Strategies: DR-TA vs GMA

A Directed Reading Thinking Activity is a reading strategy in which the format of the reading is already constructed. Teachers just have to plan where to put in the required steps. (Ruddell p. 113) The steps are as follows:
1. Select the reading assignment.
2. Determine stop-points.
3. Prepare questions to be asked at the stop-points.
4. Obtain/prepare cover sheets for students.
5. Assessments.

This strategy could also be used to help students understand an assignment from the reading. This strategy is interesting because it involved the students stopping multiple times during reading and reviewing/discussing. Usually, teachers try to limit stop-points when it comes to reading a selection.

I could see myself doing the DR-TA as a pre reading, during reading, and post reading strategy during a guided reading lesson, say, in science. Before students read a short, nonfiction text, I could begin this process and prepare the DR-TA.

A GMA, also known as a Group Mapping Activity, is a great strategy to check for comprehension. An example of this could be to retell a story and explaining that you remember what you read through basic words, pictures, and symbols. It is called a map because it is literally a visual map that helps the students remember what they read and how they have made meaning from it. I like this a lot more than, say, writing a summarizing paragraph after reading something. Group Mapping Activities do not seem like busy work, and I think students could really show their creativity with this.

I could see myself doing the group mapping activity after reading any guided reading or read-aloud book. This is just a great visual for students to see and make those connections.