Reading Analysis

Reading Analysis: Stage 3

Simple Sentences with Extensions, Attributes and Appositions
Materials Duplicate sets of prepared sentences, one of the pair serves as a control
for reconstruction
Loose orange, black and blue arrows with questions
Loose circles – black, red, orange
Loose black and blue triangles, corresponding in size to the Second
Analysis Chart
The Second Analysis Chart
Scissors

Purposes • To help the child become aware of words and groups of words in a
sentence so he can better interpret what he reads
• Preparation for better understanding in reading, and better self-
expression in both verbally and in creative writing.
• Preparation for understanding differences in style

Age 5 ½ and up

Presentation 1: Invite the child. Bring the prepared slips for stage 3 in pouch 1 and the
Simple sentences box with materials and scissors.
with extension
Go through the materials in the box, starting with the familiar. Show
the black arrows first. Read the questions on them. There will be a new
one, read that last (indirect object; (to whom? to what? for whom? for
what?). Next introduce the orange arrows, reading the question and
laying out on the table. Leave the blue arrows and triangles in the box.
Take out the red circle, and the two black circles the child has used.
Introduce the new, smaller black circle. Place the open box with the
remaining circles to the upper-right area of the table.

Have the child pick one of the prepared slips, read it and act it out. For
example: “Yesterday, Tom gave Mary flowers for her birthday in the
park.” Have the child copy the sentence onto a slip of paper so that it
can be cut for the analysis.

Analyze the sentence:

What was the action? Cut out “gave” and place.
Read all the back arrows first. Who is it that …gave? Tom.
Cut Tom and place arrow and subject circle.
Tom gave…what? flowers. Cut out “flowers” and place arrow and slip
on direct object circle. Up to this part, it is identical to Stage 2.
Read the new black arrow for the indirect object. Place the last black
arrow and ask: Tom gave flowers …to whom? Mary
 Reading Analysis
Stage 3

Cut off Mary and place on the new smaller black circle. (the new small
black circle goes with the new arrow) Notice there are still more words
left, so you will go through the orange arrows to see the questions
asked will refer to any of the remaining words. Start asking the
questions and if you have the answer in your sentence, cut out the
word, place the arrow coming away from the bottom of the verb. Place
a small orange disk at the end of the arrow and place the work. If the
question on the orange arrow does not have an answer, turn it upside
down and continue reading the rest of the questions. For our example,
the following questions are answered.

Tom gave Mary flowers when? yesterday

Tom gave Mary flowers where? in the park
Tom gave Mary flowers why? for her birthday

Transpose:
Without moving any materials on the table, read the extensions in a
different order, keeping the subject-verb-objects intact. Have the child
follow your fingers to read the different transpositions.
For example:
In the park, Tom gave Mary flowers for her birthday yesterday.
For her birthday, Tom gave Mary flowers yesterday in the park.
Tom gave Mary flowers in the park yesterday for her birthday.

With each transposition, decide if it still makes sense, or if we like it.

When you have done many transpositions, have child decide which
way they like it best. The child will discover certain aspects of the
sentence are emphasized by their placement. Finally, read the sentence
in its original order, using the laminated slip as the control.

Remove the cut words, return materials to order on table, do another

sentence. Invite the child to continue independently with prepared
sentences. Fade and observe.

Presentation 2: Invite the child. Bring the materials and the sentences in pouch 2 for
Simple stage 3. Take out the black arrows, red circle and black circles.
Sentences with Explain that we are not going to use the orange arrows today, but will
Attributes use the blue arrows. Read the questions on the blue arrows and place
on the table in a column. Take out the blue triangles, close the box.

Give the child a sentence to read, write on a slip, and act out: The tall,
brave, fireman rescues the shy, frightened, kitten.
Analyze the sentence:
What is the action? Rescues
Cut off “rescues” and place on the red circle.
 Reading Analysis
Stage 3

Who is it that… rescues? The tall brave fireman” cut phrase and put on
large black circle for subject
The tall brave fireman rescues what? The shy, frightened kitten, place
on the medium circle for direct object

Notice the long noun phrases. Tell the child: There are many words on
this slip. Let us see if we can pull information out from the phrase. To
do this we will use the blue arrows.

Read a blue arrow. Do we know which or what kind of fireman? Cut

off “tall, brave”, put at end of blue arrow coming from the fireman
circle, placing on a blue triangle. Leave “the” with “fireman”.

Do we know which or what kind of kitten?” Cut off “shy, frightened”,

put at end of blue arrow coming from the kitten. Place on blue triangle
at end of arrow.

Read slips just across the top. “The fireman rescues the kitten”. Ask
the child: Is that the same? Does it change anything? It could have
been any fireman or kitten. It changes the meaning, but not the action.

Transpose the attributes (adjectives):

“The shy, frightened fireman rescues the tall, brave kitten.” Have the
child act out. Does it change the meaning? Return the sentence to the
original position.

Invite the child to continue to work independently with prepared strips.

Fade and observe

Presentation 3: Set up is the same as with presentation 2, but instead of using the blue
Simple sentences triangles you will use the black triangles and you bring the sentence
with appositions pouch labeled 3.

Invite the child to choose a sentence to read, and write on a slip.

Will, the seaman apprentice, visited Ellen, the passenger.
Invite the child to act it out.

Analyze: Cut words and place with symbols

What was the action? Visited
Who is it that visited? Will, place on black circle.
Will visited whom? Ellen

Now read the blue arrows.

Do we know which Will? the seaman apprentice
Place the blue arrow coming off the subject and place the phrase on a
black triangle at the end of the arrow.
 Reading Analysis
Stage 3

Do we know which “Ellen”? The passenger

Place blue arrow coming off direct object and place on a black triangle.

Transpose:
Switch the subject and the apposition and read across the top. The
seaman apprentice visited the passenger. Comment on how the
meaning changed, but still makes sense.
Read one more time, including the appositive. The seaman apprentice,
Will, visited the passenger, Ellen.
Comment on how they are interchangeable. This is why the triangles
are now black.

Invite the child to work independently. Fade and observe.

Control of Error None

Following 1. When the child is comfortable using the loose arrows and circles,
Exercises invite them to use reading analysis chart 2. No blue arrows, child
would have to add loose.

Pedagogical These materials were originally created in 1930 for the elementary.
Notes They filtered their way into the primary, because Dr. Montessori
realized the primary could do it experientially.