Say/Mean Chart
Students create a simple t chart: on the left the students write what the passage literally says and on the right they write what it means/what can be inferred. (Figure 5.3)
Multi-Layered Time Lines
First students create a timeline of what happened. Then they write what questions arise from each occurrence. Then they write predictions and/or cite passages to support their predictions. (Figure 5.6)
Other variations include having the base timeline of what happened with a second layer explaining why it happened (the what/why timeline) or having a character timeline describing what the character did, why they did, and how they felt about it.
Literary Dominoes
Students plot out the series of events in a literary work in a domino fashion- they consider what actions led to other actions which eventually led to the outcome, creating a sort of chain of events, which may or may not be linear. (Figure 5.8)
Flip Side Chart
Students are asked to create a t chart where they are consider the flip side of what they have read. For instance, someone has bought an expensive luxury car. The flip side is that they will now have to pay higher insurance rates.
Positive-Negative Chart
Students are asked to track positives and negatives in a novel or play. There are several variations on this. They might track the positive and negative actions of a particular character. Or they might track the positive and negative influences on a a character. Or they might track the highs and lows of the story (the travails and victories, etc.). This is done in graphical fashion, where the y-axis is a subjective positive-negative scale, and the x-axis is the timeline. (Figure 5.9)
Responsibility Pie Chart
After reading, students are asked to consider which parties/characters are responsible for the outcome. They then make a pie chart dividing up responsibility and assigning percentages of the overall responsibility to the various parties involved. (Figure 5.10)