The Learning Pad

Lessons that teach synthesizing reading strategies

Lesson 11-1	Lesson: adding a synthesizing piece to Harry's brain Today we are going to add a new piece to Harry's brain.  Remember that each piece shows us something that Harry's brain is doing in order to help him make meaning from text. Today we are going to add synthesizing. Explain that synthesizing is taking bits and pieces of information and putting them all together to get the "big picture." Today I'm going to model for you what it looks like when I synthesize. Read The Rag Coat and stop periodically to model your thinking and how you are putting things together to understand the text.
Lesson 11-2	Synthesizing is like putting together a puzzle. When we put together a puzzle we get lots of little pieces.  The pieces work together to make a big picture.   When we read we get lots of bits and pieces of information. We need to take all those bits and pieces and put them together so that we can understand the big picture. Synthesizing is kind of like building a reading puzzle in our minds.   When a puzzle is all put together we get a complete picture of what the illustrator wanted us to see. When we synthesize we get a complete picture of what the author wanted us to know and understand. Take one of those giant floor puzzles and write important information from a book you've read together on the back sides of the pieces.  Example: On one piece write Wendell came to visit.  On another piece write Wendell was bossy and selfish.  Etc.   Use the puzzle pieces to put the story together and show how just one or two pieces doesn't give us a true understanding of the story.  We need to put it all together to truly understand what the author wanted us to know.
Lesson 11-3	Lesson:  Synthesizing is like making cookies in your brain. Show kids a recipe for chocolate chip cookies.   When we make cookies we take all the ingredients and we mix them together to create a wonderful and delicious treat. When we synthesize we take all the information an author included in their text and we mix it all together to create a wonderful party in our head.   When I read I take all the information and my brain starts mixing it all together and I think about it, reflect on it, and then put it all together to more fully understand the author's message. Today we are going to make some "reading cookies". As I read we are going to take bits and pieces of information and we are going to write them on sticky notes.  Remember that we are recording important information. When we are all done we are going to take all our thinking and put it together and see what wonderful things have happened to our thinking.   You might want to record thinking on cookie shaped pieces of paper instead of post it notes. You might also want to share a cookie snack with the kids at the end of the lesson.
Lesson 11-4	Lesson:  When we synthesize our thinking takes shape When we use Legos we put pieces together and they start to take shape.  As more and more pieces are added our Lego creation starts to look more and more like what it's supposed to look like. Show a small Lego kit that makes a car (they can be obtained for a couple of bucks). Dump the contents out and ask the kids if it looks like a car yet. Begin to build the Lego car.  Stop after a few pieces and note that it is beginning to take shape... to look like a car. Finish off  the car and marvel on how much it has changed. When we read, we take information that we gather as we read and our thinking starts to take shape.  We begin to use our strategies such as activating our schema, making connections, asking questions, etc. and we start putting out thinking together and soon it takes shape.
Lesson 11-5	Lesson:  When we synthesize our thinking sometimes changes.   I have some brown powder (instant pudding mix) and some white liquid today.  Let's talk about what they look like. Next mix together the milk and pudding mix and shake it up. When I mixed these together they changed.  They not only changed colors, but they also changed consistency.  I started with a liquid and a powder and now I have a thick, smooth substance that looks nothing like the two things it started as. Sometimes this happens when we synthesize.  Our thinking starts out one way and then as we read and we mix our thinking together with the new information we are getting our thinking changes all together.   Let me model what it looks like... read a non fiction text about something the kids will likely have misconceptions about.  Verbalize your ideas (misconceptions) as you read. Model how your thinking changes as you get new information. After reading, notice that your thinking doesn't look anything like it started.  Your thinking has changed. When you take new information and add it to your schema your thinking can change... you are synthesizing.
Lesson 11-6	Lesson:  When we synthesize our thinking blooms Show a video clip of a plant going from seed to blossom in time lapse. When you plant a seed it grows and changes over time. When we read, our thinking often changes because we get new information to add to our schema. It's kind of like our thinking is growing. Today I am going to read a book about something that I know little about.  As I read I am going to synthesize the new information and we are going to watch my thinking grow and blossom.
Lesson 11-7	Lesson: Sometimes when we synthesize we have to take out the trash. Talk a little about trash.   When things are no longer useful we put them in the trash.  If I have a worn out shoe I throw it out.  If I have a broken dish I throw it out. Sometimes when we are reading we discover that our thinking was broken (or wrong... misconceptions).   When that happens we need to throw out the old thinking and replace it with new thinking.   It's like taking out the trash in our brains.
Lesson 11-8	Lesson: When we synthesize it's like building a house. We all have schema.  Our schema is always growing as we read and learn new things. When a builder builds a house they start with a foundation (you might want to explain foundation briefly). The builder then begins to add and the building grows. When we read our current schema is our foundation, what we are building on.  As we read and discover new things we build on our schema. When we synthesize our schema is always growing, changing, and becoming a beautiful work in our brains.
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