How to Teach GO Charts
An Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 1: Beginning LiteracyStage 2: Consolidation / Fluency
Ages:
5-8
Grade Range:
K 1st 2ndFood Groups:
Primary: Comprehension Strategies Secondary: Vocabulary, Concepts of Print
Transcript
Teacher: This story is called William and the Good Old Days. Were going to take a picture walk to see if we can figure out what we think this story is about, okay? Teacher: Remember, as were taking a picture walk, were looking at each and every picture to try and figure out what the story is about. Teacher: Were going to make some predictions about the story. Predictions mean what we think the story is about. Im thinking, that this story is probably about, some good times that William had with friends and family. [Students Name], what do you think the story is about? Student: I think the story is about Williams grandma getting sick. Teacher: You think the story is about Williams grandma getting sick? Lets put that up here. Teacher: Now, I want to put some initials up here, so we can recall who gave us these answers. Were going to put [Students Name]s initials. [Students Name], can you tell me your initials? Student: SC. Teacher: SC, great job. Teacher: Now that weve made our predictions, Ms. Ray is going to read the story to you. Im going to read the story to you, so we can check our predictions, okay? Teacher: "Here I go again! Thinking about that fly and getting mad. Yeah, Im mad because I still think it was that big, ugly fly that made my grandma sick." Now that weve read our story, we can go back and check our predictions, and we can talk about our understanding. That means you can actually tell me whats going on. Student: I noticed that Williams grandmother didnt get sick by a fly. Teacher: Now that we have all this understanding here, lets look at interpretations. Interpretations are the things that you wondered. Hmm. I wonder if flies actually can make you sick. [Students Name], what do you wonder? Student: I wonder why there were flies in the house anyway. Teacher: You wonder how the flies got in the house in the first place? I wonder how... Teacher: Alright, boys and girls. Were going to finish, or complete, our GO chart. Today were going to talk about connections. Connections. Connections are what the story reminds you of. When I think of the story The Good Old Days, I remember back when I was little. I want to know what this story reminds you of. [Students Name] says "This story reminds me of the flies..." Teacher: Alright, now that weve talked about the predictions, the understanding, interpretation, what we wonder, we have our connection, what the story reminds us of. Now we want to do a retelling. And when we retell a story we talk about what happened at the beginning, the middle and the end of the story. Teacher: Great job, you guys. Alright, that is our retelling of the story. What were going to do now is, were going to do some illustrations. Think back to the part that you enjoyed the most and that is what were going to draw our pictures of, okay?
Related References
Activity Objective
The goal of How to Teach GO Charts: An Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy is to introduce students to the various features of a story, including the characters, setting and plot, as well as the author and illustrator of the book. The teacher begins by reminding students that they are going to do a picture walk as she reads the book to help figure out what the story is about. The teacher pauses as she reads to ask students their predictions and to highlight important details they notice.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- At first try using a picture book that most of the class is familiar with to inspire student participation. - As students excel in creating a GO chart, ask students to select their favorite book to review as a class.
