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Teaching ATL Explicitly Using the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model- MYP 1- Mayura Tiwari

Teaching ATL Explicitly Using the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model

Grade 6 is exploring the novel Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. The students are learning to write a literary response. While they engaged in some analysis when reading The Boy at the Back of the Class last semester, we are now deepening this skill.

The novel is rich in figurative language and lends itself beautifully to textual analysis.

The ATL in focus is: Communication – Reading for comprehension and meaning

The Gradual Release of Responsibility in Action

Image credit: https://www.ajjuliani.com/blog/how-to-engage-students-rethinking-the-gradual-release-of-responsibility

The following is a description of how I used the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model to explicitly teach this ATL skill.

Activating Prior Understanding: See–Think–Wonder

Before beginning the reading, I had the students participate in a See–Think–Wonder activity to surface their understanding of analysis.



This allowed students to articulate what analysis looks like and sounds like before we formally began.

Modelling Analysis (I Do)

During novel study in English, we pause as we read to analyse how meaning is shaped by the writer’s choices. This is standard classroom practice.

After reading a few chapters and explaining how we analyse character traits, I showed students an exemplar.





Shared Practice: Analysing Writer’s Craft (We Do)

Next, I demonstrated how analysing a specific turn of phrase can deepen meaning.

I selected a sentence and analysed it using the PETA format:

  • Point
  • Evidence
  • Technique
  • Analysis

We constructed this together on the board using student input. After discussion, students copied the model into their notebooks.

Making the ATL Explicit

In the following lesson, I explicitly drew attention to the ATL.

I asked students:

  • What does Reading for comprehension and meaning actually mean?
  • How are we using this skill during analysis?

After gathering their responses, I informed them they would now practise this skill collaboratively.

Collaborative Practice (You Do Together)

Each group received one quote from the text (this was their evidence).

Their task:

  • Identify the Point
  • Select key words
  • Analyse their impact
  • Explain how meaning is shaped

I moved from table to table, guiding through questioning.

Students were also encouraged to draw, as visualisation is a strategy they enjoy and regularly use while reading.

Reflection and Metacognition

Once groups completed the task, students reflected on how they were using the ATL skill during novel study.

This reflection helped build metacognition — understanding not just what they were doing, but how and why.

Independent Practice (You Do Alone)

For homework, students were given the same quotes and asked to analyse two of them independently.

In every lesson where reading takes place, the objective on the board continues to be: Reading for comprehension and meaning

Meaning Through Sketching

Meaning is also created through sketching.

Students’ drawings demonstrated their comprehension and analytical thinking, reinforcing that reading for meaning can be both verbal and visual.




By Mayura Tiwari



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