I love the author David Shannon, who's well known for No, David. Yesterday, I read his book Duck on Bike to model writing a WASL (Washington's state assessment) short summary with three main events. As I read I emphasized the inner thinking and thought to myself, "This would be a great mentor text to show inner thinking. There's inner thinking on almost every page!" :-) All the animals have their own opinions about Duck's trick, which they only share in their thoughts.Want to try it?
First, make sure you read it to your students for enjoyment and understanding before you ask them to analyze it. For K-2 students, and older wiggly students, you probably want to read it to them during read-aloud and revisit it to analyze and notice the good writer's craft. Your English Language Learners will especially need access to the text in advance because they most may not be able to listen for comprehension and to analyze. To help them gain comprehension, you can pull them aside in a small group the day before during the independent writing time.
It might sound something like this (depending on the age of your students):
Connect
"Yesterday, we read Duck on Bike for enjoyment. I think most of us really enjoyed the story. Today we're going to read parts of Duck on Bike as writers to notice how the author, David Shannon, uses inner thinking. Who remembers what inner thinking is?" Take responses. "That's right. Inner thinking is what you or the people in your story are thinking. It's like talking only in your head. Can I see a thumbs up if you ever think in your head?"
Teach
"Let's read to hear what all the animals were thinking." Read one or two pages with inner thinking. "Can I see a thumbs up if you noticed what dog was thinking? Turn and tell your writing partner what you heard dog think." Wait. "I heard you say exactly what dog was thinking in his head, 'That's a mighty neat trick.' Does Duck know what the other animals are thinking about him, class?" Pause for no. "No, David Shannon, the author, doesn't let Duck know what the other animals think about him, only us, the readers get to know. In real life, do you get to know what people are thinking all the time, class?" No. "Of course, not. We only know what people are thinking if they say it. Inner thinking is something real people do all the time."
Active Engagement
"Let's try to see if we can add inner thinking to our class story....." Add inner thinking to your own story or a class story. First model thinking. "Humm.... when might I have had an opinion or thought about something in the story?... I know,.... Now I want you to find a place to add more inner thinking as I reread the story with my new inner thinking." Reread. Scaffold, if necessary, by finding a good place to add inner thinking. "Turn and talk with your writing partner. What inner thinking would you add?"
Connection
"Writers, today you learned that writers add inner thinking to make their stories better. Now today and every day you can add inner thinking to show the reader what you or your character was thinking."
Enjoy! Let me know how it goes!
