Shades of Meaning: Comprehension and Interpretation in Middle School

Interpreting texts can lead readers on journeys that change their lives forever. However, many middle school students - unused to looking between the lines, unused to building or amending their readings of a text - need your guidance as they learn to develop and discuss their own interpretations.

In this smart and lively guide, veteran middle-school teacher Donna Santman shows you how to teach readers the skills and strategies of comprehension and interpretation within the framework of a reading workshop. Shades of Meaning takes you through Santman's own rigorous workshop, describing the teaching that allows students to stretch and empower their imaginations. Santman offers guidance in:

• creating curriculum and lessons that teach habits of mind that support interpretation, like naming the ideas hiding in texts and thinking about perspectives from which to analyze those ideas
• using reading workshop structures to teach students to practice articulating their thoughts, exploring others' ideas, and interpreting texts
• assessing students' interpretive skills and moving them toward deeper and more meaningful interpretations
• using standards-based rubrics and checklists to communicate expectations and track students' progress.

With Donna Santman's assistance, you can teach readers the interpretive skills they need to help them find a foothold in their ever-changing world; with Shades of Meaning, you can teach readers ways to understand, interpret, and speak back to the texts in their lives.