I don't think there is anything wrong with teaching kids how to do both -
determine importance of text AND find that pesky main idea that the test author
wants you to find. They are two different but related things.
I know you were asking about main idea/determining importance but I will share
with you my recent encounter with making predictions. I was reading a picture
book and I would stop on certain pages. Kids would make predictions and tell
WHY they predicted what they did. They would then turn and share with others
what they predicted. Almost immediately, those who made a prediction unlike
the others would say, "I bet mine is going to be wrong." I would respond with,
"Why do you say that?" They would tell me that since the majority of the class
had said the same thing, he bet that is what would happen. Several times, that
student would have good evidence (the why) and I would lead a discussion that
on the EOG (NC's standardized test), you have to sometimes put your own
thoughts aside and slip on the test-maker's shoes to decide what the best
answer would be.
I LOVE the book Test Talk. I'm pretty sure I heard about it here many years
ago. So in my class, students know that taking a test is an entirely different
reading process, all its own...its own genre, if you will. Since I approach it
like that, whenever I find a moment to slide in a teachable moment, like the
one above, I can do so pretty seamlessly.
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