Goldilocks was a character in “Goldilocks and the 3 Bears” who did not like things “too hot” or “too cold” / “too big” or “too small.”
When you are jotting down notes in your F / Q / R chart (Fact, Question, Response), you also want to be sure that you’re not writing down “too much” or “too little” but just the right amount. You need to determine the importance of the information.
Here are some tips for determining importance:
1) Look at the title of the text. The title will tell you what the author thinks is the main idea. You may write down any facts you think are interesting, but put a star by facts or underline facts that are connected to the topic.
2) Read the headings. Headings will tell you what each section is mostly about.
3) Notice the bold words or italicized words. Bold words are vocabulary words that are usually found in the glossary (definitions of words found in the text, usually at the end of the book or possibly linked in the website). Bold and italicized words are also words the author thinks are important for understanding the text.
4) Put the ideas in your own words. After reading the text, think about how you would explain the ideas to someone in Grade 1. If you can’t, you need to reread, because you didn’t understand the text.
5) Look for text structure clues.
Practice:
- Read the following text about two important leaders (Humanities).
- Hammurabi of Babylon (whole class)
- Confucius’ Philosophy (with a partner)
- Create an F / Q / R chart to track your thinking.
- Circle a possible inquiry question from your chart.
- “What’s so important about the Code of Hammurabi?” at How Stuff Works, helped me understand how Hammurabi’s code influences us today.
- Decide what text structure fits the text.
- Write the most important details in a text structure graphic organizer.
- Share with a partner.
- Post on your blog:
- Title: Confucius’ Philosophy
- Category: English 7
- Tags: confucius, non-fiction text structures, inquiry, determining importance
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