Home Icon

Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact

Chapter 3: Activating and Building Background Knowledge - Sample Category Matrix


Figure 3.3 (page 26) provides a category matrix for Cinderella variants.

Below are examples of story element components notemaking for a Cinderella variant category matrix. These notes are based on a response to Cinderella by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Susan Jeffers, and retold by Amy Ehrlich (Dial, 1985).

Notice that various forms are notemaking are used. Providing students with paper of different colors for their notes helps them when they compare story elements of different variants. (Note: the story elements should be on one horizontal plane as in Figure 3.3 but are shown in columns due to space limitations on a Web page.)


Types
of
Notes

Single words and phrases
Lists
Abbreviations
Drawings
Reference to a page number


Setting Characters Plot
Setting - castle, map of France, Charles Perrault 17th-century author
Cinderella's family tree using symbols for females and males
8 parts of the plot using wrods, abbreviations, symbols
     
Cultural Features Illustrations Theme
Cultural features: crown (royalty), glass slipper, clock, fairy wing, magic wand, forgiveness
Illustrations: elegant, romantic, soft, detailed, depict an era
Theme: Forgiveness is the key to success.

 

Home Icon

About | Web Support | How-to Chapters | Pathfinders | Workshops

Launched: March 2007
Updated: 2 April 2007