provided.

Then I asked them to look closely at the word. Could they identify any familiar words or word parts?

They identified ex- and -ion, and we discussed their meanings and explored other words containing those elements. I then introduced ped-/pod-, a root associated with the foot, and students considered how that connection might help us think about the meaning of expedition. We discussed how word parts can provide clues to meaning without always giving us the complete definition. 

Next, I shared the definition of expedition and gave examples of the word in use. The students then wrote their own example sentences using the newly learned word.

Before moving on, I gave them the opportunity to practice using their new understanding of the vocabulary word and its roots by exploring the word expedite. Students identified familiar word parts and used them to make an initial inference about the word’s meaning. After I shared the definition—to speed up a process—they compared the definition with their predictions and discussed the connection.

With our word study complete, we turned to the bigger question: How might expedition connect to our learning objective or today’s text?

Our learning objective was: “We will analyze the genre and structure of a social science text so that I can make inferences about the purpose of the text and identify the main idea.”

Some students suggested that we were going on an expedition to learn more about social studies or to discover how to identify a main idea. Others noticed the title of the text and used their background knowledge of Lewis and Clark to infer that the word referred to their journey.

Students had made an initial prediction, and they now had a reason to pay attention to how the word connected to the content.

This has become a familiar routine in my classroom, so students know what to expect. The entire activity took about 10 minutes.

Vocabulary In-Context: Responding to Student Needs

Before the lesson, I anticipated that students might struggle with the words intrepid, keelboat, adequate, and impede in the text.

For intrepid, adequate, and impede, I considered how students might break down the words, which familiar word parts might help them, what context clues were available, and where they might encounter the words again. I was especially excited that impede offered an opportunity to revisit a word part we’d discussed during our study of expedition.

Because keelboat was a specialized term that wasn’t central to the lesson’s learning goals, I planned to explain it briefly in context and point out the clues in the text that helped establish its meaning.

 I was correct in my assumption that students would struggle with those words, and I taught them as planned. However, when we encountered adequate, and I paused to ask students what it meant, students demonstrated that they already understood the word, so we moved on. 

This is an important part of responsive instruction: I can prepare to teach a word without assuming that I need to teach it. The goal isn’t to teach every word students might encounter. It’s to identify the words that might interfere with learning and determine what support students actually need.

As we moved through the text, other words and phrases needed attention, including confirmation, catalogued, and blind-devotion.

Several students seemed unsure about confirmation, so rather than immediately giving them the definition, I used a few questions to help them draw on what they already knew.

Me: “What other word does this look like?” 

Students: “Confirm.” “Firm.” “Does it use com-?”

Me: “Yes!” “What does con-, com-, col-, cor-, co– mean?”

Students: “Together!”

Me: “Yes! What does it mean if something is described as firm?”

Students: “To be hard.” “To be strong.” “Like, solid.”

Me: “Right. So, remind me, what does it mean when you confirm something to be true?”

Students: “You give evidence to make something more legit.”

Me: “Exactly. And confirmation is a noun representing that act.”

Students: “So confirmation means proving something is real?”

Me: “You got it! It’s the act of proving that an idea or statement is true. One last question, why does the author write that this was a ‘voyage of confirmation’?”

Students: (looking at the text) “Um, because they had to see if what other people said before was true.”

Me: “So they had to…what?”

Students: “Confirm it.”

This conversation took less than a minute, but it gave students an opportunity to connect familiar language to a new word and use the text to deepen their understanding. Rather than supplying the definition immediately, I used questions to help students activate prior knowledge, examine meaningful word parts, and test their developing understanding against the context. My questioning also helped scaffold understanding of the word, which helped prevent students from giving an inaccurate definition of the word that could create misunderstanding of the word among their peers.

If students hadn’t already learned about the con-/com- word family, I could have simply explained the meaning and asked them for a few examples of other words containing that word part. The point isn’t to force a particular strategy into every interaction; it’s to use what students know to help them make meaning.

We approached catalogued differently. Students already knew catalogue as a noun, such as a list of products in a shopping catalogue. I quickly pointed out that the word was being used as a verb in this text, meaning to record or organize information in a document.

Then we encountered blind-devotion. Students understood both words individually but were curious about what the phrase meant in context. I let them discuss their interpretations and build on one another’s ideas. I was ready to step in if they needed clarification, but they didn’t. Their examples demonstrated a strong understanding of the phrase.

The additional vocabulary conversations took no more than four minutes. Some words needed explicit explanation, some called for a quick reminder, and others provided opportunities for students to reason through meaning together. 

Wrapping Up: Connecting Words to Learning 

After we finished the lesson, students returned to their vocabulary notes. They added a second sentence, using expedition to describe something they had learned from the text and our lesson that day.

Then they shared with a partner whether they had confirmed or revised their initial prediction about how the word connected to the lesson.

This final activity took about two minutes.

Altogether, we spent approximately 15–20 minutes on vocabulary during the lesson. But those weren’t 15–20 minutes taken away from content learning. They were minutes spent deepening students’ understanding of the content, strengthening their knowledge of language, and practicing strategies they can use when they encounter unfamiliar words in the future.

That’s the difference I want vocabulary instruction to make.

Key Takeaways for Educators

  1. Keep content and students at the center. 

Choose words because they help students understand what they’re learning, not simply because they appear on a vocabulary list. Consider what students already know before deciding what they need to be taught. 

  1. Stay flexible and responsive

Prepare for the words students might struggle with, but be willing to adjust. Some words deserve explicit instruction; others need only a quick explanation, and some don’t need instruction at all. 

  1. Keep vocabulary instruction simple and purposeful.

You don’t need an elaborate activity for every word or a rigid plan for every encounter. A well-chosen word and a few thoughtful questions can go a long way. 

