Udell

Commentary Workshop Training

April 6, 2016
Run a Commentary Workshop in your classroom by following the step-by-step
directions below.

Step 1: Engage
Ask the class, If I told you that today we are going to write a commentary, what might you ask me?
Record student responses.
Step 2: Modeling Multiple Reads
Provide the simple direction of listening with the intention of making a movie of the story in your
mind. With each students eyes closed, read the first passage aloud. Upon completion, instruct the
class to reread the passage independently circling any confusing words, phrases or lines in a colored
pencil. For the final read, students read the passage tasked to underline words, phrases or lines that
helped them understand what the passage meant in a different colored pencil.
Teaching Tip: Remind students that they are not looking for words they know the dictionary
definition of, instead select word or phrases that help them to understand what the author was trying
to say.
Step 3: Commentary Writing & Sharing
At this time, set the classroom timer for eight minutes (adjust to meet your students needs) and
instruct the students to write a commentary. When the time has expired, invite students to read their
commentaries with a partner, word for word. Following, ask for volunteers to read their work aloud to
the class, verbatim.
Teacher Tip #1: I recommend the teacher participate in writing as well.
Teaching Tip #2: Remind students that they are free to use the sentence starter I wonder or I dont
understand.
Teaching Tip #3: Instruct students to read what they have composed and to avoid telling about what
they have written instead.

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Step 4: Noticing Similarities and Establishing the Description of a Commentary
To conclude the workshop, ask, What do we see members of
our class doing in their commentaries? What worked well?
What did people notice about the story? What questions
were asked? How do the different commentaries help us
think about the story? What can we say to describe or define
what a commentary is and what it does? Collected student
feedback and create class description of a commentary.
Teaching Tip: Display the commentary description in a place
where students can easily access it when responding to text.
Note: Once you have created a class definition of a
commentary, you can exclude Step 1& 4 for future workshops.
Step 5: Documenting Class Conversation
As students read their commentaries, in partners and to the class, a natural discussion about the story
begins. At this time, record student comments, marked with their initials on the board.
Teaching Tip #1: At the conclusion of the
conversation, it is beneficial to provide students with
a copy of the documented conversation for their
reference.
Teaching Tip #2: Utilize the documented
conversation to assess student progress and growth
over time.

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Use the following suggestions in your classroom for further implementation.

Anticipate a class discussion regarding where the meaning of a text comes from. Typically, two
students will present polarized interpretations of the story. As this teachable moment arises, it is
lucrative to pose the question, Who makes the meaning in the text? and allow each student to
respond. Should time allow it is powerful to hear each students perspective aloud. View sample
responses below:
I do, because everyone has a different perspective. Authors make it clear and you decide the rest of
the meaning. You make meaning the author just tells their opinion.
The reader makes the decisions- how, what- they think its about. Not everyone thinks it's the same
thing.
Reader is one who tries to understand the puzzle- the author puzzles you.

Apply the Commentary Writing Workshop across disciplines, for example, reading historical primary
sources. The Commentary Workshop lends itself nicely to interpreting and analyzing other forms of
text, particularly with primary sources (Figure 11 and 12).
Differentiate, personalize and individualize your instruction with the Commentary Workshop.
o Reading Instruction: As each student is engaging in their own conversation with the
text, they are naturally reading at their own level.
o Writing Instruction: The commentary provides a space for students to receive
meaningful feedback regarding grammar and the mechanics of writing.

As a means to further differentiate, students can work to publish their

commentary, moving from a paragraph to a polished essay.

Utilize as an assessment tool for both teacher assessment and student self-assessment. Commentary
Writing offers a built-in opportunity for assessment. As students engage in multiple readings,
looking for words or phrases they do/do not understand, student responses contain authentic
demonstrations of understandings/misunderstandings. Teachers can use this information to inform
instruction. See excerpts of student writing, in Figure 13 and 14, on the following page.
o Bonus: As a summative assessment, have students perform self-reflection or audit of
their commentaries at the end of a novel or unit of historical study to analyze how their
understandings changed.
Expose students to quoting text as evidence. When commentary writing, students often reference a
line in the text in their written response. This provides another teachable moment for a mini lesson
on how to properly quote in text. Students experience the power of supporting their interpretations
with evidence first hand.