Getting a Jump Start
By Doug Buehl,
Madison East High School teacher
Member, Wisconsin State Reading Association
April 1998
Textbooks can sometimes skew information
“Position the factory applied nailing fin/drip cap upright for installation.
Ensure drip cap lip hangs over the head jamb extrusion.”
The do-it-yourself nightmare! You are poised to undertake a project,
and the enthusiasm you have kindled begins to fizzle as you are confronted
with the inevitable set of incomprehensible directions and obscure illustrations.
Who writes this stuff anyway?
Who indeed? Imagine for a moment the “author” who wrote the
above guidelines for installing a window. Who does this writer think will
be reading these instructions? What does the writer think this reader
will already know? What expectations does the writer apparently have about
the reader’s contribution to making sense of this document? What
could the writer have done to make this writing more accessible? Is it
any wonder that after a bout of increasingly irritated muttering, many
people toss the directions aside and try to “wing it” through
their project?
The Strategy
Students also deal with textbook frustrations by throwing in the towel
after their struggles. Some read their assignments only in a cursory way,
trying to piece together answers to questions by skimming for details.
Others bypass the book entirely, depending on the teacher and class interactions
for their information. And some just give up, assuming that they are incapable
of learning the material.
Questioning the Author (Beck, et al., 1997) is a strategy that can help
students cope with challenging text materials. The strategy conditions
students to think about what the “author” is saying, not what
the “textbook states.”
Students tend to view textbooks as anonymous authorities, repositories
of unassailable truth. It does not occur to most students that textbooks
are written by actual people, who may not have been entirely successful
in communicating their ideas. Instead, students conclude that “history
is boring” or “science is hard.”
Step 1: Introduce the topic of authorship of text materials to
students. Start by having them “personalize” the authors by
identifying them by name and locating any biographical information that
provides insight into who they are. What perspective do they bring to
the book: that of university professors, experts in the field, or classroom
educators?
Next select a passage from the textbook and have the students examine
it. What isn’t clear or easy to understand? What do the authors expect
students to know? What could the authors add or change to make it a better
written passage for students? Emphasize the fallibility of the author
— authors have opinions and make decisions about what to put in their
writing. And although authors are very knowledgeable about the material,
sometimes they may have trouble expressing their ideas in ways that students
can understand.
Step 2: Next, preview a section of the textbook that will be assigned
for reading. Decide what is most important for students to understand.
In addition, identify any segments that may present difficulties for students.
Choose spots in the text where you will stop students and initiate discussion
to clarify key points. Initiate a Question the Author (QtA) activity in
which the teacher leads discussion during reading, at predetermined breaks
in the text.
For example, the following earth science passage is deceptively difficult:
“Earthquakes can occur for many reasons. The ground can shake from
the eruption of a volcano, the collapse of a cavern, or even from the
impact of a meteor. However, the major cause of earthquakes is the stress
that builds up between two lithospheric plates.”
This passage assumes that students are aware of giant underground caverns,
although why they should collapse and how often they do so is not explained.
It also assumes that students know about meteors and that they sometimes
collide with the earth, which is implied in the paragraph. The frequency
with which this occurs is also not discussed. Finally, previous student
learning about volcanoes and lithospheric plates is tapped.
This is an excellent spot to pause the reading and clarify this information
with students.
Step 3: Discussion is focused on Author Queries: questions are
not asked specifically about the information, but of the author’s
intentions: What is the author trying to say here? What is the author’s
message? Did the author explain this clearly? How does this connect with
what the author has told us before? Why do you think the author tells
us this now?
The teacher’s role during QtA discussions is to model how a person
tries to make sense from sometimes confusing or inadequate text. As the
discussion about what the author is trying to communicate unfolds, the
teacher is active in affirming key points offered by students, sometimes
paraphrasing them, and turning student attention into the text for clarification
of specific issues. At times, gaps in the text may need to be augmented
by the teacher providing additional information.
Step 4: QtA discussions can be used to introduce selections that
students will continue to read independently, perhaps as homework. They
are especially helpful when students may need some assistance coping with
difficult but important segments of a chapter. QtA discussions are also
valuable as a comprehension-building strategy for struggling readers.
Advantages
The Questioning the Author strategy makes the previously overlooked actions
of the author more visible to students as they attempt to learn from textbooks.
In addition:
- Students are less likely to be personally frustrated by difficult
text as they realize that part of the responsibility for a passage making
sense is the author’s.
- Students become deeply engaged with reading, as issues and problems
are addressed while they learn, rather than afterward.
- QtA lessons may be developed in all content areas and can be tailored
for young students as well as adolescent learners.
Further Resources:
Beck, I., McKeown, M., Hamilton, R., & Kucan, L. (1997) Questioning
The Author: An Approach For Enhancing Student Engagement With Text. International
Reading Association, Newark, DE.
Posted April 3, 1998