  1. Make words part of everyday learning.

Revisit previously taught words, point out connections, and use new vocabulary in your own speech. Encourage students to notice words, ask questions, and experiment with language themselves. 

Reflection Questions for Readers

  1. How could I embed vocabulary instruction more naturally into my content-area teaching?
  2. What opportunities could I create for students to interact with, revisit, and make connections between the words they encounter in class?

References

Blachowicz, C. L. Z., Fisher, P. J. L., Ogle, D., & Watts-Taffe, S. (2006). Vocabulary: Questions from the classroom. Reading Research Quarterly, 41(4), 524-539. 

Brabham, E., Buskist, C., Henderson, S. C., Paleogos, T., & Baugh, N. (2012). Flooding vocabulary gaps to accelerate word learning. The Reading Teacher, 65(8), 523-533. 

Monster, I., Tellings, A., Burk, W. J., Keuning, J., Segers, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2021). Assessing children’s incremental word knowledge in the upper primary grades. Language Testing, 38(4), 532–553. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532220961541 

Nagy, W., & Townsend, D. (2012). Words as tools: Learning academic vocabulary as language acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(1), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1002/RRQ.011 

Nakata, T., & Elgort, I. (2021). Effects of spacing on contextual vocabulary learning: Spacing facilitates the acquisition of explicit, but not tacit, vocabulary knowledge. Second Language Research, 37(2), 263–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658320927764 

Norman, R., Hulme, R. C., Sarantopoulos, C., Chandran, V., Shen, H., Rodd, J. M., Joseph, H., & Taylor, J. S. H. (2023). Contextual diversity during word learning through reading benefits generalisation of learned meanings to new contexts. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76(7), 1658–1671. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218221126976 

Rice, C. A., & Tokowicz, N. (2020). A review of laboratory studies of adult second language vocabulary training. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(2), 439–470. 

Uchihara, T., Webb, S., & Yanagisawa, A. (2019). The effects of repetition on incidental vocabulary learning: A meta‐analysis of correlational studies. Language Learning, 69(3), 559–599. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12343 

Camriel Kostreva is a literacy specialist at Lander Valley High School, a rural Wyoming school bordering the Wind River Reservation. A National Board Certified Teacher, she holds a B.A. in English education and an M.A. in curriculum and instruction with a literacy emphasis. After six years teaching 7–12 ELA, she has spent the past eight years as an interventionist and literary specialist. Kostreva became a 2023 Wyoming Teacher of the Year state finalist for building a reading intervention program that helps secondary students close persistent reading gaps and that builds their academic success and self confidence. She co-leads her school’s disciplinary literacy professional development cohorts, participates in literacy-focused committees for Wyoming education, and presents nationally on rural literacy improvement. Publications highlighting her work include “Disciplinary Literacy Professional Learning at Mountain Lake High” (Kostreva & Brock, 2024),“Disciplinary Literacy Professional Learning in a Rural High School” (Kostreva & Nelson, 2026), and “Big Piney High School:  United Around Common Literacy Instructional Goals and Practices” (Makelky et al., 2026).

From “I Can’t” to “Here’s What I’ve Tried”: Disciplinary Literacy Practices That Support Productive Struggle

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Dr. Terrie Rathburn and Rhett Nettles present From “I Can’t” to “Here’s What I’ve Tried”: Disciplinary Literacy Practices That Support Productive Struggle

Participants explore strategies for making student thinking visible, using errors in learning opportunities, and providing scaffolds to encourage revision.

BECOME A MEMBER!   General Membership Application  The first year is free. 

Empowering Black Youth Through Competitive Business Learning

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Throughout human history, competition has served as an essential catalyst for growth and development. It is widely recognized for enhancing cognitive functions, promoting reasoning and analytical skills, by engaging individuals in situations that challenge their adaptability and problem-solving abilities. Within the African-American community, traditional competitive experiences have often been rooted in athletic pursuits. While sports indeed offer significant cognitive benefits, such as fostering strategic and creative thinking, it is worthwhile considering additional avenues that may be equally or more effective in advancing cognitive development. One such approach, which I have utilized extensively to shape high school students, is the business case competition.

To provide context, business case competitions are collaborative, team-based events where students devise and present solutions to genuine business challenges before experienced professionals. Participants conduct thorough research and develop practical recommendations within a dynamic group environment. In relation to cognitive development, these competitions address three key areas:

  • Abstract Thinking: The capacity to generate ideas beyond conventional data and perspectives.
  • Metacognition: An awareness of one’s own thought processes achieved through reflection.
  • Problem Solving: The ability to navigate challenges by designing actionable solutions.

Abstract Thinking

Business case competitions confront students with multifaceted problems that demand abstract thought. Participants must interpret extensive information concerning a company, its industry, and external factors. This complexity encourages creative, out-of-the-box thinking and requires a broad perspective to craft innovative solutions. The business sector frequently relies on original concepts that transcend established modes of thought, motivating students to deliver such insight.

Metacognition

Cultivating the ability to reflect on one’s thinking processes is vital for navigating life’s intricacies. Recognizing and adapting personal cognitive strengths and weaknesses promotes resilience in the face of evolving circumstances. Case competitions require methodical analysis to formulate effective solutions. Students not only justify their approaches but also communicate them to seasoned professionals, receiving constructive critiques that refine their thinking and support ongoing intellectual growth.

Problem Solving

Participation in business case competitions markedly strengthens students’ problem-solving skills. Confronted with intricate, real-world business dilemmas, students are required to systematically analyze a wealth of information, discerning critical issues and underlying causes. This process involves evaluating multiple variables and perspectives to construct well-reasoned, actionable solutions. By engaging in this rigorous exercise, students develop a disciplined approach to addressing multifaceted problems, preparing them to navigate challenges both in academic settings and future professional environments.

