Going Deeper into Fiction with Nonfiction

Debbie Buyan, 6 th grade L.A.

Gina Shem, media specialist

Palos South Middle School

Palos Park, IL

LITERATURE CIRCLES

SURVIVAL UNIT NOVEL CHOICES

Lifelong readers choose what they read

Personal connection to the text

Increases their motivation

• Book Talk

• 2-3 Minute Rotation/Book Tasting

• Pick Top 3 Choices

Novel Choice

• LEXILE SCORES

• PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT

• GROUP DYNAMICS

• SCAFFOLDING WITHIN THE GROUP

DIFFERENTIATION

BOOK LEXILE

SHACKLETON’S STOWAWAY 740

NIGHT OF THE TWISTERS 790

SIGN OF THE BEAVER 770

STRANDED 610

THUNDER CAVE 620

JAGUAR 690

THE GREAT WIDE SEA 660

TEXT COMPLEXITY

TEXT COMPLEXITYQualitative evaluation of the textLevels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands

Quantitative evaluation of the textReadability measures and other scores of text complexity

Matching reader to text and taskReader variables (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences) and task variables (such as purpose and the complexity generated by the task assigned and the questions posed)

• GROUPS DETERMINE READING PACE

• ROLE DISCUSSION SHEETS

• STUDENT LED DISCUSSIONS – INTERACTIVE AND ENGAGING

STUDENT DIRECTED LEARNING

LITERARY LUMINARY

DISCUSSION DIRECTOR

CREATIVE CONNECTOR

IMAGINATIVE ILLUSTRATOR• CITE TEXT EVIDENCE• DISCUSSION NOTES

ROLE DISCUSSION SHEETS

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the textCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly

• DEBRIEFING

• PROBLEM SOLVING

ACCOUNTABLE TALKFriendliness Support

Looks Like

Eye Contact

Sitting close together

People Taking Turns Speaking

Sounds Like

“Hi, what’s up?”

“That was a good idea. I didn’t think of that.”

“Let’s hear from everybody before we decide.”

*Harvey Daniels & Nancy Steineke Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles

• CHOOSE A TOPIC

• RESEARCH THE TOPIC ON BRITANNICA

• SUMMARIZE YOUR RESEARCHCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments

• CLASSMATES ARE THE AUDIENCECCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.4Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 

• CITE YOUR SOURCE

BROADENING THE BOOK STEP 1

• FIND A WEBPAGE ON TOPIC(THE BEST) SPAT

• DISCUSS AND UTILIZE RELIABLE & CREDIBLE SOURCE

• ANALYZE AT LEAST 3 WEBSITES

• CHOOSE THE BEST WEBSITE

• CREATE A HYPERLINKCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.8Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources

BROADENING THE BOOK STEP 2

• DEVELOP 2 QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE SUMMARY & THE WEBPAGE

• USE WEBB’S DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE(DOK) QUESTION STARTERS FOR LEVEL 2, 3 & 4

BROADENING THE BOOK STEP 3

From Depth of Knowledge – Descriptors, Examples and Question Stems for Increasing Depth of Knowledge in the Classroom Developed by Dr. Norman Webb and Flip Chart developed by Myra Collins

DOK 1 Can you recall______? When did ____ happen? Who was ____? How can you recognize____? What is____? How can you find the meaning of____? Can you recall____? Can you select____? How would you write___? What might you include on a list about___? Who discovered___? What is the formula for___? Can you identify___? How would you describe___?  

DOK 2 Can you explain how ____ affected ____? How would you apply what you learned to develop

____? How would you compare ____? Contrast_____? How would you classify____? How are____alike? Different? How would you classify the type of____? What can you say about____? How would you summarize____? How would you summarize___? What steps are needed to edit___? When would you use an outline to ___? How would you estimate___? How could you organize___? What would you use to classify___? What do you notice about___?  

DOK 3 How is ____ related to ____? What conclusions can you draw _____? How would you adapt____to create a

different____? How would you test____? Can you predict the outcome if____? What is the best answer? Why? What conclusion can be drawn from these three

texts? What is your interpretation of this text? Support

your rationale. How would you describe the sequence of____? What facts would you select to support____? Can you elaborate on the reason____? What would happen if___? Can you formulate a theory for___? How would you test___? Can you elaborate on the reason___?  

DOK 4 Write a thesis, drawing conclusions from multiple

sources. Design and conduct an experiment. Gather

information to develop alternative explanations for the results of an experiment.

Write a research paper on a topic. Apply information from one text to another text to

develop a persuasive argument. What information can you gather to support your

idea about___? DOK 4 would most likely be the writing of a

research paper or applying information from one text to another text to develop a persuasive argument.

DOK 4 requires time for extended thinking.  

DOK Question Stems

•DEVELOP 1 QUESTION RELATED TO THE NOVEL & THE SUMMARY/WEBPAGE•USE WEBB’S DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE(DOK)• SAVE DOCUMENT AS A PDF

BROADENING THE BOOK STEP 4

• CREATE AN ANSWER KEY FOR YOUR QUESTIONS

• SAVE AND PRINT YOUR ANSWER KEY

BROADENING THE BOOK STEP 5

• CHOOSE 2 STUDENT PAGES TO VISIT THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO YOUR LIT. CIRCLE NOVEL

• ANSWER QUESTIONS 1 & 2 FOR EACH WEBPAGE

BROADENING THE BOOK STEP 6

• CHOOSE 1 STUDENT PAGE TO VISIT THAT IS RELATED TO YOUR LIT. CIRCLE NOVEL

• ANSWER QUESTIONS 1, 2 & 3 FOR THE WEBPAGE

BROADENING THE BOOK STEP 7

•MAY BE USED FOR ONLINE VIEWING OR LOCAL VIEWING• SAVE STUDENT PDF DOCUMENTS IN ONE FOLDER• CREATE A WORD/PDF WITH A TABLE AND ENTER THE TOPICS

CREATING THE WEB PAGE

• Student selected topics to further research

• Search for multimedia related to a topic of interest

• Reflection activity – what would you change if you had to do this project again?

• Student generated extension activities

Extensions

CONTACT

DEB BUYAN dbuyan@palos118.org

GINA SHEM gshem@palos118.org

QUESTIONS?

Going Deeper into Fiction with Nonfiction