Informational Text and the Common Core State Standards

1. Informational Text and the Common Core State Standards Illinois State Board of Education English Language Arts Content Specialists Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

2. Today’s Targets • Importance of informational text • Informational text and the Common Core State Standards • 5 ways to improve comprehension of • informational text Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

3. What is Informational Text? Informational text is text whose primary purpose is to convey information about the natural or social world, and that has particular linguistic features to accomplish that purpose. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

4. Difference Between Fiction, Informational Text and Nonfiction Fiction • Drama • Poetry • Short Stories • Myths • Legends • Nursery Rhymes • Realistic Fiction • Drama Nonfiction • Informational Text • Encyclopedias • Field Guides • All-about books • Informational Hypertext (websites) • Magazines • Newspapers • Literary Nonfiction • Essay • Journal • Letter

5. Informational Text Informational Text Literature Literature A balance of informational text Science,Biographies, Short Stories Short stories, Social Studies,History, Arts, Myths, Legends, Myths, Legends, SS, Science, etc. Directions,Forms, etc. Poetry,Drama Poetry,Drama

6. Teacher Use of Informational Texts in Read-Alouds Mixed Genre 13% Narrative texts have largely dominated read-alouds in the primary classroom. (Duke, 2000) Expository 4% In the past, when teachers read aloud & interpreted difficult nonfiction, young readers learned information but failed to read expository text. (Palmer & Stewart, 2003) Narrative 82% Teachers need to directly instruct how to navigate & extract information in order to become fluent & strategic readers of this genre. (RAND, 2002)

7. Research Read-alouds and the use of text-based discussions are opportunities to help students learn from complex informational text, especially when students are just learning to read or if students struggle to read informational text independently. (Beck & McKeown, 2001; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

8. Research • Studies have long shown that the majority of the reading and writing adults do is nonfiction (Venezky, 1982). • Approximately 96% of sites on the World Wide Web contain nonfiction, informational text (Kamil and Lane, 1998).

9. Research Nearly 44 million American adults cannot extract even a single piece of information from a written text if any inference or background knowledge is required (Levy, 1993).

10. Research Some education researchers have attributed the "fourth grade slump" in overall literacy achievement in large part to problems with informational literacy (Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin, 1990). Background knowledge has a profound influence on students’ ability to comprehend what they read. The more extensive a reader’s background knowledge is, the easier it is to acquire new information offered by the text (Alfassi, 2004).

11. Common Core State Standards (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) • Calls for an interdisciplinary approach with a balance of literature and informational texts in: • history • social studies • science and technical subjects • Preparation for reading complex informational texts should begin at the very earliest elementary school grades. • Domain-specific nonfiction can be infused within the English language arts block.

12. Balancing Informational and Literary Texts 50% K-5 55% by grade 8 70% by grade12 “In K–5, the Standards follow NAEP’s lead in balancing the reading of literature with the reading of informational texts, including texts in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.” (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010)

13. Informational Text: The Benefits Align with Elements of Text Complexity • Expands student development of: • more sophisticated oral language • (Reese & Harris, 1997) • content area knowledge in • science and social studies • (Stone & Twardosz, 2001; Hirsch, 2003) • expository text structures • (Duke & Kays, 1998; Donovan & Smolkin, 2001) • reading interest in various topics • (Duke 2000; Casteel & Isom, 1994) Elements of Text Complexity Text Structure Levels of Meaning Knowledge Demands Language

14. Five ways to improve comprehension of informational text: • 1. Increase attention to the unique and the especially challenging • characteristics of informational text. Two characteristics are: • Text Features • Text Structures • 2. Increase instructional time with informational text. • 3. Increase access to informational text. • 4. Increase explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, along • with lots of opportunities for guided and independent practice. • 5. Ensure that informational text is used for authentic purposes as • much as possible. • (Duke, 2005)

