informational text: what’s it all about? rita maddox language arts consultant april 15, 2005

Informational Text: What’s It All

About?

Rita MaddoxLanguage Arts Consultant

April 15, 2005

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Remember these?Seven Best Practice StructuresReading-As-Thinking Representing-to-LearnSmall Group Activities Classroom workshop Authentic Expression Reflective Assessment Integrative Units

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•Reading-As-Thinking Making ConnectionsQuestioningMaking InferencesVisualizingDetermining Importance in TextSynthesizing Information

from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

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Reading-As-Thinking:Making Connections Between text and past experience or

background knowledge Between text and another text Between text and events and experiences

in worldfrom Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

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Reading-As-Thinking:Questioning

Proficient readers continually ask questions

Before readingDuring readingAfter reading

Gives a purpose for readingMonitors understanding of material


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Reading-As-Thinking:Inferring Use background knowledge and

experience Pay attention to detail


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Reading-As-Thinking:Visualizing Create pictures in your mind

Use author’s words Use background experience

Make comparisons Note words that appeal to sensesfrom Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

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Reading-As-Thinking:Determining Importance

Activate prior knowledgeNote characteristics of textSkim text Read bold print, illustrations, graphs and tablesRead first and last line of each paragraph carefullyTake notes or highlight text


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Reading-As-Thinking:Synthesizing

Retell informationAdd personal responseMake comparisons and contrastsAttempt to answer “I wonder” questions Make application of reading to real world


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Which of these do you think are most effectively used with informational text?

Making ConnectionsQuestioningMaking InferencesVisualizingDetermining Importance in TextSynthesizing Information

Why?

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Strategies that Work-more. . . Chapter 9, Determining Importance in Text:

The Non-Fiction Connection Chapter 3, Strategy Instruction and Practice Chapter 4, Teaching with Short Text Chapter 10, Synthesizing Information: The

Evolution of Thought Appendix D: Magazines and Newspapers for

Kids and Young Adults Appendix F: Response Options for Each

Strategy

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Informational Reading-some thoughts. . .

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Reading for Information NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress)-2005

Involves the engagement of the reader with aspects of the real world

Reading for information is most commonly associated with textbooks, primary and secondary sources, newspaper and magazine articles, essays, and speeches.

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Reading for Information NAEP Some features that distinguish informational text from

literary text are organization and the way information is presented.

Informational text is organized by topic and supporting details, whereas literary text is organized by the structure of a story, poem, or drama. Informational texts may have boldface headings, graphics, illustrations, and captions that signal importance in the text. However, some commonalities exist between literary and informational text and the skills and strategies required for reading each. Both require people to analyze critically the text, reflect on it, and draw conclusions.

Why is this information important?

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NAEP-Informational Text When reading for information, readers need to know the

specific text patterns, or forms of organization (e.g., cause and effect, sequential order, comparison/contrast, opinion and supporting arguments), to develop understanding.

People frequently have different purposes for reading text of this nature (e.g., to find specific pieces of information, answer a question, or get some general information when glancing through a magazine article). Reading informational text calls for orientations to the text that differ from those used in reading for literary experience because readers are specifically focused on acquiring information. When people read for information, they may select parts of the text they need, rather than reading from beginning to end.

What are the instructional implications?

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The Work of Nell Duke

• Please read the next five slides. . .

Nell K. Duke is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Michigan State University and a researcher with the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Duke has worked with children in early childhood, elementary and secondary settings, most recently as a Primary Grades Literacy Specialist and Director of the Literacy Institute at the Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Duke earned her masters and doctorate in Language and Literacy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and, for two years, served as a Supervisor at the Harvard Literacy Laboratory. Duke's research focuses on early literacy development, particularly among children living in urban poverty. Her specific areas of expertise include addressing the needs of struggling reader-writers and the development of informational literacy.

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Duke-2005• 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).

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Duke-2005• Academic achievement in a range of

school subjects and academic fields relies heavily on informational reading and writing.

• Informational literacy is so crucial to

success in American higher education, citizenship, and work that our current era is widely known as the "information age."

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Duke-2005 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).

Large proportions of American students have weak informational reading and writing skills (e.g., Applebee, Langer, Mullis, Latham, and Gentile, 1994; Daniels, 1990; Langer, Applebee, Mullis, and Foertsch, 1990).

