This year, our Literature students have been introduced to, and engaged in, studying the Signposts, helpful strategies we use to dig deeper into what we are reading. The students have been introduced to the six different Signposts, been given opportunities to practice identifying them in whole class reading experiences, and they have been encouraged to find examples of them in their independent reading.
Our goal is to have our students STOP, NOTICE, and NOTE when they encounter these in books. Here is a "cheat sheet" for you for each of the Signposts. You will notice that there are three parts to each Signpost: The first part is what you notice in the story, the second part is the essential question you must ask yourself and answer, and the third part is how noticing and answering the questions help you as a reader. All three parts are equally important!
Contrasts and Contradictions (CC)
... a character says or does something that's opposite (contradicts) what he/she has been saying or doing all along.
Stop
and
think to
yourself: "Why is the character doing that?"
The answers could help you make a prediction or make an inference about the plot and conflict.
Aha Moment (AHA)
... a character suddenly realizes, understands, or finally figures something out.
Stop
and think to
yourself: "How might this change things?"
If the character figured out a problem, you probably just learned about the conflict. If the character understood a life lesson, you probably just learned the theme.
Tough Questions (TQ)
... the character asks him or herself a really difficult question.
Ask
yourself: "What does this question make me wonder about?"
The answers will tell you about the conflict and might give you ideas about what will happen later in the story.
Words of the Wiser (WOW)
... a character (who's probably older and a lot wiser) takes the main character aside and gives serious advice.
Stop
and
think to
yourself: "What's the life lesson, and how might it affect the character?"
Whatever the lesson is, you've probably found a theme for the story.
Again and Again (AA)
... you notice a word, phrase, object, or situation mentioned over and over.
Stop
and think to
yourself: "Why does this keep showing up again and again?
The answers will tell you about the theme and conflict, or they might foreshadow what will happen later.
Memory Moment (MM)
... the author interrupts the action to tell you a memory.
Stop
and think to
yourself: "Why might this memory be important?"
The answers will tell you about the theme, conflict, or might foreshadow what will happen later in the story.
We also teach that the Signpost examples can be found in movies and television shows so we hope that as you watch with your child you will begin to have conversations around the Signposts then too!
Please feel free to ask your child to explain the Signposts to you! Try to find examples in your own personal reading, and lastly, make the Signposts part of the conversations you are having about reading, television shows and movies!
Please let us know if you have any questions!
The Literature Department
Below, Lorenzo works on using short video clips to work on identifying Contrast and Contradictions, and student's in Mr. Orr's Literature classes use text mapping and the Signposts to dig deeper into the short story "Banner in the Sky."