Three-Level Reading Guides
By Doug Buehl
39 ingredients?
Thumbing through your weekly Newsweek magazine, your gaze is arrested
by a luscious golden image of one of America’s guilty pleasures,
the ubiquitous snack cake with the creamy gooey center, pop culture
you can pop into your mouth, the Twinkie.
Comfort food, convenience food, "fun" food—the Twinkie
has long been a familiar mainstay in lunch boxes and a beckoning option
in vending machines. Okay, it is probably not all that nutritional,
but it is rather yummy, you concede.
But did the author really say it takes 39 ingredients to make a Twinkie?
As a reader, you first want to make sure you got the author’s
message straight. The author mentions that in your kitchen you can bake
a cake with as few as six ingredients, but a Twinkie is quite another
matter—the Twinkie recipe calls for 39 ingredients. And here’s
what the author says some of them are: polysorbate 60, lechithin, diacetyl,
and sodium stearoyl lactylate.
Does the author say what these ingredients actually are? Well, diacetyl
is a chemical with the flavor of butter. So why not use actual butter?
The author says that butter will go rancid if the product sits too long
before being consumed. Hence, the substitution.
As you read along, you continue to take stock of what the author says.
But you realize that this article is more than a mere compendium of
the chemical properties of a popular food item. You are also sensitive
to what the author is perhaps hinting at, but not necessarily directly
stating. For example, this business of contacting the manufacturers
and getting no cooperation about the composition of Twinkies: is the
author implying that the makers of this product do not really want folks
to know what goes into making this item? Does the author seem to be
implying that Twinkies are really built for shelf-life and not for nutrition?
And when the author notes that many of the 39 ingredients have common
industrial applications in substances such as paint, postage stamp glue,
and weedkiller, is the author implying processed foods may be less “food”
than we think?
“Food” for thought, certainly. As you complete your reading,
you ruminate on a host of issues that have surfaced to you about this
topic. How difficult should it be to actually determine the specific
items used to create a food item? Should we refrain from eating products
that seem to be more “chemical concoctions” than foods?
Do manufacturers have a duty to emphasis nutrition over other factors
when they sell us products designed to be “food”?
As proficient readers, we seamlessly shift our thinking about a text
into deeper and more sophisticated levels. Of course, we want to be
clear that we understood exactly what the author said—a literal
comprehension of the text. In addition, however, we know that much of
what authors tell us is implicit, authors expect us to figure out some
things—an inferential comprehension of the text. And finally,
authors leave it to us to draw conclusions about the message, to consider
implications and develop our “take” on the topic—an
application of our comprehension of a text.
The Strategy
The Three-Level Reading Guide is a strategy that prompts students to
engage in all three levels of thinking when they interact with written
texts. Wilhelm (2007) typifies these three levels as “on the lines,”
“between the lines,” and “beyond the lines.”
Step 1: Preview a selection that students will read to identify
the particulars that should be highlighted in a three-level guide.
First, focus on clarifying what the author is saying. Locate five or
six text statements that are central to understanding the author’s
message. Rephrase these statements so that some represent what the author
is saying, and some misrepresent what the author is saying. Use somewhat
different language in your guide than the words chosen by the author,
so that students must carefully evaluate each statement in terms of
whether “the author said it.” (See the “On The Lines”
examples in the guide constructed for the Mmmm, Tasty Chemicals article.
Step 2: Next, consider possible inferences that might be drawn
from a reading of the text. In this case, students will be asked to
locate clues in the text that signal something the author might be implying
but does not directly state. Again, emphasize inferences that are central
to the author’s message. Some of these inferred statements should
be consistent with author clues, some should be inconsistent or perhaps
unfounded, and perhaps one could be ambiguous, arguable either way,
given what the author has provided. (See the “Between The Lines”
examples in the three-level guide below.)
Step 3: Finally, consider the article as a conversation-starter.
What larger issues are provoked by a reading of this text? What are
you thinking now that you have read this text? What might be some conclusions
or implications of the author’s message? Decide upon two or three
ideas that will prompt students to apply their thinking in a more global
way. These statements will be open-ended, in the sense that the author
does not resolve them in the text, and different perspectives might
lead to a range of varying interpretations and positions. These applied
statements should be worthy of debate and discussion, and should flow
naturally from the initial treatment of the topic by the author. (See
the “Beyond The Lines” examples below.)
Step 4: Construct the three-level guide to be completed by students
in three stages. One classroom method involves students doing an initial
read of the text and responding individually to the “On the Line”
statements. As they double-check the author’s message, they annotate
the text by placing the number of each statement next to the spot in
the selection that verifies that the author did (or did not) “say
it.”
The second stage might be best undertaken with students working with
a partner to ferret out implicit meanings. Again, students are asked
to annotate the text, this time by placing the statement number next
to spots where they detect clues from the author that would confirm
(or disconfirm) the statement.
The third stage emphasizes “what does all this mean” and
is an excellent activity for cooperative group deliberations. Combine
partners into groups of four, and ask them to seek a consensus on the
“Beyond the Lines” statements. You may wish to ask a group
recorder to list “arguments for” and “arguments against”
for each statement, as a prelude for a whole class discussion of these
ideas. Students should include references to statements made by the
author as well as make connections to relevant background experiences
and knowledge as they construct and defend their arguments.
Advantages
Three-level reading guides provide a useful structure for engaging
students into a progressively deeper and more sophisticated reading
of a text.
- Students clarify the literal message of an author to insure that
they understood what the author is telling them;
- Students become increasingly sensitive to implied meanings and receive
practice in making and justifying inferences;
- Students are asked to synthesize their understandings by considering
“if this, then...” thinking, which requires drawing conclusions
and applying their learning to larger ideas and themes.
Further Resources:
Underwood, A. (2007). Mmmm, Tasty Chemicals. Newsweek. Vol.
CXLIX, No. 10 (March 5), p. 50.
Wilhelm, J. (2007). Engaging Readers & Writers with Inquiry.
New York: Scholastic.
Doug Buehl, teacher, Madison East High School
Wisconsin State Reading Association.
dbuehl@madison.k12.wi.us
Reading Room archives
Posted April 10, 2007