ENGAGE: 
Charting the Text 

•  Exemplar of a completed chart, to be projected for all students to see 

• Anchor charts to explain the strategies or techniques for the focus

1. SHOW TEXT:  Show a text to the class with the paragraphs (or lines in poetry) numbered. 

2. LABEL PARAGRAPHS:  Label the paragraphs according to what the author is saying (the meaning of the text) and doing (what literary devices the author is using in the text). 

3. THINK-PAIR-SHARE:  Ask students to Think–Pair–Share about each paragraph or line. 

4. DISCUSS DIFFERENCES:  Discuss differences in interpretation with the whole group. 

5. REVIEW RESOURCE:  Review Teacher Resource: Charting the Text Worksheet. 

   1. 1. • Consider posting a text excerpt or passage that students will write down in the “Text or Passage” column. 

6. CHART A NEW TEXT TOGETHER:  Ask students to work in partners to chart a new text together. 

   1. 1. • Have students write in the “What is the author saying…” column what the content is and the meaning of the text or passage. 

         • Have students write in the “What is the author doing…” column what the author’s purpose in writing this section of text. 

7. COMBINE WITH WRITING IN MARGINS:  Combine this strategy with writing in the margins and close reading. 

8. ELEMENTS OF CHARING THE TEXT:  Elements of charting the text include the following: 

   1. 1. • Identifying text features 

         • Identifying author’s purpose (persuade, inform, entertain, narrate, describe, etc.) 

         • Becoming familiar with writing techniques (claims/evidence, compare/contrast, sequence of events) 

         • Learning to recognize clues about specific genre (fantasy, fable, myth, legend, fairy tale, historical fiction, etc.)

To adapt this lesson for primary classes:

• Select a text with short paragraphs or start with a poem. 

• Model during read-aloud time. 

• Ask students to talk about where certain events or characters are introduced in the text and have them practice using a pointer with a big book, poster, chart of the text, or projected text. 

• Move from this act of pointing to having students use the number of the paragraph or line to talk about text evidence.

To increase rigor:

• Ask students to identify specific rhetorical choices and strategic moves made by the author throughout a text. 

• Ask students to find parts of the text that seem to work together to make a point or argument. Have students draw lines between sections and label each one with one of the categories: making a claim, supporting a claim, rebutting, providing a counterclaim, describing background or context, and illustrating with personal anecdote.