What are Signposts?

Signposts are “things” readers should notice (see) and note (think about). When you read fiction (stories made by an author) or nonfiction (stories that claim to tell us something about real people, places, or events), you’ll want to look for different Signposts and assume a different stance (attitude) toward the text.

There are 6 Signposts for fiction. There are 5 Signposts for nonfiction. They are described below in the embedded Google Doc. The Signpost idea was created by two reading teachers: Kylene Beers and Robert Probst. If you’re an adult reading this, you can visit their website to learn more about this. (If you’re a student, you can visit the website, too!)

Why use signposts?

Just because you read a text doesn’t mean you’re thinking about it. And just because you read a text doesn’t mean you’re learning something new either. Readers need to interact with the text. They need to “think” and “do” something with it. The Signposts offer the reader a question to ponder and think about. The answer to the question will help you drill down deeper into the meaning of the text.

Readers need to interact with a text. They need to “think” and “do” something with it. The Signposts offer the reader a question to ponder and think about. The Signposts force YOU the reader to sloooooow down. The answer to an anchor question will help you drill down deeper into the meaning of a text.

IF all you do is identify the Signpost, you’re off to a good start. But the most important part of using a signpost is thinking or talking about the anchor questions which are shown in the embedded Google Doc below in bold and italics.