chapter 15: informational reading

CHAPTER 15: INFORMATIONAL READINGCourtney Fisher 2011

What? Informational text is… Expository Text that communicates facts about

the natural or social world; (Duke 2006) Found in many types and format; Organized to steer readers to understanding and

identifying key information and make connections among ideas;

Ranges from Cookbooks to magazines; textbooks to internet websites;

More of a challenge for the reader; Lastly, uses diverse ranges of reading strategies

to understand.Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn 2008

What? Text Structure Informational Text Structure and Signal Words

Text Structure Signal Words or PhrasesDescriptionExplains, defines, illustrates a concept or topic

For example, for instance, main parts, such as, this particular

Compare-ContrastPresents similarities & differences between two or more objects, places, events, or ideas

Compare: like, alike, just as, similar, both, also, tooContrast: unlike, differ, but, in contrast, on the other hand, however

Cause-EffectPresents the reason an event happened and its results

Because, due to, since, therefore, so, as a result, consequently, lead to , this is why, the reason, result in, consequences

Problem/SolutionPoses a problem and suggests ;possible solutions

Problem: problem, question, the troubleSolution: solution, answer, in response

Time Ordered (Sequence) Groups ideas by order or time

First, next, then afterward, later, last finally, not, after, before, stages, steps

Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn 2008

What? Graphic Organizers Graphic Organizers can aid in

Informational reading by helping students to:a) Record information about underlying text

structures;b) See how concepts fit within text

structures;c) Focus on the most important ideas;d) Examine relationships among text

concepts;e) Recall key text information;f) &, write well organized summaries.


What? Considerate Texts Ideas for choosing Informational Text

Structural Clues

•Text Structure apparent to reader•Aspects of text that suggest, indicate, or emphasize its

structure

Coherence

•Clarity of writing…does it make sense?•Features:

•Main ideas are easy to find and clearly stated•Information supports the main idea•Events and ideas are in logical order•Signal words are used to illuminate relationships between

events and ideas•Precise wording is used•Transitions are smooth between topics

Audience Appropriaten

ess•Builds on the word knowledge students already have•New concept introduction is appropriate for word knowledge of

student


What? Comprehension Strategies

Strategy Application All comprehension strategies apply. Text that is close to the content-area shows

greater build in comprehension strategies. Students learning informational reading

strategies are more likely to utilize the different skills when techniques are valuable and can be used in new learning situations.


Students can avoid this situation by

understanding text structures…

What? Recognition of Structure Text structure allows students to locate and

organize information being presented. Using clues such as:

Signal words, Physical features,

Headings Boldface type Tables

& Graphic organizersStudents will be able to “see” the text structure for

understanding and comprehension.


What? Monitoring Comprehension Students need to understand if the text

is making sense and know how to handle comprehension issues when they come up.

Tools such as searching, scanning and skimming are helpful to build understanding.

Text Search Model is one tool for understanding text. See Chart page 688


What? Connecting to Word Knowledge

Information is learned by creating connections with information learned in the past.

Word knowledge shapes a readers perception of text.

Teacher guidance helps encourage understanding when new information does not link to previous word knowledge.

K-W-L charts are often used to stimulate word knowledge of a topic. For example see page 689.


What? Word Knowledge Tools

Predicting: Making an informed guess of what the content contains.

Asking Questions: Elaborative Interrogation= students create hypotheses as a way to

remember facts. Useful in Math and Science

Answering Questions: Question-Answer Relationships Framework is a tool for students and

teachers to use when answering questions based on a text. See chart page 691.

Constructing Mental Images: Mental images are created as the reading is done, thus creating a visual

mental image that can change as the content becomes more intricate. Summarizing:

Students use one of three strategies to come the main idea of a text. Dependent upon the strategy being taught, students may use a series of steps of techniques to come the main idea of the text. Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn

2008

What? Multiple-Strategy Instruction Program Collaborative Strategic Reading= creates students

that use self monitoring comprehension strategies that support their understanding of informational text.

Reader Response utilizes two techniques to create understanding. Discussion-Oriented Instruction focuses the student

on content by engaging them through questioning. Writing for Content-Area Learning utilizes students

ability to respond to informational texts through their own written response, review of text, improving text, as well as producing their own informational text.


