English Language Arts and Reading.7.6.G

The student is expected to

discuss and write about the explicit or implicit meanings of text;

TEKS Talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.

Using text structures, have students discuss with a partner the implicit and explicit meaning of a text. After the discussion, have students write about their findings and include textual evidence.
 

Further Explanation

This assessment requires students to ask questions, make connections, and talk about the meaning of a text. Students demonstrate comprehension of the text as they determine what parts of the text express ideas that convey the meaning.

Students should be provided opportunities to dialogue about the connections between specific ideas directly (explicitly) stated or indirectly expressed (implied) and how they contribute to meaning. Hearing other points of view and sharing their own can help students confirm connections and inferences; consider the complexities of an idea; or identify misinterpreted information. Students should then revisit the text to establish a better understanding. If students truly understand the meaning of the text, they should be able to determine which parts of the text express ideas that convey this meaning and share this in conversations or explain it in written responses.

Research

Borsheim-Black, C. Macaluso, M., & Petrone, R. (2014). Critical literature pedagogy: Teaching canonical literature for critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 58(2), 123–133. doi: 10.1002/jaal.323

Summary: In this article, the reader is introduced to a framework that can be used to develop critical thinkers and writers. Critical literacy builds the students' ability to recognize the explicit and implicit meanings of text. The students develop skills and dispositions to understand, question, and critique texts. The article includes a discussion on language and its use in texts. Using a standard literary text, teachers can employ this instructional approach to spark the interests and engage students in relevant text taken from their personal experiences and ideologies and from society.