CSR Strategy

Focus of Lesson: Nonfiction comprehension

Grade Level/Subject: 3rd Grade/ELA
Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2 Determine the
main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main
idea.
Student Learning Objective:

I can recount key details and explain how they support the main idea.

Materials Needed

CSR learning log

Writing utensils

Animal Homes by Ann O. Squire

Squire, A. (2001). Animal homes. New York: Children's Press.

Lesson Outline:

In a small group the teacher will explain, Today we will be using the reading
strategy CSR. CSR stands for Collaborative Strategic Reading. This reading
strategy has four strategies: preview, click and clunk, get the gist, and wrapup.

The teacher will pass out student copies of the text Animal Homes by Ann O.
Squire and copies of student collaborative strategic reading logs. Say, First,
we are going to preview the text. When we preview the text we are looking at
the title, photographs, headings, and other text features to make predictions

about the text. We are also thinking about what we already know about the
topic of the text.

The students will take 5-8 minutes to look through the text and to record his or
her background knowledge and predictions on his or her collaborative
strategic reading log.

Say, Now we will begin reading the text. After each page of reading we will
each record clicks and clunks. Clicks are things we understand, while clunks
are things we do not really understand. When we approach clunks we need to
use fix-up strategies to try to understand what the author is telling us. When
we have clunks we can reread, look for clue words, or try to break the word
into smaller parts.

The students will take turns reading aloud paragraphs as the teacher monitors
and corrects student reading if needed. After each page the students will list
any clicks or clunks. If a student lists a clunk, the student will reread the
paragraph. The clunk will be discussed as a group until the clunk becomes a
click.

After the entire text has been read the student will be given 5-8 minutes to
record his or her get the gist section. In this section students will record the
main idea and important details from the selection. After each student has
finished recording this section, each student will read aloud his or her
summary. Students will look for similarities and differences between each of
the written summaries. If needed, the students will be given time to revise his
or her written summary.

Lastly, students will complete the Wrap-Up section on his or her learning
log. Students will record his or her final thoughts about the text by reflecting
on further questions and learned information.

Extensions/Differentiation
Group A- For students working below grade level, the text can be cut down to a
more manageable size by focusing on only one section heading and text at a time.
Group O- Students should read the entire selection twice to aide deeper
comprehension.

Group B- After participating in the small group, students working beyond gradelevel can be provided with another Ann O. Squire text, such as Crickets and
Grasshoppers or Seashells.
o Squire, A (2004). Crickets and Grasshoppers. Danbury, CT:
Children's Press.
o Squire, A. (2002) Seashells. Danbury, CT: Children's Press.
Students in groups of four will be provided with a cooperative learning role, such
as previewer guide, get the gist guy, click and clunks captain, and wrap-it-up
leader. Students will work in cooperative groups to fill out the collaborative
learning log.

Assessment- Formative- Teacher observation will be used as a formative

assessment to determine which students can recount key details. Also, student
CSR logs will be collected. The teacher will use the students get the gist
written summaries to determine whether or not the student can find the main
idea of a text. The teacher will also listen to the students summaries to

determine which students can explain how important details work together
when summarizing the selection.
Teacher Notes/ ReflectionIt was evident that the four different components (preview, click and clunk, get the
gist, and wrap-up) within the strategy CSR overwhelmed my students. In the future I
would suggest slowly introducing each component. Overall, I think this strategy
could be extremely valuable for all students if time is taken to learn about each
different component separately and slowly. Teaching the entire CSR strategy in one
setting was too overwhelming for my third graders. For this reason, I would only
complete one section of the CSR learning log per day. I would break up the reading
and log over a four-day period. For each section, I would spend extra time in general
discussing and reviewing each of the different components (preview, click and clunk,
get the gist, and wrap-up). I feel my students did not have enough background
knowledge of the CSR vocabulary and different components (preview, click and clunk,
get the gist, and wrap-up) for this strategy to be as successful as I had planned.
Creating an anchor chart about the strategies in general could be a great resource
and reference for future learners. On a positive note, with support, the students were
able to complete the CSR process. The students displayed an ability to read a
nonfiction text with greater depth, reflection, and purpose.