Beyond cognitive development, this project allows students to demonstrate disciplinary understanding in ways that mirror the authentic practices of the business field. In tackling real organizational challenges, students must interpret data, assess market dynamics, evaluate operational constraints, and craft strategic recommendations — the same analytical processes used by professionals. Their learning becomes visible through the creation of deliverables that reflect industry standards, such as executive summaries, financial models, strategic frameworks, and persuasive presentations. By engaging directly with the tools, language, and decision-making structures of the discipline, students move beyond theoretical knowledge and instead enact business thinking in context. This authentic performance reveals a deep, applied understanding that traditional classroom tasks rarely capture.

Business case competitions serve as powerful platforms for fostering essential cognitive skills among students. By engaging in these challenging events, students enhance their abilities in abstract thinking, metacognition, and problem-solving skills that are crucial for academic achievement and future career success.  The dynamic and collaborative nature of these competitions not only sharpens students’ intellectual capacities but also prepares them to face complex, real-world challenges with confidence and creativity.  Empowerment that remains with students for life.  Is that not the point of education… 

Practical Approach for a Classroom (Small Scale):

This project allows students to show what they know by doing the actual work of the discipline. Instead of completing worksheets or answering isolated questions, students take on real business challenges that require them to analyze information, evaluate options, and develop solutions. They must think like business professionals—considering audience, feasibility, and impact—while using academic language and evidence to support their decisions.

Their understanding becomes visible through what they produce and present. Students create proposals, explain their reasoning, and defend their ideas in front of others, often receiving feedback like what professionals’ experience. This process pushes them to refine both their thinking and communication. As a result, students are not just learning about business concepts, they are actively applying them in authentic, meaningful ways.

For teachers looking to begin embedding a business logic mindset in their students, the following quick lesson provides an accessible starting point.

Objective

Students will analyze a real-world business scenario and develop a recommendation supported by evidence.

Learning Targets (Post for students)

  • I can identify a problem in a business scenario.
  • I can use evidence to support a practical solution.
  • I can explain my thinking using academic language.

Materials

  • Business scenario (teacher-created, local business, or article excerpt from sources such as Harvard Business Review)
  • Chart paper or Google Slides
  • Sentence frames (provided below)

1. Warm-Up (5–7 minutes) — Hook

Prompt:
 A local business is losing customers. What could be the problem? What should they do?

Students:

  • Think → Pair → Share

2. Mini-Lesson (10 minutes) — Model Thinking

Teacher introduces a short business case (ex: café losing customers).

Model aloud:

  • Identify the problem
  • Use evidence
  • Propose a solution

Model Sentence:

“The business is struggling because ___. One piece of evidence is ___. Therefore, they should ___.”

3. Guided Practice (15–20 minutes) — Team Challenge

Students work in small groups:

Task:

  • Identify the problem
  • Analyze 2–3 pieces of information
  • Create a solution

Provide Sentence Frames:

  • “The main problem is ___ because ___.”
  • “One piece of evidence is ___.”
  • “This suggests ___.”
  • “Our recommendation is ___ because ___.”

✔ Encourage:

  • Partner talk before writing
  • Shared responsibility in groups

4. Presentations (10–15 minutes) — Authentic Performance

Each group presents:

  • Problem
  • Evidence
  • Solution

Audience listens and responds:

  • “I agree with ___ because ___.”
  • “I would add ___.”

5. Quick Assessment / Exit Ticket (5 minutes)

Students respond individually:

“What was your group’s solution, and what evidence supports it?”

Elliot Neal serves as Director of the Leaders of Tomorrow Program for the National Black MBA Association Charlotte Chapter, bringing over four years of experience in leadership development and youth engagement. In this capacity, he directs a high school leadership development initiative designed to prepare students for academic, professional, and personal advancement. He also has multiple years of experience designing, developing, and leading teams of high school students for participation in national business case competitions. His work reflects a sustained commitment to mentorship and community impact, with a focus on cultivating students’ analytical skills, professional confidence, and long-term leadership capacity.

Social Justice as Discipline Reconstruction

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Unit co-designed by Katelyn Zarr and Jessica McCullough

On a color-coded anchor chart are the ways historians read, write, and think: they interpret primary and secondary sources, identify bias, compare and contrast accounts, and ultimately synthesize information from multiple sources to create accurate narratives and timelines (Lent, 2017). While a concise (and visually appealing) resource, these practices cannot be taken exactly as they are, especially in K-12 schools. Underpinning these practices is the fact that the sources, accounts, and information to be interpreted are often one-sided, missing or entirely misrepresenting perspectives. What is required of educators [and students], then, is that the disciplines themselves are approached as pathways to social change, by which their texts, practices, and ways of knowing are continually questioned and reconstructed.

In our fifth-grade Causes of the American Revolution History Unit, this took the form of seeking out the perspectives of Black Americans, which were limited within district-provided textbooks and readily accessible primary and secondary sources in online databases. The very process of hunting for inclusive texts opened up a conversation between me and my fifth-graders: Why are only some perspectives prioritized, and, in turn, how can we amplify the voices of Black Americans when studying United States’ history? The snapshots below not only capture our search for multiple perspectives but also our reflections on the importance of doing so.

