English Language Arts and Reading.8.6.G

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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.

In a literature circle, have students discuss the implicit and explicit meaning of a text. After the discussion, have students write about their findings and include textual evidence that is explicitly stated or implied.
 

Further Explanation

This assessment requires students to ask questions, make connections, and talk about characters and themes. During conversations with peers, students must consider others’ points of view and share their own points of view in order to help confirm their own connections and inferences.

Students should be provided opportunities to dialogue about the connections between specific ideas directly (explicitly) stated in or indirectly expressed (implied) by the text and how they contribute to meaning. Hearing other points of view and sharing theirs 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 writing responses.

Research

1. Yeh, Y. F. (2012). Moving from explicit to implicit: A case study of improving inferential comprehension. Literacy Research and Instruction, 51, 125–142. doi:10.1080/19388071.2010.546492

Summary: This study uses word analogies, reading/composing riddles, solving mysteries, and modeling think-alouds as ways to improve a student's ability to infer meaning within a context. The study provides practical information and instruction to support teachers in reviewing and assessing the student's progress. 

2. 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 students' ability to recognize the explicit and implicit meanings of text. 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, ideologies, and society.