Building Proficient Readers, Writers, and Thinkers
Develop and Refine Reading Skills with Paired Texts
Readers. Writers. Thinkers. —-> Three critical educational goals we have for every student. With no time to waste, the beginning of the school year is a perfect opportunity to develop and refine these skills.
READERS
Proficient readers build their capacity through exposure to authentic texts. Make time every day for students to experience multiple encounters with authentic texts as a way to encourage active and engaged reading.
Try this helpful Scholastic article about authentic texts.
WRITERS
Proficient writers effectively communicate their ideas through written texts. Instead of simply assigning written work, teach or review the basic elements of good writing (which stay constant through all the grades) then, encourage increasingly sophisticated depth in writing performance throughout the school year.
THINKERS
Proficient thinkers move beyond personal opinions toward their own critical analysis of ideas. During class discussions, prompt students to evaluate and reflect on synthesized evidence to provide justification for their views.
We know there are many effective teaching strategies for writing can move your students in the right direction to becoming more proficient readers, writers, and thinkers.
Let us introduce you to one strategy that has a powerful impact in our classrooms!
THE PAIRED TEXT STRATEGY
The paired text strategy builds all three educational goals for students. The basic overview is:
- students read two or more passages of text on the same topic (READERS)
- students synthesize and discuss ideas that stem from what they have read (THINKERS)
- students respond in writing to a given prompt using evidence from the text to support their thinking (WRITERS & THINKERS)
You can learn much more about this process by visiting our blog post: Paired Texts in the Classroom
Build proficiency in your students starting at the beginning of the year!
These paired text topics are a perfect way to try out this strategy as your students are returning to school, or really, anytime throughout the year! Each set has everything you need to build proficiency in your students’ reading, writing, and thinking skills.
They can be implemented in print or digitally! Grab these Back-to-School Paired Text for your classroom!
More Articles to Improve Students Writing
- Back to School with Paired Text
- Cell Phones – Paired Texts to Improve Students Writing
- Digital vs. Board Games – Paired Text to Improve Students Writing
- Encourage Quality Writing From Students using Relevant Topics
- Paired Text in the Classroom
