Rereading + Picture Books = Higher Comprehension
Well-crafted picture books make the reader yearn to come back to it many times. The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg is one of those books. Through his text and artwork, the reader has a natural inclination to read and reread as a way to understand more of the story.
Helping students notice how rereading is useful for comprehension, as well as giving them a way to note their thinking are two ways to simply increase critical thinking with a picture book. When students first read The Stranger, they will most likely have questions, come up with an idea, reread, and change the idea multiple times. Not only is this process useful when we read, but it’s also a process that benefits us as lifelong learners!
When students work towards synthesis with any texts, having them notice HOW their thinking shifts is beneficial. By being metacognitive, the reader will begin to notice details, additional evidence, as well as broken theories or assumptions. It is helpful to provide a journal or a graphic organizer that can help them track the evolution of their thinking. Having students stop and jot down thinking multiple times also underscores the growth mindset – they will realize they are smarter now than they were 15 minutes ago!
Name of Book: The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg
Level of Text:
Lexile Level 640
Remember, the thinking can go well beyond the “levels”!
Brief Summary:
Farmer Bailey hits a stranger with his truck and brings him home to recuperate. The stranger seems to have a mysterious relation to the weather, which leaves the reader wondering who he really is.
Higher Level Thinking Questions:
- What kind of relationship do you think the stranger had with nature?
- What could the title The Stranger and the seasons have in common?
- Were there clues in the story that let you know the stranger had a connection with nature? What were they?
- What type of suggestion, related to the season, is the author making about the stranger? How is the author using symbolism here?
- How does the author allow you to enter the fantasy world?
- Who do you think the stranger is? What evidence in the story supports your idea?
These questions can be discussed in collaborative groups or used as a way to increase comprehension through writing!
Supporting Organizer:
This graphic organizer helps make student thinking visible and allows readers to consider how their thinking changes as they read. The student might want to read the text three distinct times and jot down their thinking, or just stop at three specific places and make notes about what they think of the stranger. If discussion groups take place, readers could fill out the last column after they have read it and talked about it.
If you like this, then you might like others by this author:
Chris Van Allsburg: Two Bad Ants, The Sweetest Fig, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick