English Language Arts: Informational Text — Reading
Unit 3: Supporting Student Comprehension of Informational Text Facilitator’s Guide
Slide 1-2: Welcome and Objectives
This is our final unit in the module. Our objectives for Unit 3 are:
· Define and understand close reading of text
· Understand how to use text-dependent questions to closely ready text through lesson exemplars
· Identify structures of informational text
Slide 3: What is Close Reading?
While a variety of reading strategies support student comprehension, the CCSS for ELA/Literacy emphasizes close reading to draw understanding, inferences, and meaning directly from the text. The following videos will help you get a sense of what close reading looks like and how to define it.
Slide 4: How to do a Close Reading?
Let’s watch the video "How to do a Close Reading." While watching the video notice the ways the students interact directly with the text of Dr. Seuss' "Oh the Places You'll Go!"
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=adXdTXEzmzE
Slide 5: How to do a Close Reading? Continued
To gain a definition of close reading and how it relates to the CCSS for ELA/Literacy, view the following two parts of an interview with California State University, San Diego professor, Dr. Douglas Fisher.
Play Part I and Part II of the video.
Slide 6: Close Reading and the Common Core State Standards
In the first video, Douglas Fisher says that, "Close reading isn't in the Common Core State Standards." While he is correct that close reading is implied in the CCSS for ELA/Literacy, it is directly mentioned in the CCR Anchor Standards for Reading.
Slide 7: Close Reading and the Common Core State Standards Continued
Additionally, students need to read closely to meet the remainder of the CCR Anchor Standards for Reading (and the related grade-level standard). Consider how close reading supports students in achieving these two standards.
Take a few minutes to look at the remainder of the CCR Anchor Standards and your own grade-level standards for reading in their separate documents; consider the importance of close reading for students in achieving these standards.
Slide 8: Model of a Close Reading
In this video, David Coleman, one of the authors of the CCSS for ELA/Literacy, models close reading using Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. Notice the questions Coleman asks and how he guides students through the text. A copy of the letter is available in your participant packet if you choose to read along.
Refer back to your CCR Anchor Standards. Select two of the standards that Coleman's close reading of the letter addresses. After the video, we’ll have a brief table discussion.
Which standards did you choose and why?
Slide 9: Commonalities in Close Reading
Dr. Timothy Shanahan of the University of Illinois at Chicago, has stated that while there are many versions of close reading, in all of them, "the meaning is hidden in the text and needs to be acquired through careful and thorough analysis and reanalysis." In his presentation he highlights key features in guiding students through a close reading of text.
With a table partner, talk about how Shanahan's key features of close reading compares to the activities you are implementing in your current practice of teaching students to closely read text.
For additional information, review Shanahan’s presentation, “Meeting the Challenge of Common Core: Preparing for Close Reading”
Slide 10: Close Reading Strategies
Let’s watch the video, "Close Reading Strategies with Informational Text" to see how a fifth grade teacher conducts close reading in his classroom. Watch how the teacher directs student learning and how the students respond.
Video: http://engageny.org/resource/close-reading-strategies-with-informational-text-by-expeditionary-learning
Slide 11: Close Reading for English Learners
Let’s read the article your packet, “Understanding Language: What does Text Complexity Mean for English Learners and Language Minority Students” by Fillmore and Fillmore.
While reading, reflect on the instructional strategies you use in your classroom to assist English learners in achieving a higher level of understanding complex text.
Slide 12: Table Discussion
After reading the article, turn to a table partner and discuss these two questions:
What types of attention to language do Fillmore and Fillmore recommend when supporting English learners in their reading of the Letter?
How can you begin to implement this type of language support?
Slide 13: Text-Dependent Questions
Let’s review this quote.
Slide 14: Text-Dependent Questions Continued
Let’s review this slide.
Slide 15: Text-Dependent Questions Continued
The following list from Achieve the Core’s toolbox, “A Guide to Creating Text Dependent Questions for Close Analytic Reading,” can help generate a core series of questions to support the close reading of any text and is included in your participant packet.
Step One: Identify the Core Understandings and Key Ideas of the Text
As in any good reverse engineering or "backwards design" process, teachers should start by identifying the key insights they want students to understand from the text-keeping one eye on the major points being made is crucial for fashioning an overarching set of successful questions and critical for creating an appropriate culminating assignment.
Step Two: Start Small to Build Confidence
The opening questions should be ones that help orientate students to the text and be sufficiently specific enough for them to answer so that they gain confidence to tackle more difficult questions later on.