15. #1 Increase attention to the unique and the especially challenging characteristics of informational textText Features That Signal Importance • Fonts and Effects Titles, headings, boldface print, color print, italics, bullets, captions, labels • Cue Words and Phrases • Illustrations and Photographs • Graphics Diagrams, cross-sections, overlays, distribution maps, word bubbles, tables, graphs, charts • Text Organizers Index, preface, table of contents, glossary, appendix • Text Structures (Harvey and Goudvis, 2000)

16. Discuss the Characteristics of Fiction and Informational Texts Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

17. Text Features Research confirms the need to explicitly teach text features. (Kelley & Clausen-Grace. 2010) Introduce a new text feature each day. Chart the feature and its purpose. Show students many examples in nonfiction books. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

18. Have students find their own examples of text features in books. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

19. Teacher models how to design a text feature. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

20. Student Diagrams Have students make their own diagrams….. • Diagrams can become part of student work: • picture glossaries • summaries • writing • question generation • research projects

21. Informational vs Narrative Text Structure Narrative Informational Purpose: Inform or Describe Sequential Description Comparison Cause and Effect Problem and Solution Purpose: Tell a Story • Beginning • Middle • End • Usually written from the author’s imagination (plot, conflict, setting) Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

22. Informational Text Structure Children have far less familiarity with informational text structures than with narrative. (Goldman & Rakestraw, 2000) Students of all ages generally find reading informational text more difficult than reading narrative text. (Langer, 1985) “Knowing the overall organizational pattern, as well as underlying structures such as comparison and contrast, provide a scaffold for deriving and understanding the information.” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2008) Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

23. Text Structure • Writers use different structures to build their ideas. • Each text structure communicates ideas in a different way.

24. There are certain structures found in informational text. Each type of structure makes its own demands on the reader: • sequential, • description, • comparison, • cause & effect, • problem & solution.

25. Sequential The author lists items or eventsin numerical or chronological order. Clue words include first, second, third, next, then and finally. .

26. Description The author lists characteristics, features, and examples to describe a subject. Clue words for description include for example & characteristics.

27. Comparison The author explains how two or more things are alike or different. Clue words include different, in contrast, alike, same as, or on the other hand.

28. Cause and Effect The author explains one or more causesandthe resulting effect or effects. Clue words are reasons why, if, then, as a result, therefore, and because. Cause Effect Cause Cause

29. Problem and Solution The author states a problemandlists one or more solutions for the problem. Clue words are problem is, dilemma is, puzzle is, solve, question, and answer. Problem ___________________________ Solution___________________________

30. Teaching Text Structure Piccolo (1987) recommends introducing and working on the patterns one at a time. Use short, easy paragraphs and maps or graphic organizers to define, explain and illustrate each structural pattern. Help students discover the common distinguishing features in these examples. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

31. #2 – Increase Instructional Time With Informational Text Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

32. #3 Increase Access to Informational Text Does your classroom library have informational text? Is there time in the schedule for all students to choose and read informational text? Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

33. Provide A Plethora of Informational Text in Your Classroom Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

34. Think Outside the Book Magazines Ranger Rick My Big Backyard (www.nwf.org) Dig (www.digonsite.com) Time For Kids (www.timeforkids.com) Discover (www.kidsdiscover.com) National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazines/ Cobblestone Publishers (Cricket & Ladybug Magazines) http://www.cobblestonepub.com/samplers.html Appleseeds (social studies) Ask (science) Click (science, history and other areas)

35. Newspapers • Find news articles on topics your class is studying and post them. • Establish a spot in the room labeled “In the News” where you rotate news articles on a regular basis. • Scholastic News (www.teacher.scholastic.com/products/classmags.htm) • NIEonline provides online lesson plans and other innovative materials for use on NIE websites to provide new ways for your teachers to use your newspaper and your e-Edition in their classrooms. http://nieonline.com/

36. The Internet Kid-Friendly Search Engine - www.yahooligans.com Favorite Websites CIA - www.odci.gov National Geographic – www.nationalgeographic.org PBS – www.pbs.org World Health Organization – www.who.org The White House – www.whitehouse.gov

