Habits of Mind

1. Reflect and Connect

Keep track of what you know and what you don't know. Make connections between what's new to you and what you knew before. Develop your skills as a Summarizer and a Connector.

• In your own words, summarize what you understand about the
  
  • setting, characters, plot and theme.
  • author's bias, main argument and supporting evidence.
    
• Speculate about the parts you don't understand or the things that are confusing you.
• Text-to-Self: Tell a story from your own life that this reading reminds you of.
  
• Text-to-World: Tell a story about something that is happening in the world that relates to what you're reading.
  
• Text-to-Text: Describe the similarities and differences between what you've been reading and another book or article.
  
• Text-to-Media: Describe a song, T.V. show, movie, web site or other media that this reading reminds you of.
  

2. Wonder

Ask questions before, during, and after reading that lead you deeper into the text. Point to what's important by quoting the passages that matter most, and explaining why these are worth remembering. Build on your ability to be an engaging Discussion Director and Illuminator.

• Write your questions down as soon as you have them, and select from them later.
  

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3. Investigate

Draw conclusions about the text you are reading by making inferences or intelligent guesses based on clues from the text combined with your own experiences or prior knowledge. Work on skills you need to be a better Problem Solver.

• Write something like this: "The author doesn’t say __________ , but I know __________ because _______ .”
• This is what people mean when they say that you have to "read between the lines." To show your understanding of this text:
  
  • Explain what you think is true.
  • Quote specific parts from the text that support your hypothesis.
    
  • Say why this makes sense based on your past experiences.
    

4. Construct

Create and use images and other media (both in your mind and actually) to deepen and stretch your understanding of a text.  Develop your skills as an Illustrator.

• Draw, record audio, or make video, make graphs, charts, and write about what you read.
  • Draw a scene as a cartoon-like sequence, or record a dramatic reading of an important scene so readers can better understand the action.
  • Draw maps or charts to show how one person, place, or event relates to the others.
  • Label your drawings so we know who the characters are.
• Use writing to explain how your drawing, video, or audio relates to the text you're reading.
  

5. Express

Combine your thoughts about texts with your knowledge of other texts or media. Develop your skills as a Researcher.

• "Fold in" your analysis of the text you are reading into an ongoing research or inquiry project, the way a chef might add a new ingredient to an already-beaten mixture.
• Integrate quotations from the text you are reading--and your analysis of those quotations--by revising something that you have already begun to compose.
• Create a mashup that brings together the text you are reading with other, multiple sources around a common theme.