“So what you’re saying is that this chart isn’t about being right or wrong. It’s about figuring things out,” Tom said, eyeing our newest comprehension chart that I had unveiled for the day’s minilesson.
“Exactly,” I replied. The day’s lesson was driven by a lofty goal so often handed to teachers:
Students will learn how to monitor their comprehension.
Guided by the work of visible thinking routines, I knew that my students could learn to monitor their own comprehension with purposeful and supportive practice. We would use a routine called “I Used to Think . . . But Now I Think . . . ” to create a comprehension chart, a record of our evolving ideas around our newest read-aloud. As the story unfolded, my plan was for students to build and update a chart that would document how we monitored and adjusted our thinking as we read the novel Nightbird, by Alice Hoffman. Today would launch many days of thinking together.
Initially, our chart looked like a typical two-column chart:
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Preview: I used to think . . . |
But now I think . . . |
After Tom’s comment, I continued my lesson.
“Yesterday we previewed our new book, Nightbird, and used various Nightbird book covers and other related preview materials posted on our class website to prepare for our newest read-aloud. Our See-Think-Wonder charts captured predictions and questions based on the artwork, book trailer, and publisher notes. Now we can add a new strategy, one that will help us monitor our understanding of this novel.”
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“We will build a mindset that readers monitor and adjust their thinking over time. Let’s begin to explore a strategy called I Used to Think . . . But Now I Think and use our preview information for this challenge:
“‘What do we think we know about this story and its characters?’“
Students reviewed, discussed, and debated their thinking around Nightbird. The team then selected images and wrote explanations to capture the group’s thinking about the characters and plot. Now our chart looked like this:
Nightbird by Alice Hoffman
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Preview: I used to think . . . |
But now I think . . . |
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This girl must be the main character, Twig. A full, red moon seems to be important. Something special will happen on the night of the full, red moon.
Black feathers show up on the covers and even the chapter headings. The magical creature we see on the cover must be a magical bird. It seems to be a big bird.
Twig must be going to the orchard at night to see a magical creature. Something is flying on all of the covers. The magical creature must have black wings. Who is the creature?
One of these characters must be Twig. Is the other one a friend? Why are they by a single apple tree at night? The main characters must be waiting for the magical flying creature.Monitoring Our Thinking
Once we had created the chart, we would use it to monitor the group’s understanding of Nightbird. The chart would help students reflect on and react to the information and opinions gained from the story. This collaborative chart started as a place to anchor our initial thinking and gave us a place to revisit to monitor, validate, or change our thinking as we read the story.
The front and center placement of this chart in our community area reminded us to reflect each time we met for read-aloud. The chart encouraged the habit of noticing and explaining how and why our thinking changed over time. Students gradually developed the belief that active learners adjust, refine, and sometimes completely rebuild ideas, opinions, and thinking as they read, interact, and learn.
Here is the chart after we had completed three-fourths of the story.
Nightbird by Alice Hoffman
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Preview: I used to think . . . |
But now I think . . . |
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We found out that Twig found the cure to her brother’s curse. The reverse cure needs to be performed on the night of the full, red moon. The kids have one chance to help James or will need to wait until next year. |
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The black feathers belong to James, Twig’s brother, who lives with the results of a family curse . . . He has wings. His family keeps him hidden from the world. |
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Twig knows that nighttime is important because that is the only time it is safe for her brother, James, to be outside and flying. |
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This is not a magical creature; it is James, Twig’s brother, who lives with wings because of a family curse. Because he is so different, their mother keeps him hidden from the world because she is afraid the community will hurt him and treat him like a monster. |
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The orchard is important to Twig’s family because their mom sells apples and apple products for her business. Agate, Julia’s sister, sees James flying at night when she is stargazing near the orchard.
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We think this is Twig Fowler and her friend Julia, a descendant of the witch of Sidwell who cursed the Fowler family. All of the men born in the Fowler family would be born with wings. If they reversed the curse, the males would be sickly and weak. |
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Added later in the story:
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Everyone in town believes that Sidwell has a monster, based on rumors of people seeing a flying creature at night. James must have been seen a few times, so the story grew. When the local woods are going to be developed for housing and a mall, someone uses the monster face to leave this message: You’ll be sorry if you take our home away. When flipped over, the monster symbol is the face of a rare black owl that lives only in the Sidwell woods. The message/graffiti was left by Colin, a rich boy whose family owns the woods. |
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The garden will be important for breaking the curse. The girls found the witch’s spell to reverse the curse. |
The kids need to build an herb garden to get the right ingredients for the cure to the Fowler curse. The roses that grow link the past to the present and break the curse, and bring Twig’s father back to the Fowler family. |
Why Create a Group Chart?
Cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach argue that humans survive and thrive because we live in a rich community of knowledge. Thinking is more than just an individual’s pursuit; it is a social effort as well. We grow our intelligence and thinking skills through experiences because of the people and things around us. As we learn from one another, we are constantly monitoring what we know and understand. Minilessons and supported experiences show learners that they can build the information in their own heads when they tap into the classroom community, its resources, interactions, and conversations.
Using “I Used to Think . . . But Now I Think” documented both the proof and the power of reflection. Students had permission and a purpose for monitoring their comprehension, and witnessed how ideas evolved over time. Our chart served as a social reminder that no matter what we are thinking as individuals, our knowledge gets stronger with the help of the people and the environment around us. The “I Used to Think . . . But Now I Think” routine gives students permission to reflect and grow as individuals with the help of the learning community.