What? Motivation and Engagement “Engaged readers are strongly motivated to learn from what they

are reading- taking satisfaction in successful reading, believing in their reading skills, and persisting in the face of difficulty.” (Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn 2008)

Students who show understanding through comprehension subsequently show understanding in content area.

Engaged informational readers are: Motivated, Knowledge-driven, Socially interactive, & strategic in how they go about reading.

Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) employ five motivational practices of:1. Relevance,2. Choice,3. Collaboration,4. Success,5. & Conceptual theme. Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn

2008

What? Web-Based Text Web-based text is:

Able to supply options for greater comprehension; Engaging when carefully chosen; Encompasses a vast majority of student use; Challenging due to timing, navigation understanding,

distractions from outside sources, and harder to judge for credibility;

& A tool requiring a strategies to be manipulated for the content.

Strategy Application Chart provides many ideas for the direct application of informational text reading strategies on the web. See page 697.


Why? Informational Reading Informational reading helps young readers to:

Build content knowledge and vocabulary; Profit from students interest, curiosities, and

experiences; Provide opportunities for students to develop areas

of expertise; Prepare students for the texts they will see and use

frequently as adults; Support students in finding answers and creating

questions; &, serve as a tool for both serving and posing

problems. (Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn 2008)

When? To Teach, Assess, & Intervene

Teach:Primary Grades

Assess:Frequentl

y

Intervene:

When

misusing or

not using

strategy

Informational Text provides interest

reading in the primary grades…even when being

read to the student.

Assessing comprehension of Informational Text requires the use of several formats.

Intervention of comprehension

strategies can be practiced through

re-teaching strategies.


How? Question-Answer Relationships

Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) Research Based Helps students to understand text relationships

Text- what I read… Personal- what I believe in my head…

In the Text In my headRight ThereThe answers to the questions is “right there” in one sentence; the question and answer have the same meaning.

On My OwnThe answer to the question comes entirely from students’ world knowledge.

Think and SearchThe answer to the question requires searching across the text; the question and answer have different wordings.

Author and MeThe answer to the question comes from understanding the text in the conjunction with students’ world knowledge. Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn

2008

How? Paragraph Shrinking

1.Identify who or what (person, animal, place or thing) a paragraph is mostly about.

2. Identify the most important information about the who or what.

3. Shrink all the information into one main-idea statement of 10 words or less.

Paragraph shrinking allows students to make summaries for identifying information learned in order to synthesize and

restate the concept objective. Steps of Paragraph Shrinking


See Page

712

How? Collaborative Strategic Reading

Combination of two instructive strategies: Comprehension Strategy Instruction Cooperative Learning

Teacher models each strategy in whole group setting.

Students eventually learn to collaboratively use the strategies where each student knows his/her role.

Before Reading: PreviewScan-Brainstorm What You Know-Predict What You Will

Learn During Reading:

Click and Clunk-Get the Gist

See Page 720

After Reading: Wrap UpAsk and Answer Questions-Review What You Learned


How? Questioning the Author Focus on text content through teacher-

directed discussions. Ability to engage in discussions to tackle text

meaning. Ability to recognize the intentions , biases,

and fallibility of authors. Ability to recognize that poor comprehension

may be due to poorly written text. Works both in whole class and small group

reading strategies. See page 733 for

sample planHonig, Diamond, Gutlohn 2008

How? Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction Science instruction is paired with the strategic reading

of informational and narrative texts, supported through student writing. (Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn 2008)

Objectives: Increase students’ reading comprehension, science

knowledge, and motivation to read independently. Comprehension Strategies Include:

Activating Background Knowledge Questioning Organizing Graphically Structuring Story Summarizing


See Page 739

Informational Reading is:•Expository Text that communicates facts about the natural or social world.•Used to reach content areas generally found in more specific areas of Math and Science.•Best used when aspects such as reading level, word knowledge, and content area are clearly understood and structure is reviewed.•Found in many sources for student comprehension.•Taught through many different styles and strategies to increase comprehension strategies in whole group, small group and individual learning styles.

Conclusion

Honig, Diamond, Gutlohn (2008) Teaching Reading Sourcebook, 2nd Ed. California: Arena Press

Bibliography

chapter 15: informational reading

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