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Duke-2005 Low income and minority children are

particularly likely to struggle with informational literacy tasks (Applebee, Langer, Mullis, Latham, and Gentile, 1994; Langer, Applebee, Mullis, and Foertsch, 1990).

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).

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Duke-2005 Students' difficulties in science may be

related to their difficulties with informational text because science achievement is associated with the ability to read informational text but not with the ability to read narrative text (Bernhardt, Destino, Kamil, and Rodriguez-Munoz, 1995).

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Reflections What did you notice? What surprised you?

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Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005 To understand informational text, readers need to

identify the major concepts in the selection and the important details that support each major concept.

The manner in which these major and supporting ideas are organized can vary.

An author writes an informational selection to provide information for the reader.

The nature of that information and the author's specific purpose determine how the writer organizes concepts and ideas.

Unlike narrative text that has one predominant structural pattern, informational text has several possible organizational structures

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Duke-2005Five ways to improve comprehension of

informational text:

1. Increase access to informational text

2. Increase instructional time with informational text

3. Increase explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, along

with lots of opportunities for guided and independent practice

4. Increase attention to the unique and the especially challenging

characteristics of informational text

5. Ensure that informational text is used for authentic purposes as

much as possible

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Duke-2005

Some Comprehension Strategies Worth Teaching-discuss•Monitoring and adjusting as needed•Activating relevant prior knowledge•Generating questions or thinking aloud•Attending to and uncovering text structure•Drawing inferences•Constructing visual representations•Summarizing

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Text features that signal importance Fonts and Effects Cue Words and Phrases Illustrations and Photographs Graphics Text Organizers Text Structuresfrom Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

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Fonts and Effects Titles, headings, boldface print, color print,

italics, bullets, captions, labelsfrom Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

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Cue Words and Phrases

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Illustrations and photographs

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Graphics Diagrams, cross-sections, overlays,

distribution maps, word bubbles, tables, graphs, charts


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Text organizers Index, preface, table of contents, glossary,

appendixfrom Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

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Text feature considerations How familiar are the students with this type of text

feature? How familiar are the students with the information

presented by the feature? What is the author's purpose for using the feature? How important is the aid to the overall meaning of

the feature? What is the most appropriate way to use this text

feature to help readers understand the selection? When is the best time to focus students' attention

on the text feature: before, during or after reading? Pennsylvania Assessment System

Classroom Connections, 2005

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Text feature considerations What is the author's purpose for using this

specialized text feature? What are the main ideas represented? Why did the author choose this type of

feature to convey the meaning? Can you think of another way of conveying

the same meaning? Pennsylvania Assessment System


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Text structure Because of the possible complexity of

informational writing, teachers may elect to use the following guidelines for creating an informational map as suggested by Vacca and Vacca (1996):

Look for the most important idea in the selection. Note any signal words that indicate an overall organizational pattern.

Locate additional important ideas. Identify their relationships to the most important one.

Outline or diagram these ideas, visually representing in some way the superordinate and subordinate concepts.

Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

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For your thinking and planning. . . Why did the author write this article? What was the author trying to prove in writing this? What is the most important idea in this selection? What are the three main points made by the author? Are there other ideas the author could have

included? What statements support the author's main idea? How does the author prove his/her main point? Can you think of additional ideas that would support

this point? Do you agree with the author? Why? Why not? Pennsylvania Assessment System


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Text structure Chronological/Sequential Order: A main idea

is supported by details that must be in a particular sequence.

Enumeration/Description: A major idea is supported by a list of details or examples.

Comparison/Contrast: The supporting details of two or more main ideas indicate how those concepts are similar or different.

Cause/Effect: The supporting details give the causes of a main idea or the supporting details are the results produced by the main idea.


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Teach students to identifythe patterns of organization

Piccolo (1987) recommends introducing and working on the patterns one at a time and in the following sequence:

chronological order enumeration cause/effect and comparison/contrast, problem/solution, question/answer

Use short, easy paragraphs and the accompanying teacher created maps or graphic organizers to define, explain and illustrate each structural pattern. Help students discover the common distinguishing features in these examples.