Questioning disciplinary texts can lead to the construction of inclusive and accurate pictures of history. When examining the Boston Massacre as one ‘cause’ of the American Revolution, for example, I noticed that our district textbook centers Paul Revere’s engraving, “The Bloody Massacre,” where British soldiers are depicted armed, against a row of white colonists, some wounded, some reaching to help one another, and some fleeing the square. While a biased depiction of the event itself, as many colonists, too, threw rock-filled snowballs at the soldiers, a key participant, Black American Crispus Attucks, is missing from the scene. I searched for alternate depictions of the event, pairing Paul Revere’s engraving with John H. Bufford’s, “Boston Massacre, March 5th, 1770,” which places Crispus Attucks front and center (Museum of the American Revolution, 2021). After joining the illustrations in a text set, my role in questioning texts, fifth-graders then compared and contrasted the accounts through a socratic seminar – drawing upon both to establish colonist and soldier involvement, infer deeper meanings, such as Attucks’ actions as a symbol of protection and independence, and contextualize the 13 Colonies as rooted in racism, a system perpetuated even in the media. By questioning which texts were included, and later, their contents, students were able to compare and contrast accounts to make sense of an event in its entirety and its connections to society at large.

Questioning disciplinary texts can amplify the joy and brilliance of Black Americans throughout history. Students’ inclusion and discussion of Attucks as a champion of independence and positive, social change left us eager to extend this work into writing. Using teacher, student, and librarian collected texts on Black Americans from the Revolutionary Era, including Crispus Attucks, Salem Poor, and Phillis Wheatley, students crafted biographies of their chosen ‘Revolutionary Hero.’ Only, when constructing the narratives or timelines of their hero’s role in the Revolution, students asserted the importance of learning from them today: Wheatley’s poems a means of social justice that can be continued today, Attucks an example of what it means to be a patriot, and Poor a symbol of unwavering bravery. By seeking out multiple accounts of history, students reconstructed the discipline by creating texts that amplified the perspectives and contributions of Black Americans that should have been included all along.

This Causes of the American Revolution Unit simply puts into action the pursuits of Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s Historically Responsive Literacy Framework, where she asserts criticality, or examining and disrupting power structures, as a non-negotiable of teaching and learning (2023). Not only does criticality build empathy, connection, and perspective, but it allows us to understand the world [and the disciplines] entirely – to seek and sustain social justice. Beautifully, this often looks like pushing the disciplines themselves. As my fifth-graders engaged in reflective discussion on their reading and writing in consideration of multiple perspectives, they shared things like, “Why isn’t it [history] always done this way? Otherwise, we wouldn’t know the full story!” Their comments demonstrate the power of criticality as well as the brilliance and readiness of students to change the disciplines in the pursuit of racial justice.

References

Muhammad, G. (2023). Unearthing joy: a guide to culturally and historically responsive teaching and learning. Scholastic Inc.

Lent, R. (2017). Disciplinary literacy: a shift that makes sense. ASCD Express, 12(12).

Museum of the American Revolution. (2021, March 5). Boston massacre and propaganda: changing depictions of Crispus Attucks. https://www.amrevmuseum.org/boston-massacre-and-propaganda-changing-depictions-of-crispus-attucks. 

Jessica McCullough is a fifth-grade teacher in Southeastern PA. She is certified in grades 4-8, all subjects 4-6 and English Language Arts and Reading 7-8. She is currently a literacy M.Ed. student at West Chester University of PA with research interests in critical and disciplinary literacy.

Joy and Pain: Incorporating Black Joy in K-12 Classrooms

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by Dr. Kristen Duncan

Happy Black History Month! This year marks the 100th anniversary of what began as Negro History Week, which evolved in to Black History Month. Founded by Carter G. Woodson, these Black celebrations are intended to help us celebrate the achievements of Black Americans as well as help us understand the ways Black Americans have contributed to the progress of the nation.

Black History Month has an amazing purpose—a purpose that is often not fulfilled in K-12 classrooms in any month. Michael Dumas has argued that schools are a site of suffering for Black students, and I contend that social studies classrooms often serve as sites of suffering for Black students. In traditional social studies curriculum, the only times Black people are present are slavery, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow/Civil Rights Movement. What do these historical eras have in common? Dehumanization. Black people were seen as less than human during slavery, had their rights stripped as Reconstruction ended, and suffered through the oppression and dehumanization of the Jim Crow Era. Even in the Civil Rights Movement, as Black people fought for their rights, they were subsequently dehumanized by various arms of the government, including being assaulted with firehoses and dogs and losing their jobs for joining the NAACP amongst other things.

When students only see Black people appear in curriculum while being dehumanized, they come to associate Blackness with dehumanization. For Black students, there is the possibility that they internalize this association, but it is important to note that non-Black students may also begin to associate Blackness with dehumanization after seeing this reflected in social studies curricula year after year.

This is why Black joy is a necessity. Black joy is a form of resistance, as finding joy in the midst of oppression and dehumanization is, as Bettina Love has noted, the ultimate form of resistance. Black people have been able to find and create joy amidst some of the worst circumstances the U.S. has ever created, and it is that joy that has sustained Black people through oppression and dehumanization. Although Black joy has been present as long as Black people have been on North America soil, it remains largely absent from K-12 classrooms.

Teaching about and with Black joy requires an understanding of context and nuance. If we are to teach students about Black joy, we must position it as an act of resistance. We don’t want students to think that historical Black actors did not understand the pain of the oppression they endured. They absolutely understood their circumstances and sought joy despite their despair—that is what we need our students to see.

How do we go about this? We begin this work by incorporating Black joy in the curriculum in any place where there is Black pain. Enslaved people found ways to steal away and create joy away from the oppressive gaze of their enslavers. Black people in the Jim Crow South found numerous ways to experience joy in their segregated communities. And even when fighting for freedom, Black people found ways to create some joy for themselves, away from the arms of the state that sought to harm them for believing themselves equal to white people. Including Black joy in the curricular locations where Black pain is centered is a critical starting point.

 We need students to understand that Black people are more than vessels of pain. Incorporating Black joy in classrooms helps students, both Black and non-Black understand the full range of Black humanity.

