Instructional Practices to Support Elementary Students with PARCCKim GremaudTriad Community Unit #2 School District
Today’s Targets Importance of Informational text
Informational text and new Illinois Learning Standards
Instructional practices to take back to your classroom
Contents of Informational Text K-5 Kit
Student/Teacher/Administrator Roles and Responsibilities CardBinder - (In side pocket – Shifts Description) Facilitator GuidePowerPointHandouts
BooksTools for Teaching Content Area LiteracyMore Tools for Teaching Content Area LiteracyWeb SitesStrategy Templates K-5Newspapers in the ClassroomInformational Text Book Samples
Beneficial for grades 3-5, not K-2.
Book from Writing to Sources Kit for K-5
Informational Text Definition Informational text is text whose primary
purpose is to convey information about the natural or social world and that has particular linguistic features to accomplish that purpose. – Nell Duke, Michigan State University
Difference Between Fiction, Informational Text and Nonfiction
Fiction• Drama• Poetry• Short Stories• Myths• Legends• Nursery Rhymes• Realistic Fiction
NonfictionInformational Text• Encyclopedias • Field Guides• All-about books• Informational Hypertext
(websites)• Magazines• NewspapersLiterary Nonfiction • Essay• Journal• Letter
Teacher Use of Informational Texts in Read-Alouds Narrative texts have largely
dominated read-alouds in the primary classroom.
In the past, when teachers read aloud & interpreted difficult nonfiction, young readers learned information but failed to read expository text. (Palmer & Stewart, 2003)
Teachers need to directly instruct how to navigate & extract information in order to become fluent & strategic readers of this genre. (RAND, 2002)
Expository 4%
Mixed Genre13%
Narrative82%
Balancing Informational Text
Informational Text Literature
Poetry,Drama
Myths, Legends,
Short stories,
SS, Science, etc.
Informational Text Literature
Poetry,Drama
Myths, Legends,
Short Stories
Directions,Forms, etc.
Social Studies,
History, Arts,
Science,Biographies,
Common Core State Standards(Illinois Learning Standards)
(National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010)
8
Calls for an interdisciplinary approach with a balance of literature and informational texts in: history social studies science and technical subjects
Preparation for reading complex informational texts should begin at the very earliest elementary school grades.
Domain-specific nonfiction can be infused within the English language arts block.
Why teach informational text?
Some solid reasons to teach kids to read nonfiction include the following (see Duke, 2000): Nonfiction is the key to success in school. Beginning in primary
grades, students need exposure to informational texts to help them succeed in both reading and writing.
As adults they will read mostly nonfiction (Smith, 2000; Venezky, 1982).
Kids like nonfiction. You can greatly affect the attitudes of your students toward reading by including exciting nonfiction in your classroom library and by teaching specific lessons on nonfiction.
Nonfiction appeals to students’ interests. Allow students to read about nonfiction topics they are interested in to increase their motivation and reasons for reading!
Informational text builds background and vocabulary. When students read about a wide variety of topics, they build their background knowledge about the world around them (Duke & Kays, 1998).
Five Ways to Improve Comprehension
of Informational Text: 1. Increase attention to the unique and the especially challenging characteristics of informational text. Two characteristics are:
Text FeaturesText Structures
2. Increase instructional time with informational text.
3. Increase access to informational text.
4. Increase explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, along with lots of opportunities for guided and independent practice.
5. Ensure that informational text is used for authentic purposes as much as possible. (Duke, 2005)
Instructional Practices Bag It Text Features Story Cube Give Me 5 Vocabulary Grid 3-2-1 2-2-2 Websites
Bag ItRI 1.2 Identify the main topic and key details of a text.RI 2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
Choose two books on the same topic. On one side of the bag write facts from
one text. On the other side of the bag write facts
from the other text. Inside the bag students write facts from
both texts.
Text FeaturesRI 1.5 Know and use various text features.RI 1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas. RI2.5 Know and use various text features to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently..RI 2.7 Explain how specific images contribute to and clarify a text.
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Research confirms the need to explicitly teach text features. (Kelley & Clausen-Grace. 2010)
Introduce a new text feature each day. Chart the feature and its purpose.
Show students many examples in nonfiction books.
Have students find their own examples of text features.
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Teacher models how to design a text feature.
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Student Diagrams
16
Diagrams can become part of student work:• picture glossaries• summaries • writing• question generation• research projects
Have students make their own diagrams…..
Cube It! RI1.2 Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.RI2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
Students are given question cubes with the words: who, what, where, when, why and how on the sides of the cube.
Students roll the cube. Whatever question word they land on, they
must write a sentence using that word about the text.
The teacher can inform the students how many times they roll the cube.
Grouping: small or individual
Cube It! (another variation) Students could use the question cubes with
a partner. One student rolls the cube and asks a
question using the word the cube shows. The other student answers the questions.
This can be done orally or by both students writing down the responses.
Give Me Five RI1.2 Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.RI 2.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
Students trace their hands and write 5 questions related to the text asking who, where and so forth.
Students swap hands and answer each other’s questions either orally or written.
Vocabulary Grid RI 1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text. RI.2.4 Determine the word and phrases in text relevant to 2nd grade
Put the new vocabulary term in the center.
List essential characteristics List non-essential characteristics List examples List non-examples
3-2-1 RI1.6Disinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text. RI2.6 Identify the main purpose of the text.
Read Informational text to students Brainstorm main purpose of the text Then give 3 discoveries of your reading
that support main purpose of the text Then give 2 interesting ideas Formulate 1 questions that you still
have after reading
2-2-2RI.1.9 Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topicRI 2.9 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures.
Read 2 texts on a similar subject Give 2 similarities Give 2 differences
Informational Text Websites
NEWSELA
Text Project.org
Questioning the Author Identify major understanding and tricky
parts Segment text Develop queries Introduce the text Facilitate discussion
Goal Queries Initiate the discussion What is the author trying to say?
What is the author’s message? What is the author talking about?
Help the students focus on the author’s message
That is what the author says, but what does it mean?
Help students link information How dos that connect with what the author already told us? How does that fit in with what the author already told us? What information has the author added here that connects to or fits in with ____?
Identify difficulties with the way the author has presented information or ideas
Does that make sense? Is that said in a clear way? Did the author explain that clearly? Why or why not? What’s missing? What do we need to figure out or find out?
Encourage students to refer to the text either because they’ve misinterpreted a text statement or to help them recognize that they’ve made an inference
Did the author tell us that? Did the author give us the answer to that?
Examples of queries (Beck, McKeown, Sandora, Kucan, & Worthy 1996, page 389 of the
Elementary School Journal)
Virtual Handouts Picture Book of the month
Reading Informational Text Standards
Text Structure
Navigating Non-Fiction
Graph of the Week
Classroom Snapshot: You would see Time spent with informational texts Books on a wide variety of topics that
interest elementary grade children Graphic organizers Explicit-comprehension strategy
instruction Teachers and students using a core set
of questions
Classroom Snapshot: You would hear Teacher and Student initiated questions about
the text Teacher-facilitated read-alouds and text based
discussions Use of before-during-after reading components
to discuss the text and apply comprehension strategies
Students retelling what they learned from an informational text with a partner
Teachers and students using content language and text related academic language
Discussion Questions How do you use informational text in
your classroom? Large group>small group>individual
What resources do you use for informational text?
How do you assess informational text? How do students show mastery of
standards?
Contact us with questions: [email protected] [email protected] (district reading director)
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