Syntax Surgery
Syntax surgery (Beers, 2003) is a literacy support tool that helps students understand sections of confusing text. Syntax surgery slows down the reading process and examines the punctuation, words, and phrases that are critical to understanding the text through notation. During syntax surgery, students might consider the following: Why did the author use a semicolon instead of a period? What is the antecedent to a pronoun? What part of speech is this unknown word? Students can circle punctuation marks, draw arrows from nouns to pronouns, and make notations in the margin about unknown words. When paired with a think-aloud, syntax surgery is a way for teachers to provide notation of their thinking about selected skills or elements of the text. As students are listening to the think-aloud, the students can also see the thinking as it is mapped out on the text.
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003 (pp. 135-6).
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003 (pp. 135-6).