Teaching Interpretation: Using Text-Based Evidence to Construct Meaning

"How glad I am that this book has arrived on the scene! It reminds us that teaching towards the Common Core can be some of the most demanding, significant, and bold work you could possibly do. In Teaching Interpretation, you'll join two extraordinary teachers in demythologizing the essential skills of Common Core-aligned reading, and in teaching those skills in such a way that students own them."
- Lucy Calkins

What does interpretation really mean? What does it look like in the classroom? How can we effectively teach students of all reading levels to be successful at constructing interpretations?

"With the Common Core calling for students to take part in the rich and rigorous work of interpretation," write Sonja Cherry-Paul and Dana Johansen, "it is necessary for all teachers to learn how to teach this important work in ways that reach all learners." Teaching Interpretation demystifies the interpretation process and help teachers take on the challenge of showing students how to construct, revise, and test their interpretations. Presented in manageable chunks that can work with any curriculum, they offer a conceptual framework that makes the interpretation process transparent to both teachers and students. Lesson ideas, text recommendations, templates, and suggestions for how to differentiate help you easily incorporate the work of interpretation into your practice, while student samples and graphic organizers make it all visible.

Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul's research and work stem from an unyielding commitment to antibias and antiracist pedagogy and practices. She has taught middle school students for twenty years and develops curricula that centers the work of racial literacy in K - 12 schools. Sonja co-founded the Race Matters Committee in her former school district in order to spotlight and center issues related to race and racism and provide faculty and staff with the language and tools to facilitate conversations with students about race. Sonja is the Director of Diversity and Equity at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) and the host of The Black Creators Series, a collaboration with TCRWP and Candlewick Press. She is the co-founder of the Institute for Racial Equity in Literacy and the Senior Advisor of the Heinemann Fellows. Sonja is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Stamped (For Kids), and she is the co-author of four books published by Heinemann: Teaching Interpretation: Using Text-Based Evidence to Construct Meaning (2014), Flip Your Writing Workshop: A Blended Learning Approach (2016), Breathing New Life into Book Clubs: A Practical Guide for Teachers (2019), and Critical Literacy: Unlocking Contemporary Fiction. Sonja leads presentations about literacy at national conferences and works with educators around the world providing professional development on reading and writing instruction and antiracist teaching practices. Follow Sonja on Twitter @SonjaCherryPaul or visit her website at sonjacherrypaul.com.

Dana Johansen has taught elementary and middle school for more than fifteen years. Dedicated to the ever-expanding applications of technology in the classroom, she presents at national conferences on the use of blogs, digital texts, and flipped learning in literacy instruction. She is the coauthor, with Sonja Cherry-Paul, of the titles Teaching Interpretation and Flip Your Writing Workshop. Follow Dana on Twitter @LitLearnAct.