RPI Day 7 Reflection "Thinking"

Today’s PLD made me think about the types of questions I ask my students when we are reading. I realised that I sometimes focus too much on questions where students just find the answer in the text. Today's learning reminded me that I also need to give students opportunities to think more deeply, share their opinions, and explain their thinking. One thing that stood out to me was the idea of reading "between the lines" and "beyond the lines." I want my students to think about what the author is trying to say, not just what is written on the page. This means giving them opportunities to make predictions, make connections, and think about different points of view. I also liked learning about the three ways to build higher order thinking into reading lessons. Modelling my own thinking, planning meaningful follow-up activities, and giving students time to have discussions all help students think more deeply about a text. The Zoo Debate activity showed me that good discussions need to be planned and that students need regular chances to practise sharing and building on each other's ideas. Another thing I will think more about is using Bloom's Taxonomy when I plan. It reminded me to include tasks that go beyond remembering facts and encourage students to explain, create, and justify their ideas. I also liked the idea of using provocations to start discussions. I think this will help students who are unsure how to join a conversation and give them a starting point for sharing their ideas. Overall, today reminded me that reading is about more than understanding the words on the page. It is also about thinking, questioning, and talking about ideas with others. What I will take back to my classroom Ask more open-ended questions that make students think more deeply. Give students more time to talk in small groups and share their ideas. Use provocations to start meaningful class discussions. Plan follow-up activities that ask students to explain, create, and justify their thinking. Model my own thinking more often so students can see how good readers make sense of a text. Use Bloom's Taxonomy when planning to make sure I'm giving students different ways to think about a text. I think these small changes will help my students become more confident readers who are willing to share their ideas, think more deeply, and support their thinking with reasons.