Kristen E. Duncan, Ph.D. is as an Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at Clemson University. Her research focuses on the ways teachers discuss matters of race and racism with their students, as well as the ways race is presented in texts, in media, and at historic sites. A former middle school social studies teacher and instructional coach, Dr. Duncan’s research has been published in various journals and edited volumes. Her edited volume, Civic Engagement in Communities of Color: Pedagogy for Learning and Life in a More Expansive Democracy was released by Teachers College Press in 2023.

‘Risky Texts’: Addressing the issue of race and historical marginalisation in the classroom

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By Sarah Ryan-Purcell

“I teach in an all-white classroom and so I don’t have any of your books in my classroom”

(Brooklyn Academy of Music Organisation, 2017).

As I listened to author Jacqueline Woodson share this quote from an unnamed educator during an interview on “difficult” subjects in young people’s literature, I felt exposed. I taught in an all-white classroom in Ireland last year. I don’t recall placing or using a single book by a Black author in my classroom. At the time, I might have reasoned – subconsciously – that such texts are more relevant in the American context. Suffice to say, I’ve come a long way. 

            My reading list is not the only thing that has changed since I commenced my Masters in Literacy Education at West Chester University, Pennsylvania. I have developed a whole new perspective on how knowledge is constructed, whose voices are represented, and what it means to prepare our students to participate in a diverse, yet unequal, world.

            I discovered Woodson’s picture books in the first semester of my Master’s program as Dr. Daris McInnis challenged us to select a ‘risky text’ which we could use as a read-aloud opportunity to engage in critical literacy with our students. I chose Mason’s (2010) These Hands, an intergenerational book in which a young boy named Joseph learns how his grandfather united with fellow Black labourers to protest racism in the workplace. Thanks to their actions, Joseph’s hands – and other hands the same colour as his – can do “anything in this whole wide world”! The choice felt risky, particularly for me. Since arriving to America, I have felt discomfort when discussing race with BIPOC students. I imagine that the students might be thinking, “Who does she think she is, teaching us about something she knows nothing about?”. However, over the past few months, I have learned to embrace this vulnerability. By allowing the students to see me learning alongside them, I shift the classroom dynamic. Authority becomes shared and knowledge becomes co-constructed. Enter: critical literacy.

            I started the read-aloud with a guided discussion of the front cover, using visual thinking strategies (VTS, 2021). One child excitedly exclaimed, “my skin!” as she pointed to the boy on the front cover of the book. Another student remarked that the boy’s skin colour would probably be a significant aspect of the storyline because “it always is”.

That comment lingered with me.

            Why is race “always” central when Black characters appear? Why are there so few books where Black children are simply present—neither celebrated nor victimized, but existing as fully realized protagonists? The answer, no doubt, lies in power. Perhaps an increase in publications of such books would mitigate the sense of ‘otherness’ that is still apparent in today’s society.      I was particularly uncomfortable discussing the contents of the fifth page, as I wondered aloud why the grandfather had not been allowed to mix the dough in the Wonder Bread factory. The students, though young, were keenly aware that this was a restriction placed on Black people by their white employers. At this point, we began to discuss instances of power in the story. Most of the students participating in this read-aloud were Black, and I felt a sense of guilt on the part of white people for the injustice represented in the story. The students readily noted that white people wouldn’t eat bread baked by a Black person, even if the Black workers were allowed to bake it. I felt almost as though I was further oppressing them as I prompted them to consider why white people wouldn’t eat bread baked by a Black person. They concluded that white people believed Black people ‘had germs’ and would ‘make them sick’. The students were not only offering their opinions. They were engaging in interdisciplinary meaning-making, drawing connections between history, social studies, and personal knowledge. Upon reflection, I realize the impact of that discussion in helping these students to own their history and learn about the oppression of their relatives in the not-so-distant past. However, in the moment, I felt as though I was unearthing generational trauma.  

            Our read-aloud session was an embodiment of critical literacy as the students interrogated historical social practices and analyzed dynamics of power in society (Lewison et al., 2008). However, one important aspect was absent from our discussion: taking initial actions to promote social justice. Consequently, my next step is to consider how I might develop this standalone read-aloud lesson into a critical literacy unit plan on racism and workplace discrimination. Racism is not simply a topic to be covered, but rather anti-racism and inclusion are values to be instilled across the curriculum, values which the students can uphold beyond their formal education. In reflecting upon this read-aloud, I am prompted to identify ways through which I could support my students to “disrupt the commonplace” and promote social justice in small but meaningful ways (Lewison et al., 2008, p.9). This is a question I do not yet have an answer to, but I shall pursue the answer across my career. 

            In conclusion, engagement with this risky text read-aloud challenged me to step out of my comfort zone as a teacher. By leaning into discomfort and allowing students’ voices to guide our discussion, I witnessed the power of risky texts to illuminate social injustices, leading students to connect historical oppression with contemporary realities. This experience has demonstrated that teaching about race and inequality is not simply a “nice to have” in the curriculum but is rather a moral necessity. As a result, I am committed to creating spaces where all students, particularly those from marginalized communities, feel valued and empowered to challenge the status quo. 

            I have come to understand that what is not in the classroom library can often tell you more about the classroom environment than what is available for reading. Furthermore, when educators embed dimensions of critical literacy into their classroom practice, they not only nurture critical thinkers but rather empower both themselves and their students to be agents of change. 

References

Brooklyn Academy of Music Organisation (2017, June 21). Jacqueline Woodson on “difficult” subjects in young people’s literature. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcRwYLHcyzc

Lewison, M., Leland, C., & Harste, J. C. (2008). Creating critical classrooms: K-8 reading and writing with an edge. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Mason, M. (2010) These hands. Haughton Mifflin Harcourt.

Visual Thinking Strategies (2021) VTS, available: https://vtshome.org [accessed 03 May 2021].

