Informational Text and the Common Core State Standards

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Informational Text and the Common Core State
Standards

• Illinois State Board of Education
• English Language Arts Content Specialists

2
Todays Targets

• Importance of informational text
• Informational text and the Common Core State
  Standards
• 5 ways to improve comprehension of
• informational text

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What is Informational Text?

• 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.

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Difference Between Fiction, Informational Text
and Nonfiction

• Fiction
• Drama
• Poetry
• Short Stories
• Myths
• Legends
• Nursery Rhymes
• Realistic Fiction
• Drama

• Nonfiction
• Informational Text
• Encyclopedias
• Field Guides
• All-about books
• Informational Hypertext (websites)
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Literary Nonfiction
• Essay
• Journal
• Letter

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A balance of informational text
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Teacher Use of Informational Texts in Read-Alouds
Mixed Genre 13
Narrative texts have largely dominated
read-alouds in the primary classroom.
(Duke, 2000)
Expository 4
In the past, when teachers read aloud
interpreted difficult nonfiction, young readers
learned information but failed to read expository
text.
(Palmer Stewart, 2003)
Narrative 82
Teachers need to directly instruct how to
navigate extract information in order to become
fluent strategic readers of this genre.
(RAND, 2002)
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Research

• Read-alouds and the use of text-based discussions
  are opportunities to help students learn from
  complex informational text, especially when
  students are just learning to read or if students
  struggle to read informational text
  independently. (Beck McKeown,
  2001 Snow, Burns, Griffin, 1998).

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Research

• 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).

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Research

• 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).

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Research

• 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).
• Background knowledge has a profound influence on
  students ability to comprehend what they read.
• The more extensive a readers background
  knowledge is, the easier it is to acquire new
  information offered by the text (Alfassi, 2004).

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Common Core State Standards

• 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.

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Balancing Informational and Literary Texts

• 50 K-5
• 55 by grade 8
• 70 by grade12
• In K5, the Standards follow NAEPs lead in
  balancing the reading of literature with the
  reading of informational texts, including texts
  in history/social studies, science, and technical
  subjects.
• (National Governors Association Center
  for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School
  Officers, 2010)

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Informational Text The Benefits Align with
Elements of Text Complexity

• Expands student development of
• more sophisticated oral language
• (Reese Harris, 1997)
• content area knowledge in
• science and social studies
• (Stone Twardosz, 2001 Hirsch, 2003)
• expository text structures
• (Duke Kays, 1998 Donovan Smolkin, 2001)
• reading interest in various topics
• (Duke 2000 Casteel Isom, 1994)

Elements of Text Complexity
Text Structure
Levels of Meaning
Knowledge Demands
Language
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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 Features
• Text 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)

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Increase attention to the unique and the
especially challenging characteristics of
informational text Text Features That Signal
Importance
1

• Fonts and Effects
• Titles, headings, boldface print, color
  print, italics, bullets, captions, labels
• Cue Words and Phrases
• Illustrations and Photographs
• Graphics
• Diagrams, cross-sections, overlays, distribution
  maps, word bubbles, tables, graphs, charts
• Text Organizers
• Index, preface, table of contents,
  glossary, appendix
• Text Structures
• 
  (Harvey and Goudvis, 2000)

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Discuss the Characteristics of Fiction and
Informational Texts
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Text Features
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.
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Have students find their own examples of text
features in books.
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Teacher models how to design a text feature.
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Student Diagrams
Have students make their own diagrams..

• Diagrams can become part of student work
• picture glossaries
• summaries
• writing
• question generation
• research projects

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Informational vs Narrative Text Structure

• Narrative

• Informational

• Purpose Tell a Story
• Beginning
• Middle
• End
• Usually written from the authors imagination
• (plot, conflict, setting)

• Purpose Inform or Describe
• Sequential
• Description
• Comparison
• Cause and Effect
• Problem and Solution

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Informational Text Structure

• Children have far less familiarity with
  informational text structures than with
  narrative.
• (Goldman Rakestraw, 2000)
• Students of all ages generally find reading
  informational text more difficult than reading
  narrative text.
• (Langer, 1985)
• Knowing the overall organizational pattern, as
  well as underlying structures such as comparison
  and contrast, provide a scaffold for deriving and
  understanding the information.
  (Fountas Pinnell, 2008)

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Text Structure

• Writers use different structures to build their
  ideas.
• Each text structure communicates ideas in a
  different way.

