Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program

1. Jacob’s LadderReading Comprehension Program A guide to help your students achieve deeper comprehension in order to align with the Common Core State Standards. By: Ashley Devlin and Keri Farrish

2. Objective: Teachers will be able to use the ladder rungs of Jacob's Ladder to foster high level thinking with a variety of texts.

3. Introduction to Jacob’s Ladder • Students engage in the inquiry process that moves from lower order to higher order thinking skills. • Organized into four ladders, each focusing on a different skill • Students answer lower level questions on the lower rungs of each ladder and move to higher level questions at the top of each rung.

4. Ladder AGoals and Objectives A1: Sequencing Students will be able to list, in order of importance or occurrence in the text, specific events or plot summaries. A2: Cause and Effect Students will be able to identify and predict relationships between character behavior and story events, and their effects upon other characters or events. A3: Consequences and Implications Students will be able to predict character actions, story outcomes, and make real world forecasts.

5. Ladder BGoals and Objectives B1: Details Students will be able to list specific details or recall facts related to the text or generate a list of ideas about a specific topic or character. B2: Classifications Students will be able categorize different aspects of the text or identify and sort categories from a list of topics or details. B3: Generalizations Students will be able to make general statements about a readings and/or an idea within the reading, using data to support their statements.

6. Ladder CGoals and Objectives C1: Literary Elements Students will be able to identify and explain specific story elements such as character, setting, or poetic device. C2: Inference Students will be able to use textual clues to read between the lines and make judgments about specific textual events, ideas, or character analysis. C3: Theme/Concept Students will be able to identify a major idea or theme common throughout the text.

7. Ladder DGoals and Objectives D1: Paraphrasing Students will be able to restate the lines read using their own words. D2: Summarizing Students will be able to provide a synopsis of text sections. D3: Creative Synthesis Students will create something new using what they have learned from the reading and the synopses.

8. Summarizing the Ladder Goals Ladder A: predicting and forecasting skills by encouraging students to make connections among information provided. Ladder B: develop deductive reasoning skills, moving from concrete elements in a story to abstract ideas. Ladder C: developing literary analysis skills based on an understanding of literary elements. Ladder D: develop skills in creative synthesis in order to foster students’ creation of new material based on information from the reading. Process Skills: promote learning through interaction of reading materials in the classroom.

9. After completing the Ladders, students should be able to….. Articulate their understanding of a reading passage using textual support Engage in proper dialogue about the meaning of the selection Discuss varied ideas about intention of a passage both orally and in writing

10. Common Core State Standards Key Ideas and Details CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. Craft and Structure CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.9 Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.10 Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

11. Reading Genres and Selections Three Major Genres Included in the Program: Poetry Short Stories Nonfiction Criteria for Choosing Genres: Concrete and Abstract Development Level of Vocabulary (new and unfamiliar words are encountered) Age- Appropriate Themes

12. Things to Consider when Implementing Jacob’s Ladder: The targeted audience for the program is promising students who need more exposure to higher level thinking skills, but the program can be suitable for learners that are functioning above or below grade level. Complete task ladders with entire class at least once in order to model expectations before assigning to small group or for independent work. Completing activities in a small group allows for more discussion, greater engagement, and higher level thinking. Utilize ladder questions and activities into both reading centers and/or reading groups during guided reading.

13. The Jacob’s Ladder Process Teacher should lead and program to increase student mastery Encourage multiple student responses Foster dialogue about various perspectives and interpretations of the text Justify students’ answers with textual support and concrete examples

14. Follow- Up Questions to Help Guide Student Discussion • That’s interesting; does anyone have a different idea? • What in the story makes you think that? • What do you think the author means by….? • What do you think are the consequences and implications to…? • Did anyone view that differently? How? • Does anyone have a different point of view? Justify your answer. • In the story I noticed that……Do you think that might have significance in the overall meaning? • I heard someone say that he though the poem (story) was about….What do you think? Justify your answer from the events of the story. • Do you notice any key words that might be significant? Why? • Do you know any words that give you a mental picture? Do those words have significance? What might they symbolize? • I agree with …..because • I have a different idea than…..because

15. Jacob’s Ladder and Grading • Teachers Discretion • Do not overemphasize lower rungs in graded activities • Lower rungs are a vehicle to the higher level questions found in the top rungs • Top rungs many be used as a journal prompt or as part of a grade for an open-ended writing response • Grading could take place by the teachers that are trained on the appropriate ways to discuss literature

16. Sample Concluding Activities • Write an opinion essay to justify what you think the story is about. • Create a symbol to show the meaning of the story. Write two sentences to justify your answer. • In one word or phrase, what is the story mostly about? Justify your answer using examples from the story. • Write a letter from the author’s point of view, explaining what the meaning of the story is to young children. • Pretend you are an illustrator. Create a drawing for the story or poem that shows the main idea or theme. Write a sentence that describes your illustration and theme.

17. Time Allotment Varies by student 15 minutes needed to read the selection 15- 20 minutes to complete one ladder individually More time is required for paired discussion and whole group discussion Set aside 2 days a week if possible to focus on the ladders In the book, there is a passage followed by 2 different ladders which could be easily incorporated into those 2 days

18. How can you apply Jacob’s Ladder to other texts? Sample questions have been provided in one of the handouts to help you formulate your own questions that would work with a Treasures story, novel, or even a leveled reader

19. Creating Your Own Jacob's Ladder Activity The Jacob’s Ladder Questioning Technique can be applied to any text. In this activity you will do the following: Group together by grade level Choose a text from your grade-level Choose the best ladder rung to complete with the text Create a question for the students to answer for each ladder rung