I’m a huge believer in the power of the habit. The more a person practices something, the more it gets embedded in the brain. That’s why I put a lot of energy into building the habit of using the right terms when I’m teaching students to analyze text.
And that means that even when students are doing a quick response, a turn-and-talk, or a small group discussion, I want them to frame their comments in a way that strengthens their analytical muscles. If they get used to chatting about their text using language that focuses on analysis, then they will create a habit that will help them when it comes time for major assessments.
There are several ways that I reinforce this process so as to build the habits they need for analyzing text. by