Informational Text: What’s It All About? Rita Maddox Language Arts Consultant April 15, 2005

2 Remember these? Seven Best Practice Structures Reading-As-Thinking Representing-to-Learn Small Group Activities Classroom workshop Authentic Expression Reflective Assessment Integrative Units

3 Reading-As-Thinking Making Connections Questioning Making Inferences Visualizing Determining Importance in Text Synthesizing Information from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

4 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 world from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

5 Reading-As-Thinking : Questioning Proficient readers continually ask questions Before reading During reading After reading Gives a purpose for reading Monitors understanding of material from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

6 Reading-As-Thinking : Inferring  Use background knowledge and experience  Pay attention to detail from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

7 Reading-As-Thinking : Visualizing  Create pictures in your mind  Use author’s words  Use background experience  Make comparisons  Note words that appeal to senses from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

8 Reading-As-Thinking : Determining Importance Activate prior knowledge Note characteristics of text Skim text Read bold print, illustrations, graphs and tables Read first and last line of each paragraph carefully Take notes or highlight text from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

9 Reading-As-Thinking: Synthesizing Retell information Add personal response Make comparisons and contrasts Attempt to answer “I wonder” questions Make application of reading to real world from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

10 Which of these do you think are most effectively used with informational text? Making Connections Questioning Making Inferences Visualizing Determining Importance in Text Synthesizing Information Why?

11 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

12 Informational Reading- some thoughts...

13 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.

14 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?

15 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?

16 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.

17 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).

18 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."

19 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).

20 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).

21 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).

22 Reflections  What did you notice?  What surprised you?

23 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

24 Duke-2005 Five 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

25 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

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

27 Fonts and Effects  Titles, headings, boldface print, color print, italics, bullets, captions, labels from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

28 Cue Words and Phrases

29 Illustrations and photographs

30 Graphics  Diagrams, cross-sections, overlays, distribution maps, word bubbles, tables, graphs, charts from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

31 Text organizers  Index, preface, table of contents, glossary, appendix from Strategies that Work, Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

32 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

33 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 Classroom Connections, 2005

34 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

35 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 Classroom Connections, 2005

36 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. Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

37 Teach students to identify the 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. Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

38 Text structure: Chronological/Sequential Order Author's Purpose: To teach readers how to make lemonade. Major Idea: The steps in making lemonade Supporting Details: 1. Cut lemons 2. Squeeze lemons 3. Remove seeds 4. Add sugar and water 5. Stir 6. Refrigerate Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

39 Signal Words and Phrases Associated with Chronological/Sequential Order  first next then initially before after when finally preceding following Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

40 Graphic Organizer Chronological/Sequential Order Author’s Purpose: Major Idea: Supporting Details: Important Vocabulary: Important Text Features: Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

41 Chronological/Sequential Order For 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? Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

42 Signal Words and Phrases Associated with Enumeration  for instance for example such as to illustrate most important in addition another furthermore first second Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

43 Graphic Organizer-Enumeration Author’s Purpose: Major Idea: Supporting Details: Major Idea: Supporting Details: Important Vocabulary: Important Text Features: Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

44 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 Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

45 Graphic Organizer-Cause/Effect Text Structure: Cause/Effect Author's Purpose: Cause __________________________ (Main Idea) __________________________ (Supporting Details) Important Vocabulary: Important Text Feature: Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005 Effects __________________________ (Supporting Details) __________________________ (Main Idea)

46 For your thinking and planning Cause 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? Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

47 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 Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

48 Graphic Organizer-Compare/Contrast Text Structure: Comparison/Contrast Author's Purpose: To show similarities and differences between baseball and basketball Supporting DetailsMajor Idea: BaseballMajor Idea: Basketball Attribute 1: Where played Played on a fieldPlayed on a court Attribute 2: Number on team 9 players on team5 players on team Attribute 3: Item used for play Uses a ball Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

49 Graphic Organizer-Compare/Contrast Text Structure: Comparison/Contrast Author's Purpose: Supporting DetailsMajor Idea Attribute 1 Attribute 2 Attribute 3 Attribute 4 Important Vocabulary: Important Text Features: Pennsylvania Assessment System Classroom Connections, 2005

50 For your thinking and planning Comparison/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 Classroom Connections, 2005

51 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 Classroom Connections, 2005

52 Revisit your GLCE/Informational Text Discuss...  What connections can you make between your GLCE and the text structure information?  How could you use this with your students?

53 Remember these? Seven Best Practice Structures Reading-As-Thinking Representing-to-Learn Small 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?

54 Notes

55 Notes

56 Next steps...  Selection of materials and/or  Development of lesson using strategy or resources

57 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:

58 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:

59 Rita Maddox Language Arts Consultant , ext. 336