Teach Like This! Embed Literacy Strategies in Non-Fiction & Informational Texts Non-Fiction & Informational Texts June 6, 2012 Darby Media Center 12:00 – 3:00 Deborah Chapman and Samantha Springs, Presenters

 Sweet Home Alabama Sweet Home Alabama Sweet Home Alabama

PARCC Recommendations-Grade 8:  Greater attention to literary nonfiction and informational text is required  Informational texts used to build background knowledge

May take the form of  Personal essays  Speeches  Opinion pieces  Biographies  Memoirs  Journalism  Historical, scientific, technical, or economic accounts, both digital and non- digital in nature

Module Creation Map:  Each module (A, B, C, D) represents a quarter  Two quarters require focus on extended informational text  All quarters require shorter, nonfiction texts to be used for extended text support

10 Steps for Writing a Standards-Based Unit:  Step 1-Choose topic (theme) carefully -Consider the “big picture” when choosing a theme for each unit  Step 5-Brainstorm all possible resources -Sources of information are everywhere! *Confer with someone near you about possible resources or sources you have already used successfully to supplement your curriculum.

One source, endless possibilities… “Civil War to Civil Rights” & “The March to Gettysburg and Back”  Social Studies, History, Civics  Science  English Language Arts  Mathematics

 Civil War Reenactor Civil War Reenactor Civil War Reenactor Civil War in Arkansas: 150 Years Later

 Social Studies, History, Civics  Science  English Language Arts -Clip provides background information so that students are better equipped to approach nonfiction text

Building Deeper Readers and Writers by Kelly Gallagher “Part of the reason my students have such a hard time reading is because they bring little prior knowledge and background to the written page. They can decode the words, but the words remain meaningless without a foundation of knowledge.”

Building Deeper Readers and Writers by Kelly Gallagher  “Article of the Week” assigned at beginning of each week  By end of year, students will have read current events articles “It is not enough to simply teach my students to recognize theme in a given novel; if my students are to become literate, they must broaden their reading experiences into real-world text.” “It is not enough to simply teach my students to recognize theme in a given novel; if my students are to become literate, they must broaden their reading experiences into real-world text.”

Article of the Week… “Civil War Battlefield Art” By Harry Katz National Geographic May 2012

 Civil War Battlefield Art Civil War Battlefield Art Civil War Battlefield Art

Just a Few Resources…  – nonfiction archive of major news sources, magazines, journals, and websites  – includes links to “articles of the week” used in his classroom  – Library of Congress…enough said… *Depending on topic/theme, more specific sources can be sought, such as National Geographic, NASA, etc.

But the text is SO long… Keep in mind that PARCC recommends lengthy texts, as well as shorter background-building texts “Civil War Reenvisioned” Photographs by Richard Barnes National Geographic May 2012 May 2012

 Civil War Reenvisioned Civil War Reenvisioned Civil War Reenvisioned

 Social Studies and History  English Language Arts  Art  Science -Brief words and powerful photographs provide background and lead into scientific process of creating photos

 The Wet Plate Collodion Process The Wet Plate Collodion Process The Wet Plate Collodion Process

Quinn Jacobson Defining the Collodion Process  Example photographs  Step-by-step video  When this text is finally placed before students, they will have already been provided an enormous amount of background information  Not an “article of the week”  Purely informational

Independent Work…  Peruse suggested sites or sites of your own choosing.  Locate nonfiction/informational text, video, photographs, etc. which relate to a few of your specific curriculum objectives.  Please be prepared to share your findings with the group. your findings with the group.

Thank you! We appreciate your attendance and participation.