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"To read stuff you have to know stuff." -- Kelly Gallagher, creator of Article of the Week
"To read stuff you have to know stuff." -- Kelly Gallagher, creator of Article of the Week
Over my (current) five years of teaching, I've tried to implement an Article of the Week rotation countless times. Each time, it felt as though there was a disconnect from the purpose of the practice and the implementation of rote worksheets.
As I watched kids fill out worksheets each week, I noticed that their focus seemed to lie on "completing the task of the worksheet" rather than digging into the text to truly build schemas of knowledge.
While perusing Instagram, I came across countless posts championing Article of the Week as an effective tool in their middle and high school English classrooms. I thought to myself, "if I were to implement this again, what is the purpose?" That's when I stumbled upon Kelly Gallagher's words in this blog post from Heinemann publishing.
This post is an excerpt of Gallaghers' book To Read Stuff You Have to Know Stuff. Simply put, the purpose of the book and Article of the Week is that in order to become better interpreters of media around us (as well as fiction novels taught in course curricula), you have to know things.
It's that simple!
As Gallagher states, "if you read and write responses to the AoWs, you will build a knowledge base that will make you a better reader and a better thinker for the rest of your lives" (par. 1). That comment alone turned on the lightbulb for me to reimplement this in my class, but with a purpose.
As an advocate of secondary literacy, I will quite literally do anything that supports students' literacy skills, especially in a overly-media-rich society.
So, what's new with my Article of the Week system?
So, what's new with my Article of the Week system?
Rather than having kids read articles on computers or completing response tasks on a worksheet, I'm following Gallagher's simple 4-step framework, while printing a physical article from Newsela each week for students to annotate and mark up.
Now - I won't completely be ditching a worksheet, because I still need a tangible guide to provide to students that simplifies their steps.
They will each be given the following handout:
Step 1: Read the Article
Step 1: Read the Article
Simple enough.
Step 2: Mark Your Confusion
Step 2: Mark Your Confusion
This is where students begin to interact with the text, and encourages them to monitor their comprehension.
Step 3: Show Evidence of Thinking
Step 3: Show Evidence of Thinking
Now for the nitty gritty of keeping kids in the text. The handout directs students to make 3-5 thoughtful annotations and practice interacting with the text. Specifically, the students need to be commenting on the text. This is where genuine interaction and connection takes place.
Step 4: Write a One-Page Reflection By Hand
Step 4: Write a One-Page Reflection By Hand
This is the only "worksheet" part of the worksheet, and it's an open-ended response. Students can come up with their own prompt, or consider any of the guiding questions provided to them.
Finally, I've included a single-point rubric for clear grading and space for formative feedback.
Finally, I've included a single-point rubric for clear grading and space for formative feedback.
I'm excited to implement this new strategy of Article of the Week in my high school English classes in the coming semesters!
If you'd like to implement this handout, click the image above or click here for a free download of the template.
Do you use Article of the Week in your classes? Send me a message letting me know its strengths and weaknesses!
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