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• There are certain structures found in
  informational text. Each type of structure makes
  its own demands on the reader
• sequential,
• description,
• comparison,
• cause effect,
• problem solution.

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Sequential

• The author lists items or events in numerical or
  chronological order. Clue words include first,
  second, third, next, then and finally.

.
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Description

• The author lists characteristics, features,
  and examples to describe a subject. Clue words
  for description include for example
  characteristics.

 
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Comparison

• The author explains how two or more things are
  alike or different. Clue words include different,
  in contrast, alike, same as, or on the other
  hand.

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Cause and Effect

• The author explains one or more causes and the
  resulting effect or effects. Clue words
  are reasons
  why, if, then,
  as a result,
  therefore,
  and because.

Cause
Effect
Cause
Cause
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Problem and Solution

• The author states a problem and lists one or
  more solutions for the
  problem. Clue words
  are problem is,
  dilemma is,
  puzzle is, solve,
  question, and
  answer.

Problem ___________________________
Solution___________________________
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Teaching Text Structure

• Piccolo (1987) recommends introducing and working
  on the patterns one at a time.
• Use short, easy paragraphs and maps or graphic
  organizers to define, explain and illustrate each
  structural pattern.
• Help students discover the common distinguishing
  features in these examples.

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2 Increase Instructional Time With
Informational Text
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Increase Access to Informational Text
3

• Does your classroom library have informational
  text?
• Is there time in the schedule for all students to
  choose and read informational text?

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Provide A Plethora of Informational Text in Your
Classroom
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Think Outside the Book

• Magazines
• Ranger Rick
• My Big Backyard (www.nwf.org)
• Dig (www.digonsite.com)
• Time For Kids (www.timeforkids.com)
• Discover (www.kidsdiscover.com)
• National Geographic http//www.nationalgeographic.
  com/magazines/
• Cobblestone Publishers (Cricket Ladybug
  Magazines)
• http//www.cobblestonepub.com/samplers.html
• Appleseeds (social studies)
• Ask (science)
• Click (science, history and other areas)

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Newspapers

• Find news articles on topics your class is
  studying and post them.
• Establish a spot in the room labeled In the
  News where you rotate news articles on a regular
  basis.
• Scholastic News (www.teacher.scholastic.com/produc
  ts/classmags.htm)
• NIEonline provides online lesson plans and other
  innovative materials for use on NIE websites to
  provide new ways for your teachers to use your
  newspaper and your e-Edition in their classrooms.
• http//nieonline.com/

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The Internet

• Kid-Friendly Search Engine - www.yahooligans.com
• Favorite Websites
• CIA - www.odci.gov
• National Geographic www.nationalgeographic.org
• PBS www.pbs.org
• World Health Organization www.who.org
• The White House www.whitehouse.gov

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Add to Your Classroom Library

• Multiple Reading Levels

• Multiple Genres

• Fantasy Books
• Predictable Books
• Biographies
• Poetry
• Procedural Texts
• Cookbooks
• Science Experiment
• Joke Books
• Cartoons

• Include some books that are two grades above your
  classs level, and some two years below its
  level.

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4Increase explicit teaching of comprehension
strategies, along with lots of opportunities for
guided and independent practice.

• Reciprocal Teaching - (Palincsar Brown, 1986)
• Collaborative Strategic Reading - (Klinger
  Vaughn, 1999)

Evidence is clear the more time students spend
reading, the higher their reading achievement
(Anderson, Fielding,
Wilson, 1988) Students benefit most when
independent reading time is carefully planned and
monitored.
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Reciprocal Teaching

• When reciprocal teaching was used for just 15
  days students reading increases from 30 - 80.
  (Palinscar Brown, 1986)
• According to a study by Palinscar and Klenk 1991,
  students not only improved their comprehension
  skills immediately, but they also maintained
  improved comprehension skills when tested a year
  later.
• Lubliner 2001, points out that reciprocal
  teaching is an effective teaching technique that
  can improve on the kind of reading comprehension
  that is necessary not only for improved test
  scores but also for an information age.

