Comprehending complex text:

1. Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl By Albert Marrin Adapted from a presentation by Laura Robb, KRA 2012 Comprehending complex text:

2. When Do We Read Closely? • When we come upon a word, phrase, paragraph, that we know is important. • When we come upon a word, phrase, paragraph, that we know is important, but we don’t understand. • EVERY time we read.. • Assume that every word and phrase carries meaning. • Read like a writer—analyzing for writer’s craft.

3. How Do We Read Closely? • Read: • Word by word • Phrase by phrase • Sentence by sentence • Line by line

4. Questions for Close Reading • What does the word mean? Connotative meaning? Figurative meaning? (Standard 4) • Why did the author use this word? How does it impact the meaning/tone?(Standard 4) • What is the connection between words, phrases, sentences, etc.? • What is the significance of this phrase, word, line, etc? • Does the author provide valid/sufficient evidence? (Standard 8)

5. Questions for Close Reading • Where are pivotal points in the text? • How does the theme/central idea develop? (Standard 2) • How/why do individuals, events, ideas develop and interact ? (Standard 3) • How valid is the reasoning in this piece of writing? (Standard 8) • How does this piece of writing address the topic/theme compared to other works? (Standard 9) • How does the author’s point of view shape the content/style of the writing (Standard 6)

6. Getting Started • Read the Title of the piece: • Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl • by Albert Marrin • Ask yourself…“What do I know about this topic?”

7. Next…Get Mentally Prepared! • If you don’t know about the topic… • No worries! • Just prepare yourself!

8. Reading Complex Text… “We change our reading rate based on the demands of text. It’s not just reading the words…it’s thinking about what you’re reading.” Laura Robb

9. Prepare Yourself! • Prepare to… • Read slowly. • Read closely. • Read thoughtfully. • RE-READ when you need to make sense of words, sentences, paragraphs, or overall meaning.

10. Now… • Read the FIRST paragraph • Read the LAST paragraph • Do NOT read the middle section.

11. Mark the Text! • Re-Read the first paragraph • Highlight words/phrases that you think are important to the text. • Re-Read the last paragraph • Highlight words/phrases that you think are important to the text.

12. Talk it Over… • With a reading partner, discuss the words/phrases that you chose. • Discuss WHY you chose these words/phrases to be significant. • Discuss WHY you think the author chose these words and phrases?

13. Now… • Read the second paragraph. • Do a Think Aloud with your partner, discussing inferences you made as you were reading. • Use this formula—Inference + BECAUSE+ Facts from the text.

14. Stick to the Text! • You may make an inference or think “Oh, this reminds me of…” Alaska, blizzards, or tornados, but… • There is NO tornado in the text • There are NO blizzards in the text • There are NO references to Alaska in the text.

15. Own Your Thoughts! “Show your thinking with evidence from the text, then you own that knowledge.” Laura Robb

16. Now…What’s the Big Idea?? • Read Paragraph 3 “The storm…” • Read Paragraph 4 “Dust bowl!” • Read, thinking about the big ideas that the author communicates in these paragraphs. • Discuss big ideas with your reading partner.

17. CCSS Ask Us to Look at Language • Re-read paragraph 2 • Underline/highlight words that connect to the big idea(s). • Discuss your thinking with your partner. • Discuss connections… • between language and big ideas • between language and mood/tone. • Notice any pivotal points in the language used in paragraph 2?

18. Now… • Read the remaining three paragraphs (beginning with “Coming at the same time…”)

19. Identifying Text Structure • Examine how experienced writers use different text structures in their writing. • Label each paragraph with its text structure. • Description • Sequence • Cause/Effect • Comparison/Contrast • Problem/Solution

20. Analyzing Text Structure Discuss your text structure labels with your partner.

21. Analyzing Text Structure Discuss the author’s purpose in crafting the text structures for this piece. • What does it say? • What does it mean? • Why does it matter?

22. Analyzing Author’s Purpose • Which structure does the author use to introduce the piece? • Why did he choose this structure? • Why does he choose to shift from setting to “old timers”? • Why is the ecology paragraph in the middle, rather than the beginning? • Why does the author shift from narrative to factual, technical writing?

23. Vocabulary Instruction • Say our theme for the unit is devastation. • Think/Pair/Share and… • Find two words in the passage that relate to devastation. • Provide evidence from the text of how each relates to devastation.

24. Vocabulary Instruction

25. Vocabulary Instruction • Vocabulary • Must be specific • Must help readers connect to words • DO NOT just list/define words • Build vocabulary by linking to text • Build vocabulary by providing concrete examples from text

26. Sources • Laura Robb, KRA 2012 • Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl by Albert Marrin, Dutton, 2009.