Journey to Topaz: Directed Reading Thinking Activity

Have you used the directed reading thinking activity in your classroom? Doubling as either a prereading strategy, or a during reading strategy, it helps readers connect the historical background of the text to the text itself. As the teacher begins reading the text aloud, he or she pauses to encourage predictions and comments. Some example questions are given, but don't assume that you'll be able to accurately assess all students this way.