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What is Reciprocal Teaching?
Speaking and listening

• Definition Reciprocal teaching refers to an
  instructional activity that takes place in the
  form of a dialogue between teachers and students
  regarding segments of text. The dialogue is
  structured by the use of four strategies
  summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and
  predicting. The teacher and students take turns
  assuming the role of teacher in leading this
  dialogue.
• 
  (Palincsar,1986)

Text-Dependent Questions
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The Four Reciprocal Teaching Strategies

• Predicting
• Questioning
• Clarifying
• Summarizing

Ask and answer such questions as who, what,
where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understan
ding of key details in a text. (RI.2.1)
CCSS 1
Describe how reasons support specific points the
author makes in a text. (RI.2.8)
CCSS 8
Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph
text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs
within the text. (RI.2.2)
CCSS 2
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But dont I use these four strategies already?

• Most likely, you already teach your students to
  predict, question, clarify, summarize and
  visualize.
• The difference with reciprocal teaching is that
  the strategies are delivered as a
  multiple-strategy package used in concert with
  one another rather than as separate strategies.
• The aim of reciprocal teaching is for good
  readers to cycle through four strategies, not
  necessarily in order, to make sense of the text.

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Collaborative Strategic Reading

• CSR is an excellent technique for teaching
  students reading comprehension, building
  vocabulary and also working together
  cooperatively.
• (Klinger Vaughn, 1996)

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Collaborative Strategic Reading(Students work in
small, cooperative groups)

• Before Reading
• Brainstorm What do we already know about the
  topic?
• Predict What do we think we will learn about
  the topic when we read the passage?
• Read the first paragraph, sentence or section.
• During Reading
• Click Clunk Were there any parts that were
  hard to understand (clunks)? How can we fix the
  clunks?
• Get the Gist What is the most important person,
  place or thing? What is the most important idea
  about the person, place or thing?
• After Reading
• 1. Wrap Up Ask text-dependent questions
  questions that can only be answered by referring
  explicitly back to the text being read.

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Collaborative Strategic Reading

• Students have specific roles leader, clunk
  expert, gist expert, announcer, encourager.
• Cue cards may be used to support students in
  small, cooperative groups.
• E.g., a clunk card that says Reread the
  sentences before and after the clunk looking for
  cues.
• E.g., a student leader cue card that says Did
  everyone understand what we read? If you did not,
  write your clunks in your learning log.
• Students complete learning logs before and after
  reading.
• http//www.ims.issaquah.wednet.edu/CSR/CSR_Plan.pd
  f
• http//www.ims.issaquah.wednet.edu/CSR/CSR_Learnin
  g_Log.pdf

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Strategy Tips

• Model the strategies.
• Be consistent.
• Use the strategies several times a week.

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5 Ensure that informational text is used
for authentic purposes as much as possible.
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Authentic Purposes

• Set up situations in which students need
  information then encourage students to read to
  obtain that information.
• Find information about the life cycles of
• frogs before setting up a
• tadpole tank.

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Learn about the needs of growing things before
planting a window box.
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Authentic Purposes

• Water is left out on a pan on Friday and has
  disappeared on a Monday.
• Set out magnets with various materials that the
  magnets will or will not attract.

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Use informational text

• For pleasure
• To pass the time
• To increase general knowledge
• To find out something you want or need to know
• And for writing To convey information from
  someone who knows it to someone who does not, yet
  wants or needs to do so

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Reference

• Alfassi, M. (2004). Reading to learn Effects of
  combined strategy instruction on high school
  students. The Journal of Educational Research
  97(4), 171184.
• Beck, I., McKeown, M., Kucan, L. (2002).
  Bringing words to life
• Robust vocabulary instruction. New York
  Guilford.
• Casteel, C.P., Isom, B.A. (1994). Reciprocal
  processes in science and literacy learning.
  Reading Teacher, 47(7),538-545.
• Chall, J.S. and Jacobs, V.A. (2003). Poor
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  Spring, 2003. Retrieved Oct. 24, 2007, from
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• Duke, N. K. (2000). 3.6 minutes per day The
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References

• Kelley, M. J. and Clausen-Grace, N. (2010),
  Guiding Students Through Expository Text With
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• Klinger Vaughn, (1999). Promoting reading
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References

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• .

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Contact

• Questions or comments?
• Please contact English Language Arts Specialists
  at plscomments_at_gmail.com