Common Core: Reading Informational Texts

Key Findings and the Implications for Science, Social Studies, Computer Science and ELA Teachers

Agenda

The current situationThe organization of standards for reading

informational textsImplications for studentsImplications for teachers

The Current Problem

Graduating HS students can’t read complex texts independently

Reading demands in college and workforce training programs have increased

K-12 text complexity has decreasedStudents aren’t reading to learn

Whereas twenty-five years ago, 95% of jobs required low skills, today low-skills jobs constitute only 10% of our entire economy. Linda Darling-Hammond

Students must read to learn.

“There may one day be modes and methods of information delivery that are as efficient and powerful as text, but for now there is no contest.” (1)

(1) Adams, M. J. (2009). The challenge of advanced texts: The interdependence of reading and learning. In E. H. Hiebert (Ed.), Reading more, reading better: Are American students reading enough of the right stuff? (pp. 163–189). New York, NY: Guilford.

How are the standards for reading informational text organized?

Organized by grade level, across content areas:ELA by each grade levelLiteracy for Science / Technical Subjects

grades 6-8, 9-10, 11-12Literacy for History / Social Science grades

6-8, 9-10, 11-12Parity across standards

Example #1 of Parity Across Content Areas

ELA Standards 1-3 for Informational Text, Grade 8

Literacy for History / Social Science Standards 1-3, Grades 6-8

Key ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

Key Ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).

Example #2 of Parity Across Content Areas

ELA Standards 7-9 for Informational Text, Grade 8

Literacy for Science Standards 7-9, Grades 6-8

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

What Common Core Students Should Do

Read ~50% nonfictionRead independently a lot at schoolRead just-right textsRead books of own choosingRead complex textsRead increasingly more difficult texts over

timeNOT read and take notes

What Teachers Should Do

Get high-interest non-fiction into the classrooms

Educate admin on the need to:◦Read in class◦Channel funds away from textbooks and towards

trade booksBuild text sets that offer multiple perspectivesGet high-quality, print rich journals into

classroomsAccess digital sources for current nonfiction

What Teachers Should Do

Teach that nonfiction is not the truth, but is someone’s perspective of the truth

Teach students how to read not to accumulate facts, but to:

learn ideas analyze reasoning identify and gain perspective

Devote time to leveling books

Resources For Current Events Articles

Teaching with the News: Teaching Resources Grounded in Scholarship Choices curriculum units feature rich content, drawing on the best scholarship available. You'll find historical and contemporary primary source documents, including maps,

images, and editorial cartoons. A growing library of Scholars Online videos, aligned with printed units and embedded in our iBook Textbooks, brings content experts directly into your classroom.

http://www.choices.edu/about/

 ProCon.org ProCon.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity. Our purpose is to provide resources for critical thinking and to educate without bias. We research issues that are controversial

and important, and we present them in a balanced, comprehensive, straightforward, transparent, and primarily pro-con format at no charge.

 http://www.procon.org/

 Scientific American SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is the world’s leading source and authority for science and technology information for science-interested citizens, delivering understandable, credible and

provocative content to an audience of more than 5 million people worldwide. The magazine is independently ranked among the Top 10 US consumer media* for “Most Credible” and “Most Objective. The website provides access to some good content even without a subscription.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/

 NY Times: Teens in the Times Collections of the latest NY Times news, features, and multimedia about young people. http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/teens-in-the-times/ Library of Congress The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in

their teaching. Find Library of Congress lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards, and the standards of national organizations.

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/ Youth Radio Partnering 14-24 year-olds with industry leaders, Youth Radio produces digital media and Peabody-award winning journalism that is distributed nationally.

http://www.youthradio.org/