Sarah Ryan-Purcell is a passionate primary school teacher from Cork, Ireland. Having obtained a B. Ed. in Education and Psychology at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Sarah is now pursuing a M. Ed. in Literacy Education at West Chester University, Pennsylvania where she is also working as a graduate assistant in the College of Education and Social Work. A proponent of discovery-based learning, Sarah loves to explore new countries, languages, and cultures, increasingly allowing these experiences to guide her classroom practice.

Doing History, Not Memorizing It: Using Historical Thinking to Reclaim Black Narratives

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by Dr. Shari Revels-Davis

Growing up, history class always felt like a timeline of dates, names, and events to memorize. Textbooks presented historical accounts as settled truth—rarely revealing that history is constructed through sources, perspectives, and power.

When Black history is taught this way, students often receive a simplified version of complex struggles and resistance movements, stripped of grassroots voices and community leadership. History books also record only the story of the oppressor, not that of the oppressed. For example, Ron DeSantis, the current governor of Florida, stated in his defense of the presentation of slavery in the history books, as well as annexing the AP Black History high school courses and eliminating other courses that are considered “DEI” by the white population.

DeSantis defended Florida’s 2023 Black history standards, which included a requirement to teach that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit”. He argued that this clause, which suggests some enslaved people used their skills to their advantage, was intended to highlight the “resiliency” of Black Americans and was written by scholars.

Instead of taking the oppressor’s word on how historical events occurred, disciplinary literacy shifts history instruction from memorization to investigation.

By engaging in the authentic practices of historians, students learn to question narratives, analyze evidence, and uncover stories that have long been marginalized or erased.

The Discipline Lens: How Historians Build Knowledge

Historians do not simply read for information. They:

  • Source documents to understand who created them and why
  • Corroborate multiple perspectives
  • Contextualize events within social and political systems
  • Examine bias and purpose

These skills are essential for understanding Black history purposefully and honestly.

The Problem with Textbook Narratives

Traditional historical texts often:

  • Emphasize major political leaders over community organizers
  • Minimize systemic racism in favor of “progress narratives.”
  • Frame resistance as isolated moments rather than sustained movements

For example, the Civil Rights Movement is often portrayed as a few peaceful protests led by famous figures, while ignoring decades of organizing, youth activism, and local leadership.

So what does this look like in practice? Instead of replacing the textbook, we can place it in conversation with other voices. A primary source counterstory investigation allows students to analyze whose perspectives are centered—and whose are absent.

Classroom Strategy: Primary Source Counterstory Investigation

Step 1: Provide a textbook account of a historical event (e.g., voting rights, desegregation, Reconstruction)

Step 2: Pair it with primary sources such as:

  • Black newspapers
  • speeches
  • letters
  • oral histories
  • photographs

Step 3: Students analyze using inquiry prompts:

  • Who created this source?
  • What perspective is represented?
  • What details are emphasized or omitted?
  • How does power shape this narrative?

Step 4: Students construct a revised historical account that includes multiple voices.

Student Impact

Teachers I work with report that inquiry-based history instruction leads to:

  • Deeper comprehension of historical causation
  • Increased engagement
  • Stronger argument writing
  • Greater awareness of systemic injustice

Students move from passive consumers of information to critical interpreters of the past.

Concluding Thoughts

History is not neutral. It is shaped by the voices we amplify and the ones we overlook. When we present historical struggles like the Civil Rights Movement as a handful of peaceful protests led by a few famous figures, we unintentionally flatten decades of organizing, youth activism, and local leadership into a simplified storyline. Our students deserve more than a highlight reel.

As educators, we have the opportunity—and responsibility—to complicate the narrative. By inviting students to examine primary sources, question dominant accounts, and seek out counterstories, we teach them that history is not something to read and forget but something to investigate and explore. We help them see that change is collective, contested, and ongoing.

Doing history in this way builds more than content knowledge. It builds critical thinkers who understand that whose story is told matters—and that they, too, are part of the historical record in the making.

Shari Revels-Davis is a dedicated and experienced educator passionate about multilingual learning and educational equity. As a veteran teacher, she has made significant contributions to the field of education, particularly in supporting multilingual learners (MLL). In addition to her work as an MLL teacher for the Chester County School District, she is the founder of the Hiram Revels East Educational Foundation, which focuses on advancing educational opportunities for diverse student populations.

Shari is currently waiting to be conferred her doctoral dissertation from Jackson State University after earning two master’s degrees. In addition, she is working to fulfill her goal of opening her own boarding school for underprivileged students in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Fostering visual literacy skills with wordless picture books

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By Dr. Elke Schneider

What is visual literacy?

Visual literacy (VL) is a well-defined discipline that requires critical, aesthetic, and socio-emotional interpretation skills based on individual comprehension of visual images. These are all essential for being a successful literate citizen that can handle the massive visual flood of information related to image-rich digital media. For one, VL skills include the ability to identify and interpret messages explicitly or implicitly given through still images (photos, posters, drawings, paintings, sculptures) or moving images (videos, films, TV shows, performances). Critical, aesthetic interpretation of how visual features such as colors, visual perspectives, or specific art media (i.e., watercolors, collages, sketches, charcoal drawing) impact a reader/viewer emotionally is a crucial VL skills component. The expressive side of VL skills refers to the ability to create visual images that present information in either still images (drawings, sketches, graphic organizers/charts, photos) or moving images such as short video clips. According to research, both receptive and expressive VL skills are best taught explicitly.

Why do we need to explicitly focus on developing visual literacy skills?

In this day and age, the non-stop availability of visual imagery via digital devices presents students’ brains with the task to quickly, accurately and critically interpret massive amounts of visual imagery surrounded by no, minimal, or much printed texts. Therefore, it is paramount to assist students in learning to carefully filter through so much visual information so they do not fall prey to manipulation and misinterpretation of implicit or explicit messages embedded in visual materials. Moreover, research has shown that educators require more explicit training in strengthening students’ visual literacy skills. For middle and high school students, VL skills are essential in every subject area and thus are included in middle and high school ELA standards.

