Goal 5 Supporting Comprehension in Fiction Understanding Plot and Setting • Why is this goal important? To help students achieve that lost-in-a-book engaged sort of reading that makes reading enjoyable, they have to understand what’s going on. Or, to say it in a way others have, they need to be able to “make a movie in their minds” (e.g., Wilhelm et al. 2001; Harvey and Goudvis 2007; Calkins and Tolan 2010a). To make this mental movie, students need to know what’s happening, who’s involved in the action, and where the action is taking place. Consequently, checking comprehension by asking a student to retell or summarize the text is a common part of most reading assessments. Supporting student understanding of plot and setting can have a few parts: •Understanding problems/conflicts and solutions/resolutions as a way to determine what’s most important. As Janet Burroway (2006, 31) puts it, “The features of a story are fewer than those of a face: They are conflict, crisis, and resolution.” 130 THE READING STRATEGIES BOOK 130 For more information about this Heinemann resource, visit www.heinemann.com/readingstrategiesbook/ serravallo book.indb 130 4/12/15 8:10 PM •Retelling/summarizing. These terms are often confused, perhaps because some use the terms interchangeably. For instance, Beers (2002, 152) defines retelling as an “oral summary of a text based on a set of story elements.” I often think of retelling as sequential, with more detail than a summary, which gives the essential information without too much detail. Regardless of what you call it, students should be able to say back, in sequence, the most important information after reading a section of text. •Visualizing setting, understanding how setting impacts the events in the story, and tracking when the setting changes. •Synthesizing cause and effect, so that the reader is clear on what causes certain events to take place, and how all the events in the story connect. • How do I know if this goal is right for my student? We’ve probably all heard student retellings of texts that include every single detail, or ones that say too little, or others that mention events without a clear sense of how they are related. For me, understanding plot is the most basic of the comprehension goals for students reading fiction, and I’m sure to include it in any assessments I use to match readers to books, whether running records or a longer whole-book comprehension assessment (Clay 2000; Serravallo 2012, 2013b). While doing running records, after a student reads a selection of text aloud and you record miscues and self-corrections, ask the student, “What were the most important things that happened? Retell the story for me from the beginning.” Transcribe the student’s retelling as he or she speaks. When you look back at it, notice if the retelling is in sequence and if it includes the most important information. Once students are reading chapter books, try planting sticky notes inside a text as they read, and ask them to respond in writing. You may say, “Retell the most important events that happened in this chapter.” “Why did that (event) happen?” “Describe the setting. Use as much detail as you can.” Or, after several dozen pages, ask, “What is the main problem the character is facing?” (Serravallo 2012). You can also use conferring opportunities to listen to oral retellings, or to ask questions of the reader. When children talk about their reading, you can listen to their speech for evidence of understanding of key plot events and setting details. Regardless of whether you look at student writing or listen to them talk, you’ll want to evaluate their responses. You can find retelling rubrics, by level, for Fiction: Plot and Setting 131 For more information about this Heinemann resource, visit www.heinemann.com/readingstrategiesbook/ serravallo book.indb 131 4/12/15 8:10 PM running records at www.readingandwritingproject.com. The Independent Reading Assessment: Fiction series (Serravallo 2012) also includes rubrics for retelling, problem/solution, cause/effect, and visualizing setting based on level from the Fountas and Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ J–W. Ellin Keene’s (2006) Assessing Comprehension Thinking Strategies has generic rubrics that can be used on any text. Those using Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System will also find indicators for retelling by level. To help students achieve that lost-in-a-book engaged sort of reading that makes reading enjoyable, they have to understand what’s going on. Understanding plot is the most basic of the comprehension goals for students reading fiction. —Jennifer Serravallo 