Reading Informational Texts

1. Reading Informational Texts

2. “I don’t get it!”

3. We know we need to change…. • Students do not read enough informational texts (Duke, 2000) but • Students perform poorly on informational passages on state and national tests. • NAEP 70% informational texts by 2009.

4. Reading informational texts can be motivating (Duke, Bennett- Armistead, & Roberts, 2002).

5. Teachers added lots of new texts…

8. Text Structure Texts are organized in culturally accepted ways. Students who come from other language or cultural backgrounds may have difficulty with both informational and narrative texts.

9. North American Texts • Fictional texts • Plot is based on events in a series. • Characters are introduced early in the story. • Conflict is resolved. • Linear thought process

10. Directionality of Stories

11. From Maori author Patricia Grace quoted in Come on Shore by Christina Thompson (2008), p. 66. • “there’s a way the older people have of telling a story, a way where the beginning is not the beginning, the end is not the end. It starts from the centre and moves away from there in such widening circles that you don’t know how you will finally arrive at a point of understanding, which becomes itself another core, a new centre.”

12. North American texts • Informational texts • Main idea/details • Problem/solution • Cause/effect • Sequence or process • Comparison/contrast

13. Informational Texts • Many authentic texts combine different kinds of text structures. They are often difficult to identify in real texts.

14. Translated Stories

16. Think about with Texts Science Texts Social Studies Texts Journals Diaries, letters Lab reports Political cartoons Graphs, charts Picture books Data tables, diagrams Newspapers Textbooks Textbooks Internet texts Poetry Video texts, microscope slides Commercials Maps, posters Instructions, directions Informational books Recipes Cartoons, pictograms Billboards, bumper stickers, posters Newspaper articles Lyrics Summaries Internet texts, on-line bios

17. Think about Texts (cont.) Mathematics Art Charts, diagrams Textbooks Plans, patterns (architecture) Gallery guides Budgets, financial reports Media terms Schedules, time tables Magazines Instruments: seismic, volcanic, etc. Journal articles Instructions, operations Catalogs Historical references Critiques Maps, trend patterns Internet sources Statistics Photos, original art Problems, equations Movies Textbook explanations Symbolic representations

18. Story Problem Example • A 50 meter swimming pool can be filled in 4 days using pipe A alone and in 3 days using both pipes A and B. How many days would be needed to fill the pool using only pipe B? • 3x + 4x3=4x • X=12

19. Math Example:Reading Story Problems • “You have to read every phrase very carefully. What does each phrase mean?” • “Do you know what I mean by a ‘phrase’”? • “A phrase is a group of words. In a story problem you need to think about what each phrase means and apply it to solving the problem.” (Adapted from instruction of Coos Bay mathematics teacher)

20. New Math Equations for Living

21. DOG = CAT + LOYALTY

22. WEATHER FORECAST PARTLY RIGHT + PARTLY WRONG + 50%

23. CRAZY = Talking to ____ (Cell phone + Oneself ear piece)

24. GOOD MEETING TIME SAVED + SNACKS TIME WASTED

25. Thinking about the Readers What preparations do students need before they read? Accessing background knowledge Generating interest Arousing curiosity Connecting with prior experiences Language ability Knowledge of content Vocabulary Which strategies would be useful to prepare readers for this text?Anticipation guide PreP Vocabulary preteaching Webbing Expectation outlining Predict-O-Gram