While reading this article I thought it was very insightful into showing me how a text talk lesson should be done. I think these text talk lessons are very important in the classroom because they keep the kids attention. When they know that the teacher is going to be asking questions about what they’ve read they are more apt to listen intently. Therefore, they will get even more out of the reading of the story. When reading stories to students when I’ve been subbing I’ve always shown them the pictures while I read. Until now I’ve never really thought about how showing the pictures first can pull the student’s attention away from what is in the text.
The key steps in planning and performing a Text Talk lesson are first the selection of texts. You need a story that exhibits an event structure and provides material for children to gain meaning. Secondly, you have to have initial questions that require students to describe texts and explain ideas. Third, you must also ask follow-up questions. These questions build off of the initial questions. Next present pictures after talking about what is heard in the text. Also included is background knowledge to talk about experiences the children may have had with what was read. Lastly, you need to cover vocabulary that students may not have previously seen.