Step Three: Target Vocabulary and Text Structure
Locate key text structures and the most powerful academic words in the text that are connected to the key ideas and understandings, and craft questions that illuminate these connections.
Step Four: Tackle Tough Sections Head-on
Find the sections of the text that will present the greatest difficulty and craft questions that support students in mastering these sections (these could be sections with difficult syntax, particularly dense information, and tricky transitions or places that offer a variety of possible inferences).
Step Five: Create Coherent Sequences of Text-Dependent Questions
The sequence of questions should not be random but should build toward more coherent understanding and analysis to ensure that students learn to stay focused on the text to bring them to a gradual understanding of its meaning.
Step Six: Identify the Standards That Are Being Addressed
Take stock of what standards are being addressed in the series of questions and decide if any other standards are suited to being a focus for this text (forming additional questions that exercise those standards).
Step Seven: Create the Culminating Assessment
Develop a culminating activity around the key ideas or understandings identified earlier that reflects (a) mastery of one or more of the standards, (b) involves writing, and (c) is structured to be completed by students independently.
How does focusing students’ attention on the text to find evidence of their conclusions will promote critical thinking?
Slide 16: Lessons Featuring Text-Dependent Questions
Let’s review the slide.
Slide 17: Lessons Featuring Text-Dependent Questions Continued
Let’s take some time and look at the grade-level material closest to the grade you currently teach. All three are in your participant packet.
Slide 18: Lessons Featuring Text-Dependent Questions Continued
These materials are divided into text complexity grade bands as defined by the Standards: K–1, 2–3, 4–5, 6–8, 9–10, and 11–CCR.
Elementary
Grades K—1 and 2—3 exemplars include informational text and read—aloud informational text. For grades 4—5, the exemplars are informational text, including performance tasks for each one.
Middle School
The grades 6—8 exemplars are divided into content areas: English Language Arts, History/Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and Technical Subjects, with performance tasks for each exemplar.
High School
Exemplars for grades 9—12 are also divided into content areas: English Language Arts, History/Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and Technical Subjects, with performance tasks for each exemplar.
Slide 19: Informational Text Structures
California’s CCSS for ELA/Literacy highlight text structures and features in Standard 5.
“Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.”
Slide 20: Informational Text Structures Continued
Take a look at the text features, purpose, and types of texts designated for the grade level you teach in the CCSS for ELA/Literacy Reading for Informational Text:
Elementary pages 3-4
Secondary pages 21-22
Slide 21: Informational Text Structures Continued
Explicit teaching of these structures and features will support students in being able to access complex texts in order to understand these texts purposes.
Generally, informational text does contain signal words and phrases that can help the reader understand the text’s structure and its purpose.
Slide 22-23: Informational Text Structures Continued
These charts of text structures and the signal words commonly associated with these structures can support students in recognizing the structure of the text that they are reading.
Slide 24: Strategically Teaching Informational Text
In the video, “Comic Book Templates: An Entry Point into Nonfiction,” the teacher uses many instructional strategies to support all students' understanding of nonfiction texts. Which do you notice?
Slide 25: Text Exemplars and Performance Tasks, Appendix B
The CCSS for ELA/Literacy Appendix B includes text exemplars and performance tasks to guide educators in both selecting text at the appropriate complexity band and to ensure the tasks they assign students promote the standards and close reading of texts.
These materials are divided into text complexity grade bands as defined by the Standards: K–1, 2–3, 4–5, 6–8, 9–10, and 11–CCR.
Slide 26: Text Exemplars and Performance Tasks– Appendix B Continued
Read the performance task most closely related to your grade level. As you read, have think about the tasks that they assign to students when reading texts.
How does the performance task promote close reading?
Slide 27: Module Summary
In this module we examined the following objectives:
Identify the informational text standards associated with your grade-level classroom.
Select the tools you need to identify students’ reading skills and increase their ability to read more complex text.
Implement strategies in your classroom that support students in reading more complex text.
Slide 28: Module Summary
Let’s take a moment and let’s do the module’s post-assessment found in your participant packets.
Answers:
1) B
2) C
3) D
4) C
5) A
6) D
7) A
8) B
9) C
10) C
Slide 29: Post-Assessment
As educators, we share in the common goal of preparing all students to be college and career ready, and the teaching of informational text across the content areas is a key to achieving that goal for all students.
You have successfully completed English Language Arts: Informational Text-Reading professional learning module. Thank you for attending.