Lighting the Fires and Building the Dream: Using Text Sets to Engage Middle Level Readers NCTE Annual Convention – November 2012 Nancy Patterson Pam Page Liz Storey

What are text sets? A collection of… Books Books Charts Charts Maps Maps Videos Videos Poems Poems Songs Songs Pamphlets/Brochures Pamphlets/Brochures Images Images Quotes Quotes Art prints Art prints Speeches Speeches Interviews Interviews Letters/Journals Letters/Journals Magazine/Newspaper Articles Magazine/Newspaper Articles Websites Websites

Why use text sets? Increases students’ comprehension Enables all students to be exposed to authentic texts Helps students make cross-text connections Supports multiple abilities and reading proficiencies Builds and activates prior knowledge Increases engagement levels by sustaining interest Provides flexibility with limited resources

Organizing text sets One way to consider using text sets is by thinking about what texts you could use BEFORE students read a main text AS they read a main text AFTER they read a main text But, it’s important that teachers remain flexible enough to modify the texts based on the needs and interests of students. Remember: Flexibility is the key

Approaches Choose a book first and then select the texts Choose a theme and then choose the texts Choose a Common Core State Standard(s) or unit of study and develop text sets that address that curricular requirement

Consider your students What will interest them? Are the various texts diverse enough to capture the interests of all your students? Do you have enough variety? Will students be able to pursue an interest through the various texts you have in the set? Do you have texts that are accessible to all of your students (think about the various reading proficiencies in your classroom) Can you strike a balance? Too many texts may be overwhelming. Too few may fail to capture students’ imagination.

When teachers make the transition from textbook only classrooms to multi-text classrooms, the focus of study becomes concepts rather than the content of one particular book. Students gain both a broad perspective and an in-depth sense of the subject matter from reading many texts on the same topic. I know of no one textbook that contains enough information to help a student become even mildly expert on any topic. Gail Ivey (2002)

Building a text set around a novel Things to consider: Historical background: What primary documents will help students get a better feel for the period? What was happening in the popular culture of the time? What other works of literature, art, music, dance, etc., came out of that period? Conflict: What movies, novels, television shows, etc., share the same conflict? Tropes: Wounded healer? Courtly love? Road trip? ◦

Connecting to CCSS Key Ideas and Details Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Research to Build and Present Knowledge Depending on how text sets are used, you can teach common core standards from Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

Reading Standard for Literature Key Ideas and Details: 1. Cite several pieces of textual evidence when useful to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. 2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. 9. Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history. Integration of Knowledge & Ideas 9. Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts. Research to Build and Present Knowledge 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. a. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history”).

Books We Used For Text Set Examples

Breakout Groups We invite you to join us in breakout groups to see how we created text sets from three recent novels. We will rotate every 15 minutes. At the end we will share a booklist of newer books that are great for building text sets around!

I’m excited! What do I do??? Creating your own text set Booklist Links Use your expertise! Thanks for coming and sharing with us!