Teaching Strategies: Pacing and Questioning the Author

Pacing Techniques

  • Definition: The difference between an expert teacher and a novice often lies in pacing.

  • Importance: Keeps the classroom engaged and prevents loss of control.

  • Doug Lemov's Techniques (5 total; 1 mentioned in detail):

    • Brighten the Lines: Making expectations clear and time-bound for transitions (e.g., getting books, finding partners). Always say "go" after instructions to prevent premature action.

  • Tools for Pacing: Use timers (digital or physical) to manage activity duration.

Questioning the Author Strategy

  • Purpose: A discussion-based technique for analyzing text, interspersing reading with discussion.

    • Helps students make sense of text.

    • Allows teachers to see how students are grappling with ideas.

  • Query Types (Open-ended discussions, not direct questions/CFUs):

    • Initiating Queries: Start the conversation (e.g., "What is the author saying here?" "What's happening?").

    • Follow-up Queries: Go deeper into the text (e.g., "How is that different from what we've learned?" "What is the author trying to say with this particular word?").

    • Narrative Queries (for fiction): Focus on character, setting, or plot (e.g., "What is the character thinking/feeling?" "What would you do in the character's shoes?").

  • Benefits:

    • Improves overall comprehension by addressing unfamiliar vocabulary early (e.g., "inhabitants," "lose touch").

    • Prevents students from getting lost in complex texts.

    • Facilitates high-level comprehension by gathering diverse responses.

    • Applicable to fiction, non-fiction (historical documents, geography), and complex primary texts.

  • Implementation Tips:

    • Disperse reading sections with queries.

    • Pause at points where the text introduces problems, new concepts, or potentially unfamiliar vocabulary.

    • Follow up on initial answers to clarify understanding and deepen meaning.

  • Challenges/Practice Needed:

    • Identifying effective stopping points.

    • Formulating appropriate queries to initiate discussion.

    • Balancing discussion time with the need to cover the entire text.