NCAGT Conference February 2014 NCDPI ELA Section Lisa McIntosh

CREATING TEXT SETS

Resources  Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Reading (Harvey “Smokey” Daniels and Nancy Steineke)  Teaching with Text Sets (Mary Ann Cappiello and Erika Thulin Dawes)  Common Core Curriculum Maps English Language Arts (Common Core)

W b W W RI LESSON Text Set RUBRIC Line of Inquiry

W b W W RI LESSON Text Set RUBRIC Line of Inquiry

Defining What is Text?: The term “text” refers to anything that a teacher can use to center instruction, anything that students can read, view, listen to, or explore, including books, photographs, films, articles, music, art, and more. What is a Text Set?: A text set is a collection of related texts organized around a topic or line of inquiry. A text set includes information in many modalities, including print, audio, visual. Examples could be podcasts, news footage, photographs, drawings, artifacts, sculptures, and paintings, including primary sources.

Text Sets and the CC  The CCSS focus on building student ability to read and understand grade-level complex text and express that understanding clearly through writing and speaking.  The Standards emphasize the role of close engagement with text in students building knowledge about the world.  A coherent sequence of texts around a clear topic or line of inquiry will support students in building vocabulary and background knowledge.  Text sets are one tool for educators in planning units of instruction to help students meet the demands of the CCSS.

Shifts Building knowledge through content- rich nonfiction and informational texts Reading and writing grounded in evidence from the text Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary

Where does using multiple texts appear in the Standards? Reading: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas  R.CCR.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.  R.CCR.9 Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge  W.CCR.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.  W.CCR.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

Speaking and Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration  SL.CCR.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Text Sets in K-12 Classrooms  Elementary: Across Genres / Integrated approach  Middle Grades: Across Genres / Team Approach  High School: Across Genres

Why Create a Text Set…  To capture interests and cultivate engagement  To prompt inquiry  To read for multiple perspectives  To build prior knowledge  To encourage student writing: Text sets as mentor texts  To differentiate instruction  To support vocabulary development

Criteria Constructing a text set requires considering three criteria: 1.A variety based on text complexity considerations. 2.Various cultural perspectives may be appropriate for some concepts. 3.Differences that offer various approaches to the “big idea” or conceptual understanding that unifies the conceptual text set. Donham, J. (2013). Text Sets, Deep Learning, and the Common Core. School Library Monthly, 29(6), 5-7.

Steps to Creating Text Sets

Step One: Identify the Anchor Text and Formulate a Line of Inquiry for the Set  Determine the standards that you want to teach.  Identify an anchor text and formulate an overall line of inquiry for the set. This can happen in either order. An educator may first identify an anchor text, from which they formulate a line of inquiry for the set OR an educator may choose to first identify a topic for a unit of study and then seek out an anchor text around which to build the set.

Step One Continued  The most important part of step one is that the anchor text be a grade-level complex text that meets the complexity demands of the Standards and is worthy of the time and attention of students. Without a rich anchor text, it is difficult to create a worthwhile text set.

How Many Texts?  The number of texts in a set can vary depending on purpose and resource availability around a given topic.  What is important is that the texts in the set are connected meaningfully to each other to deepen student understanding of the anchor text.

Step Two: Use Databases to Research Texts around the Topic  Once you have identified the anchor text and line of inquiry for your set, you can use a variety of databases to search for texts.

Step Three: Evaluate Texts for Inclusion in the Set 1. Does the text contribute to the students building a body of knowledge connected meaningfully to the anchor text? 2. Is the text worthy of student time and attention? 3. Does the text contribute to a range and balance of text types and formats in the overall set? 4. Do the text complexity measures of the text place it in the grade band of the anchor text? A range of texts spanning the band will support student-knowledge-building over the course of the unit.

Step Four: Refine, Finalize, and Produce Text Set  Continue to refine your selections until you are satisfied that you have a range and balance of texts that support student engagement with the line of inquiry.

Examples of Text Sets

Guiding Questions for Text Sets  How are the texts related in a meaningful way?  What makes the texts rich & worthy of rereading?  What are the range of text types?  Are there various degrees of complexity in the set?

Strong vs. Weak Strong text setsWeak text sets Build student knowledge about a topic; meaningful connection to the anchor text Texts are not related or connected across sets or they are only superficially connected Texts are authentic, rich, and worthy of study Only commissioned texts or textbook passages Range of text types (literary and informational) and formats Focused exclusively on one genre or format (unless the set is a genre study) Text complexity levels support student achievement of the grade- level complexity demands of the CCSS* Text complexity levels are erratic and do not support the staircase of text complexity in the CCSS

Examples Strong Text SetWeak Text Set Anchor Text: Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury Related Texts: “You Have Insulted Me: A Letter,” Kurt Vonnegut (Informational) “Burning a Book” by William Stafford (Poem) “The Book Burnings,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Informational)The Book Burnings Excerpts from The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak (Appendix B Exemplar) “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass (Informational) “Learning to Read,” Malcolm X (Informational) “Unto My Books So Good to Turn,” Emily Dickinson (Poem) “The Portable Phonograph,” Walter Van Tilburg Clark Related Texts: “‘Chaos:’ Gunman Ambushes, Kills Two Firefighters at New York Blaze,” Catherine Shoichet and Greg Botelho (CNN) (Informational)Chaos:’ Gunman Ambushes, Kills Two Firefighters at New York Blaze “Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press,” Mary Bellis (About.com) (Informational)Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press Fahrenheit 451, Francois Truffaut (Film) “About Ray Bradbury: Biography” (Informational)About Ray Bradbury: Biography “The Pedestrian,” Ray Bradbury (Literary) The Children’s Story, James Clavell (Literary)

Pattern Folders: A Literary Analysis Tool

Activity How would you use this folder at your grade level(s)?

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Resources can be found on Contact Information Julie Joslin, Ed.D. Kristi Day, M.Ed Section Chief K-5 ELA English Language Arts Consultant Lisa McIntosh, MSA Anna Lea Frost, M.Ed K-5 ELA 6-8 ELA Consultant Angela Stephenson, 9-12 ELA Consultant