Frank has been an educator for over 10 years. He has a doctorate degree in education with a concentration in curriculum and instruction.
Consider a classroom where a teacher teaches a lesson on the board and assigns independent practice to students immediately after. Now consider a classroom where a teacher teaches a lesson by modeling how to ask questions, read and apply new knowledge, and practice these skills with assistance. What is the difference between the two? One teacher uses explicit explanation and one does not.
Explicit explanation is a way to teach concepts by explaining them clearly to students leaving no room for doubt. This process is important because it emphasizes modeling and critical thinking to students during reading instruction. But what exactly does explicit explanation look like?
Let's take a look at explicit explanation using the well-known story ''Jack and the Beanstalk.'' Jack is an excellent protagonist for teaching character analysis. If I were teaching about characters and their traits, I would use a method called explicit explanation in reading. Consider the procedure involved in teaching character description and analysis using ''Jack and the Beanstalk.''
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Explicit explanation can be taught with three simple steps:
When you explain clearly you tell students about the concept explicitly so that there is no confusion. You tell students what the concept is, how to do what you want them to do independently, and when and why to do it. If you were teaching about Jack from ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' it might look something like this:
Once we have given students explicit instructions as to what we are doing, we now want to show them how. Showing students how to do something is called modeling. This can include showing students how to think aloud. Look at this example:
When Jack decides to climb up the beanstalk and steal the golden eggs, you would stop and ask yourself aloud, ''Hmmm...I am noticing that Jack has decided to climb up the beanstalk and steal the golden eggs from the giant. I wonder why he is doing this? What motivates him? I know! He and his mother need money to buy food. This detail tells me that he is caring because he wants to make things right for his mother, but at the same time he is also a thief.''
This strategy is often called a think aloud because you are explaining your thinking to students. Realistically, this is something that readers do in their heads, but we first want to teach our students how to do it. This strategy is a continual process that we share with our students until you feel they can do it on their own.
The final step in explicit explanation is guided practice. This can be done in groups, partners, or individually with the teacher's help. Let's look at a final example:
After reading a section of the book, you ask students to describe some additional characters. You might give them a question or have them come up with a few of their own in a small group. You also allow time for them to brainstorm possible answers. As you walk around the room you listen to their conversation, help groups that are stuck and guide them in the right direction. During guided practice you listen, observe, and correct any confusion students may have with the concept.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
The goal of explicit explanation is always to take students through these steps so they may apply what they learn independently and practice the concept without help. Students can start by practicing a concept alone through questions related to character traits, or using a graphic organizer to take place of the oral discussion. Reinforcing strategies throughout the year is important to help students recall these strategies when they are reading for pleasure. In the long run, we want our students to use these reading skills independently as they read for pleasure, for work, or for any other purpose.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Explicit explanation in reading is a process where you teach students a concept by explaining clearly, or explicitly, modeling or showing students how it is done, and providing guided practice where students get the hang of the concept with your help. The most effective strategy used in the modeling step is to think aloud where you show students how to implement a concept by explaining what you are thinking. Ultimately, you want students to practice skills and concepts independently and apply these skills to authentic reading experiences in their lives.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Already a member? Log In
Back
I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.
