This investigation focuses on a tool used in a reading methods course to introduce reading specialist candidates to text analysis as a critical component of planning for text-based discussions. Unlike planning that focuses mainly on important text content or information, a text analysis approach focuses both on content and how that content is presented. Specifically, a text analysis approach engages teachers in identifying those text features that readers can use to understand how the presentation of text ideas is staged and how specific rhetorical and linguistic cues signal connections among those ideas. We report on the initial implementation of the tool with specific attention to insights that can inform teacher educators.