37. Add to Your Classroom Library Multiple Genres Multiple Reading Levels Include some books that are two grades above your class’s level, and some two years below its level. • Fantasy Books • Predictable Books • Biographies • Poetry • Procedural Texts Cookbooks Science Experiment • Joke Books • Cartoons Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

38. #4Increase explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, along with lots of opportunities for guided and independent practice. • Reciprocal Teaching - (Palincsar & Brown, 1986) • Collaborative Strategic Reading - (Klinger &Vaughn, 1999) Evidence is clear: the more time students spend reading, the higher their reading achievement (Anderson, Fielding, & Wilson, 1988) Students benefit most when independent reading time is carefully planned and monitored. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

39. Reciprocal Teaching • When reciprocal teaching was used for just 15 days students reading increases from 30 - 80%. (Palinscar & Brown, 1986) • According to a study by Palinscar and Klenk 1991, students not only improved their comprehension skills immediately, but they also maintained improved comprehension skills when tested a year later. • Lubliner 2001, points out that reciprocal teaching is an effective teaching technique that can improve on the kind of reading comprehension that is necessary not only for improved test scores but also for an information age. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

40. What is Reciprocal Teaching? Speaking and listening Definition: Reciprocal teaching refers to an instructional activity that takes place in the form of a dialogue between teachers and students regarding segments of text. The dialogue is structured by the use of four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting. The teacher and students take turns assuming the role of teacher in leading this dialogue. (Palincsar,1986) Text-Dependent Questions Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

41. The Four Reciprocal Teaching Strategies… Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. (RI.2.1) Predicting Questioning Clarifying Summarizing CCSS #1 Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text. (RI.2.8) CCSS # 8 Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. (RI.2.2) CCSS #2 Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

42. But don’t I use these four strategies already? • Most likely, you already teach your students to predict, question, clarify, summarize and visualize. • The difference with reciprocal teaching is that the strategies are delivered as a multiple-strategy package used in concert with one another rather than as separate strategies. • The aim of reciprocal teaching is for good readers to cycle through four strategies, not necessarily in order, to make sense of the text. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

43. Collaborative Strategic Reading CSR is an excellent technique for teaching students reading comprehension, building vocabulary and also working together cooperatively. (Klinger & Vaughn, 1996) Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

44. Collaborative Strategic Reading(Students work in small, cooperative groups) • Before Reading • Brainstorm – What do we already know about the topic? • Predict – What do we think we will learn about the topic when we read the passage? • Read the first paragraph, sentence or section. • During Reading • Click & Clunk – Were there any parts that were hard to understand (clunks)? How can we fix the clunks? • Get the Gist – What is the most important person, place or thing? What is the most important idea about the person, place or thing? • After Reading 1. Wrap Up – Ask text-dependent questions:questions that can only be answered by referring explicitly back to the text being read. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

45. Collaborative Strategic Reading • Students have specific roles: leader, clunk expert, gist expert, announcer, encourager. • Cue cards may be used to support students in small, cooperative groups. • E.g., a clunk card that says: “Reread the sentences before and after the clunk looking for cues.” • E.g., a student leader cue card that says: “Did everyone understand what we read? If you did not, write your clunks in your learning log.” • Students complete learning logs before and after reading. http://www.ims.issaquah.wednet.edu/CSR/CSR_Plan.pdf http://www.ims.issaquah.wednet.edu/CSR/CSR_Learning_Log.pdf Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

46. Strategy Tips • Model the strategies. • Be consistent. • Use the strategies several times a week. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

47. #5Ensure that informational text is used for authentic purposes as much as possible. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

48. Authentic Purposes Set up situations in which students need information – then encourage students to read to obtain that information. Find information about the life cycles of frogs before setting up a tadpole tank. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

49. Learn about the needs of growing things before planting a window box. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

50. Authentic Purposes • Water is left out on a pan on Friday and has “disappeared” on a Monday. • Set out magnets with various materials that the magnets will or will not attract. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License