What are wordless picture books?

Wordless picture books (WLPBs) are books that present information solely through visual images. Some images may include wording as part of an image such as a poster with a message. Only book flaps and covers include traditional printed text such as book title, author name, publication information, and a summary about the book. Examples of WLPBs appropriate for middle and high school students are shared in Table 1. They include selective ideas for disciplinary integration in ELA, social studies, science/geography.  

Table 1: Examples of WLPBs for VL practice

Book referenceContent descriptionIdeas for use in content areas

Tan, S. (2007). The arrival. Arthur A. Levine Books.   
ISBN: 978-0439895293  
Virtual version: short https://youtu.be/vAay4myoEDE?si=KVj4wH2VR9mxl6pT    		Through detailed imagery in red charcoal drawings, readers learn about the emotional and physical hardships of one immigrant’s journey who in the end reunites with his family. Over 60 detailed images of immigrants of all ages in the end pages allow for varied, adolescent-appropriate critical aesthetic, social-emotional reflections.Social studies: migration history of the United States; relating images to historic events (i.e., WWI, II imprisoner treatments)

ELA: sequence of events for one or several characters, identifying emotions orally and in writing, cause-and effect, impact of different visual perspectives and aesthetics on the interpretation of visual information

Geography: identifying criteria for, cause and effects of ports of migration, drawing cause-effect graphics for geographic locations

Science: Using facial expressions of characters of various generations to discuss aging processes and causes; 

Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. Clarion Books.  
ISBN: 978-0618194575
Virtual version: https://youtu.be/3MTKWnxzqvM    		In intricately detailed, often fantasy-driven water-color images, readers follow a teen who discovers an old camera at the beach that reveals lives of those who owned it in the past.Social Studies: Identifying details of photographs for historic fact interpretations

ELA: Usingimage details, practice describing details of sequence of events, items and characters with reasoning, or cause-effect, meaning discoveries of factual and fantasy elements.

Geography: Researching where the camera was prior to getting to the teen with reasoning based on photographs in the camera.

Science: Researching flotsam items from the story and others that can be studied scientifically; discussing the impact of water, salt/nature on certain materials over time.

Wiesner, D. (2011). Tuesday. Clarion Books.  
ISBN: 978-0395870822
Virtual version: https://youtu.be/JtQ4DdzCZMA?si=aI2OrD-T2nE9wulJ  		On a Tuesday night, frogs fly on lily pads to town to visit the town causing confusion before returning to their pond. The next week, pigs seem to be doing the same. This fantasy is illustrated in colorful, realistic watercolor technique displaying expressive, detailed animal and human faces.Social studies: Impact of the unusual on communities; cultural symbolism of frogs/pigs




ELA: Discussing fantasy elements and their explicit or implicit message through colors, perspectives and actions in visuals; personality studies of characters; symbolism

Science: Discussing the importance of gravity; researching what dreams are and how imagery gets created in the brain; life cycles of frogs

Banyai, I. (1998). Zoom. Puffin Books           
ISBN: 978-0140557749
Virtual version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgi-RCEjOLw    		Via detailed, colorful images, readers are taken in surprising image sequences from a farm to a city, a ship, and an island providing ample practiceELA: Making predictions with supporting details and reasons; making hypotheses based on retracing evidence

Science: Discussing how hypotheses are made, on what revising hypotheses is based, and how hypotheses are tested based on detailed images

Geography: Discussing where on earth the different sites could be and how they could relate using details provided in the images

Social studies: Discussing differences, similarities and historic events that influence community lives; discussion of time period based on details in imagery

Banyai, I. (1998). Re-Zoom. Puffin Books       
ISBN: 978-0140556940		Readers are taken on a twisted image journey from an Egyptian pyramid to a jungle and a beach by zooming out of color-and-detail rich images that invite predictions turning page by page.ELA: Making predictions with supporting details and reasons; making hypotheses based on retracing evidence

Geography: Discussing where on earth the different sites could be and how they could relate using details provided in the images

Science: Experiencing how hypotheses are created and tested based on interpreting images; comparing jungle habitats to desert habitats in Egypt; discussing how perception is impacted by angles of selections if imagery;

Social Studies: Engaging in Egyptian culture studies based on detailed images and beyond

Why are wordless picture books useful in middle or high school?

Public misconceptions about WLPBs include that they are only appropriate for young children and not challenging enough to working for adolescent students. Moreover, explicit VL skills do not need to be taught explicitly. These misconceptions contradict research findings that highlight how interpreting WLPBs contain an intricate amount of explicit and implicit information that requires developed VL skills to comprehend. Furthermore, it entices middle and high school students to apply varied sophistication in oral and written engagement with these WLPBs. Research also points out many benefits for middle and high school students:

  • VL practice with WLPBs allows for in-depth engagement with essential middle and high school English Language Arts (ELA) Standards through VL practices such as retelling/summarizing image information, inferencing, predicting and revising prediction, compare-contrast, cause and effect interpretation of visual imagery.
  • These VL practices with WLPBs prepare students for applying acquired critical VL skills in other content areas such as social studies, geography, or science where a mix of visual and written information need to be processed and analyzed (see Table 1 for examples).
  • WLPBs offer learning standards-based critical literacy skills through VL practices regardless of reading, writing, and speaking abilities, content or socio-cultural or background. Thus, with WLPBs everyone has equal access to practicing their development of visual literacy skills, including multilingual learners.
  •  It is easier to activate intrinsic curiosity to engage with the visual information because everyone has an equal chance to engage uniquely with the content with a variety of acceptable interpretations rather than only one right answer.
  • ELA skills practices with WLPBs can be easily scaffolded. For students with more basic skills, only a select number of images could be used, simpler sentence frames for oral or written responses can be provided. More advanced students can benefit from and be challenged with more complex sentence structures to use, and more complex and detailed prompting questions. For ideas to prompt questions that strengthen VL skills with WLPBs, see Tables 2.  For sentence frames to be used when verbalizing interpretations of WLPB images, see Table 3.
  • WLPBs allow for easy assessment of students’ critical, aesthetic and social-emotional comprehension and interpretation skills without being hindered by low writing skills. Oral performance rubrics can contain criteria such as ability to (1) summarize sequence of events, (2) make and revise predictions, (3) formulate questions, (4) describe emotional impact of images, (5) draw inferences, (6) connect story parts to personal experiences/ other real-life events, (7) use detailed descriptors to relate social-emotional story components and express empathy.

