1. Non-Fiction/Informational Reading and Writing
Mrs. Lara Paparo

2. What types of informational texts do you use in your classroom?
What do you do well with informational texts?

3. What Do We Know About the 21st Century World?
95% of daily reading and writing will be devoted to non-fiction or informational materials and tasks
Over 1.9 billion readers and writers are now on the internet; 96% of the sites are expository in form
Futurists predict that by 2020 the amount of information available will double every 73 days
Only .01 percent of that information will be printed.
“How Much Information”. The School of Information Management & Systems.
2000 Regents of the University of California. 13 March 2004

5. What comprehension problems do you see in your students?

6. What makes non fiction so difficult?
Background information
Context
Vocabulary
Text Structure
Text Conventions
Interest of Reader
Tables, Graphics and Illustrations

8. Reading study with low and high performing students
Topic was baseball
one difference- interest in baseball.

10. A Quick Quiz
Your first decision is to choose the size you
desire. Once you have made your selection,
examine the general shape to determine where to
start. The initial incision is always at the top,
and you should continue until you can lift it
cleanly. The removal of the interior portion can be
enjoyable, although some people regard this as the
least enjoyable aspect. Once the interior is empty,
you can begin to craft a personality. Some prefer
a forbidding visage, while others follow a more
humorous direction. Finally, arrange for a source of
internal illumination. Enjoy your results while you can,
for your work will soon begin to sag.

11. Headlines Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
Infertility Unlikely to Be Passed On
Renewed Fighting Threatens Peace
Lack of Brains Hinders Research
Seven Foot Doctors Sue Hospital
Concealed Weapon Charges Filed Against Nude Dancer
Stiff Opposition Expected to Casketless Funeral Plan
Study Finds Sex, Pregnancy Link

12. Vocabulary is Key! Big Idea #1

13. Some Vocabulary Facts…
A child from a family at or below the poverty line hears words per hour between months of age (K=5000 words)
A child from a middle income family hears between words per hour between months of age (K= 9000 words)
A child from an upper income family hears words per hour between months of age (K= 15,000-20,000 words)
(National Institute of Health, 1999)

14. Sample SFA Grid for Shelters
palace + -
hovel
cabin
castle
house
+/-
shack
tent
Large
Small
Fancy
Simple
Modern
Historic

15. Philosophies of American Lit.
Puritanism - + L
Neo-Classicism
-/+
M/L
Romanticism
+/-
Realism M
Naturalism
Victorianism
Modernism
Individual
Power
God-
Centered
Nature-
Cen.
Mirror
or Lamp?
Scientific
Optimistic

16. Semantic Feature Analysis
Most useful for learning words that represent a particular category
Choose related words for instruction
List words on vertical edge of a chart
List features on horizontal
Mark individual items as containing or not containing the features
Pittleman, S. D., Heimlich, J. E., Berglund, R. L., and French, M. P. (1991). Semantic feature analysis: Classroom applications. Newark, DE: International Reading Association

17. So...What do we do? Not all ideas work equally well!17

18. Textmapping Turns this……. Into this…….
Copyright © R. David Middlebrook, Terms of Use:

19. The Process First…..make your scrolls.
Utilize students to perform the one “heavy lifting” aspect of this strategy.

20. Process Second….determine your goal for reading.
Intro. and preview new content.
Model reading and study strategies.
Review content previously covered.
Test your students’ knowledge of what they read.

21. Process
Next, identify text features that are important to your reading goal. These features are: -Headings and Subheadings -Illustrations -Graphs -Bold faced areas

22. Process
Mark these features- Particularly the headings and subheadings.

23. Process
Mark the “areal boundaries” of each of these text sections.

24. Then have students mark other sections of the text
Identify what parts of written text are related to graphs, illustrations, photos etc.
Write questions,circle key words and ideas,
Have students express delight by marking ideas that are interesting…i.e. : “Wow!”
Mark transition words- Thus, consequently, however, etc.

25. After mapping, have students compare/contrast with other groups or individuals.
Discuss the individual textmaps as a whole group with a “master” map on the board. Create graphic organizer based on the information.
Copyright © R. David Middlebrook, Terms of Use:

26. The Benefits of Text Mapping
It is explicit-allowing teachers to model comprehension strategies to kids.
Teaches students to be strategic readers-gives them a view of the whole text and the relationships between structure, organization, and meaning.
Encourages active reading.
A textmap is a visual record of an individual’s thought process.
Accommodates a wide range of learning styles and effective for students with LD or ADD

27. Review of the Activity Create and hand out the scrolls.
Identify the text features.
Mark headings and subheadings.
Mark areal boundaries.
Mark rest of text and how the elements relate.
Review as a class.

28. Websites