132 THE READING STRATEGIES BOOK For more information about this Heinemann resource, visit www.heinemann.com/readingstrategiesbook/ serravallo book.indb 132 4/12/15 8:10 PM Strategies for Understanding Plot and Setting at a Glance Strategy Levels Genres/ Text Types Skills 5.1Lean on the Pictures A–K Fiction Determining importance, retelling 5.2Title Power C–M Fiction Determining importance 5.3Summarizing What’s Most Essential E–K Fiction Summarizing 5.4Uh-oh . . . Phew F–L Fiction Determining importance, retelling 5.5Is This a Multistory Book or a Single-Story Book? J and K, mostly Fiction Summarizing, monitoring for meaning 5.6Reactions Help You Find the Problem J–R Fiction Determining importance 5.7Series Books Have Predictable Plots J–Q Fiction Retelling, predicting, determining importance 5.8What’s Your Problem? J and above Fiction Determining importance 5.9Who’s Speaking? J and above Fiction Visualizing, monitoring for meaning 5.10Let the Blurb Help You J and above Fiction Determining importance 5.11Retell What’s Most Important by Making Connections to the Problem K and above Fiction Summarizing, retelling, determining importance 5.12Angled Summaries for Highlighting Deeper Ideas in Plot L and above Fiction Summarizing, determining importance, inferring 5.13Summarize Based on What a Character Wants L and above Fiction Summarizing, determining importance 5.14Chapter-End Stop Signs L and above Fiction Determining importance 5.15Where Am I? L and above Fiction Visualizing 5.16Summarizing with “Somebody . . . Wanted . . . But . . . So . . . ” N and above Fiction Summarizing 5.17Two-Sided Problems N and above Fiction Determining importance 5.18Does the Story Have to Be Set There, and Then? P and above Fiction (especially historical fiction) Visualizing, determining importance 5.19Tenses as a Clue to Flashback and Backstory P and above Fiction Monitoring for meaning 5.20Not Just Page Decorations P and above Fiction Monitoring for meaning, visualizing 5.21Plotting Flashback on a Timeline P and above Fiction Monitoring for meaning, visualizing 5.22Vivid Setting Description and Impact on Character P and above Fiction Determining importance, visualizing 5.23Map It P and above Fiction Monitoring for meaning, visualizing 5.24FQR (Facts/Questions/Response) Sheets for Filling in Gaps Q and above Fiction (historical fiction and fantasy, especially) Questioning, synthesizing, inferring, monitoring for meaning 5.25Double Plot Mountain R and above Fiction Monitoring for meaning, visualizing 5.26Historical Notes Prime Prior Knowledge R and above Fiction Monitoring for meaning, visualizing 5.27Analyzing Historical Contexts R and above Historical fiction Determining importance, visualizing, inferring 5.28Micro-/Meso-/Macroenvironment Systems: Levels of Setting V and above Fiction Visualizing, determining importance, inferring Fiction: Plot and Setting 133 For more information about this Heinemann resource, visit www.heinemann.com/readingstrategiesbook/ serravallo book.indb 133 4/12/15 8:10 PM 5.4 Uh-oh . . . Phew Strategy When you retell, think about the problem (uh-oh), how the problem gets worse (UH-OH!) and how the problem gets solved (phew!). Use a story mountain with these parts to retell, touching the parts of the mountain as you go. Lesson Language A story goes like this. (Draw a story mountain.) Uh-oh (problem), UH-OH (problem worsens), UH-OH! (problem worsens), and the problem gets solved (phew!). If I were going to retell Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds (Adler 2004), I would start off with the uh-oh—the problem. In this story, the problem is that someone steals diamonds from the jewelry store at the mall. The problem gets worse and worse—UH-OH and UH-OH!—when Cam and Eric go looking for the thief. They are in a dangerous situation outside the house where the thieves are, and even worse when the baby starts crying and they get pulled inside the house. But then the police show up (phew!), and the criminals are caught and taken away by the police. Who is this for? Levels F–L Genre / Text Type fiction skillS Prompts •Let’s retell. Start with the uh-oh. What’s the problem? •Think about how the problem gets worse. •Where are you on the story mountain now? Point to it. •You’re giving me a lot of detail. If you had to just tell me the problem using a few words, what would you say? •Of all the details you told me, what’s most important? determining importance, retelling Fiction: Plot and Setting 137 For more information about this Heinemann resource, visit www.heinemann.com/readingstrategiesbook/ serravallo book.indb 137 4/12/15 8:10 PM
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