Ways to foster active use of visual literacy skills using WLPBs

For each of the VL skills areas, namely aesthetic skills, affective skills, critical thinking, and text comprehension, the following tables provide a) ideas for questions to activate students’ in-depth engagement with a WLPB (Table 2), and b) sentence frames with simpler and more complex structures for students to use to share their interpretations including dialog structures to discuss similarities and differences in story interpretations (Table 3). The sentence and dialog structures can be available to students on flip charts, table tents or flash cards to use during discussion time with each other or in response to teacher questions.

Table 2: Questions to activate critical engagement with visual imagery

VL Skill areaAsk students …
Aesthetic skillshow the author created a certain mood (i.e. suspense, fear, worry, excitement, joy) with colors, perspectives, item or character details and how that impacts the reader/viewer.

to identify how the author created the images in a page or in the whole book

why they like or not like certain images

what question/s they would like to ask the illustrator? Why?
Affective skills (compassion, emotions, relation to self, world, others)how they experience characters, events and
why they feel like that

how they or others they care about were in the situation of certain characters in certain situations and why.

how they would change the story for a different or the same main message.

to relate to a character, story event, emotion presented based on a personal experience or what they have watched on TV/in movies before.

to create questions about a story step, character.
Critical thinkingto give reasons for opinions/interpretations and prompt for direct connection to details in the WLPBs.

to compare and contrast their interpretations with those of peers. Prompt them to get reasons that relate back to details in the imagery and their personal experiences.

to predict, or revise a previous idea

to make connections to other readings or learning experiences in other disciplines in school, or outside of school or world events

what they sense (smell, hear, taste, feel) when they look at certain pages and why that might occur

to share what the story means them personally and why. 

Table 3: Sample sentence frames for discussions that foster VL

VL Skills areaSentence frames for students
Aesthetic skillsSimpler structures:
The color/s make me feel…/ wonder if… /realize that…

I like the image on page…. because…

I feel I look at the page from (above, below). This makes me feel…

More complex structures:
I think the author used …. (water colors, thick paint, chalk, different paper) to make the reader think that…/feel as if….

The top down/bottom up/eye-to-eye level perspective causes an impression of…./makes the viewer experience…..

The color/s of… evoke the feeling of… because…
Affective skills (compassion, emotions, relation to self, world, others)Simpler structures:
The detail from image reminds me of … (something in my world, another character in a story/historic event, current event)

I feel for…. because….

If I were in this situation, I would….

More complex structures:
The expression of…/event on this page causes me to think about …

This story makes me want to …. help… by…..ing….

I can relate to… because I saw/read about… that…/I experienced something similar when….
Critical thinkingSimpler structures:
I wonder/would like to know why… /if…

I like/don’t like what…. did/happened because….

I predict/conclude that…  because

More complex structures:
Seeing…(detail from image), I wonder if/why/when…

Looking at (detail from image), I predict/infer/conclude that…

I agree/disagree with how … (character action) because….
Story comprehensionSimpler structures:
This page/story is about…./tells me that….

First, …. (action in story) and then…… (next action), then (next action). Lastly, (last action, resolution).…

More complex structures:
The main message of the story is….
I conclude this because…….catches my attention because….

Looking at… (detail from image), I get the impression that….

I think this story wants me to realize that….
T he story begins with….Then, …..Afterwards, … because…, the story continues with…, …
Finally, … (more variety of transitions and sentences)
    Dialog structuresExpressing Agreement
I agree with you because I felt/thought….

I also wondered about…/asked myself why….

I also interpreted…. to mean…

Expressing Difference
Interesting. I see this totally differently. I understood (evidence from story)…. to mean.…. because…

I understood/reacted to ….  differently. For me, …… because….

As opposed to your interpretation/prediction/inference/reaction,
I …predicted/inferred/ thought/felt…. because…

I hear you- but I see … (character/problem/…) differently.
For me, … because….

Comparing- contrasting
When I compare your interpretation to mine,

I see we overlap in…. But we see… differently.

While you think…, I think…… Why do you…?
How come?

Even though I agree with you on…. , I interpreted…. differently because… For example, …

Compared to what you said about…., I concluded….

Asking for clarification
What exactly do you mean when you say….?

Let me see if I understand you correctly. You are saying that…..

Am I understanding this correctly? You mean to say…..

Summarizing a peer’s comment
So, in sum, you think…. because….

So, from your perspective, … because….

So, your group interpreted… Therefore, you….

Referring to a section in the book (to provide evidence)
I infer/predict/ conclude that… I say that because on page x….

On page x/, do you see how the illustrator….? That makes me think/conclude/predict/infer that….  That gives me the feeling that…

On the right/left top/bottom/in the middle of page…/, I noticed that…

The…. on page x in the middle caught my attention because… This makes me think/predict/conclude/infer that….
For over 20 years, Dr. Elke Schneider has been a professor of literacy, special education, and multilingual learner education at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina.