Refining think alouds

I've been experimenting with meta-cognitive reading think-alouds and their written cousins, the technique called "talk to the text.' Some lessons learned:

• before demonstrating, ask students to notice what you do and warn them you'll be asking them to describe what they observed as soon as you finish
• write down notes on the text as you go so they can also see your thoughts as they hear them
• make a copy of the text with wider margins and more generous line spacing for notes
• keep demo to two minutes - avoid overwhelm - TMI
• keep the debrief short - 2-3 minutes is plenty - resist the urge to talk, reframe, add
• go from teacher demo to reciprocal format, where teacher reads aloud and students talk aloud, building a think aloud as a whole group, with teacher writing student thoughts down on the text for all to see
• when students are solid as a whole class with teacher writing, then try pairs
• have pairs alternate
• can have one pair reading and thinking aloud and the other marking the text
• instruct the pairs that while one is reading and thinking aloud, the other one's job is to listen supportively, not to instruct, correct, etc.
• follow with an assessment to show students how much they comprehend after putting in effort 

Here is a short video with a demonstration that also explains the steps in this kind of lesson.