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Text structure:Chronological/Sequential OrderText structure: Chronological/Sequential OrderAuthor's Purpose: To teach readers how to make lemonade.Major Idea: The steps in making lemonadeSupporting Details: 1. Cut lemons

2. Squeeze lemons3. Remove seeds4. Add sugar and water5. Stir6. Refrigerate


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Signal Words and Phrases Associatedwith Chronological/Sequential Order first

next then initially before after when finally preceding following


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Graphic OrganizerChronological/Sequential OrderAuthor’s Purpose:Major Idea:Supporting Details:1.2.3.4.5.Important Vocabulary:Important Text Features:


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Chronological/Sequential OrderFor your thinking and planning: What is being described in sequence? Why did a chronological order pattern

emerge? What are the major steps in this

sequence? Why is the sequence important?


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Signal Words and Phrases Associated with Enumeration for instance

for examplesuch asto illustratemost importantin additionanotherfurthermorefirstsecond


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Graphic Organizer-EnumerationAuthor’s Purpose:Major Idea:Supporting Details:Major Idea:Supporting Details:Important Vocabulary:Important Text Features:


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Signal Words and Phrases Associated with Cause/Effect because of

as a result of in order to may be due to effects of therefore consequently for this reason if ... then thus


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Graphic Organizer-Cause/EffectText Structure: Cause/EffectAuthor's Purpose:

Cause__________________________(Main Idea)

______________________________________________________________________________(Supporting Details) Important Vocabulary:Important Text Feature:


Effects______________________________________________________________________________

(Supporting Details)

__________________________(Main Idea)

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For your thinking and planningCause and Effect What is the cause/effect process the

author is describing? Why did a cause/effect structure emerge? What is the cause? What is the effect?


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Signal Words and Phrases Associated with Comparison/Contrast

different from same as similar to as opposed to instead of although however compared with as well as either... or


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Graphic Organizer-Compare/Contrast

Text Structure: Comparison/ContrastAuthor's Purpose: To show similarities and differences between baseball and basketball

Supporting Details Major Idea: Baseball Major Idea: Basketball

Attribute 1:Where played

Played on a field Played on a court

Attribute 2:Number on team

9 players on team 5 players on team

Attribute 3:Item used for play

Uses a ball Uses a ball


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Graphic Organizer-Compare/ContrastText Structure: Comparison/ContrastAuthor's Purpose:

Supporting Details Major Idea Major Idea

Attribute 1

Attribute 2

Attribute 3

Attribute 4

Important Vocabulary:

Important Text Features: Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

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For your thinking and planningComparison/Contrast What is the author comparing/contrasting? Why is the author comparing/contrasting

these things? Why did the comparison/contrast structure

emerge?Pennsylvania Assessment System


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Caution! Identifying patterns of organization is not

the ultimate goal of text structure teaching. This ability is only beneficial as students internalize knowledge about text structure and subsequently use it to enhance their comprehension.

Teach students to use the patterns of organization to improve their comprehension.

Pennsylvania Assessment System


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Revisit your GLCE/Informational TextDiscuss. . .

What connections can you make between your GLCE and the text structure information?

How could you use this with your students?

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Remember these?Seven Best Practice StructuresReading-As-Thinking Representing-to-LearnSmall Group Activities Classroom workshop Authentic Expression Reflective Assessment Integrative Units

How do the Best Practice Structures connect with the reading strategies on the previous page?

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Notes

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Notes

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Next steps. . . Selection of materialsand/or Development of lesson using strategy or

resources

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Materials/Resource Selection

Teacher/Building/District

Grade:

Content Area:

Materials/resources selected:

For use with:

Alignment with GLCE:

Instructional strategies to be used:

Research supporting strategies:

Method(s) for differentiating instruction:

Resources needed:

Directions:

Process to check for understanding and/or assessment methodology if applicable:

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Lesson Instruction Plan Teacher/Building/District

Grade:

Content Area:

Learning targets and outcome(s) of lesson:

Alignment with GLCE/MCF (Strand/Code):

Instructional strategies to be used:

Research supporting strategies:

Method(s) for differentiating instruction:

Resources needed:

Directions:

Process to check for understanding and/or assessment methodology if applicable:

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Rita MaddoxLanguage Arts Consultant989.875.4521, ext. [email protected]

informational text: what’s it all about? rita maddox language arts consultant april 15, 2005

Documents

informational reading

text synthesizing information

literary text

application of reading

strategy slide

short text chapter

real world reading

way information