Shades of Meaning: Comprehension and Interpretation in Middle School

By Donna Santman

Interpreting texts can lead readers on journeys that change their lives forever. However, many middle school studentsunused to looking between the lines, unused to building or amending their readings of a textneed 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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0325006644
• ISBN13: 9780325006642
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.3" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Making Inferences?

Shades of Meaning is the cornerstone to our literacy framework in our middle school. Once our students are on level in their fluency, the trickiest next step is how to build their ability to infer. What Donna Santman offers is a book that thoroughly builds a student's ability to "dig deeper". In our middle school we've developed most of our curriculum around this text in the sixth grade. The chapter "Finding Gray" has been a success in our classrooms for years. I highly recommend Shades of Meaning for any teacher who not only wants their students to be able to dig deeper into the text, but wants to create a student-centered classroom that promotes love of learning and love of inquiry. A practical, easy to navigage must have.