Reading continuous texts,

whole stories and

information books

Sandra Shavlik, RRTL

Session Goal:

This session is designed for teachers who want to explore non-fiction text characteristics and the demands placed upon readers in early intervention. You will go away with some new books and knowledge of the strengths and the considerations you might make across a series of lessons.

The Challenges of Informational Texts

1. Teacher’s inexperience 2. Teacher’s uncertainty around what the child

knows 3. Unknown vocabulary in the text 4. Less support to ‘ride the wave of meaning

and structure to get to visual’ 5. The amount of talk

What does Clay say,

Teachers need to have experience in using little books and to learn how to progressively select books to assist individual children to read with success.

Professionals who have extensive experience with hard-to-teach children will select the most facilitative, highly motivating books.

Motivation Although teachers likely do not view themselves as favoring or teaching exclusively to one gender or the other, it is possible that one's gender does influence instruction. Fletcher (2006) explained: • Gender is not like a mask you can take off and put aside for

a few hours; it is an inherent part of who we are. We each have a ‘gender filter’ that can enhance but also distort our perceptions of the world. (p. 22)

• This gender filter might be a factor when considering the content of reading and writing material that teachers present to students. Sullivan (2004) believed that the criteria by which teachers evaluate books are centered much more on the way girls think as opposed to boys (cited in Boltz, 2007).

Gender Differences The use of nonfiction as read-aloud, guided reading, or independent reading material, or as a writing topic, can be particularly useful when engaging boys in literacy. Boys are often much more interested in informational topics than those that are fictional or narrative because they appeal to boys' need to understand the world around them. Boys enjoy being experts on topics of personal significance to them and will enjoy reading when the purpose of the book is to teach them something (Smith & Wilhelm, 2002).

Challenge: When the language and ideas of text are predictable from what the children already know about meaning and oral language, they can give more attention to learning about the features of print itself.

Remedies for the Teacher “Give some thought prior to this lesson to how you will

get this particular child to compose.”

#1 Start and start early.

Writing: exposure to structure

• Just like ‘story structure,’ information books have particular structures that can support reading.

• You know a lot about spiders, if we ask the question “What can go on a web,” what things can you think of that a hungry spider might eat?

Roaming Around the Known

Baby Panda (Level 5)

• You just read about a baby panda. I’m going to read this caption and we will learn about what a panda eats.

• What did you learn about what a panda eats?

Provide information to talk about

When children are given opportunities to create and produce their own visual and graphical representations, they are more likely to learn about how different conventions (e.g., arrows) are used in different graphical representations (McTigue & Croix, 2010; Wheeler & Hill, 1990) and how they are being used by the designer (Moline, 2011).

• A successful choice of book would be well within the child’s control, using words and letters he knows or can get to with his teacher’s help.

• One or two things in the book will require new

learning. • The teaching goal would be to settle these new things

into the integrated networks of knowledge that this child already controls.

The teacher must preview the book and weigh up its suitability. Is she choosing it to consolidate the child’s work on a particular level, or is she seeking to take the child into a new level of text? Aim to have the child read this book fluently.

Orientation to the ‘story’ when there isn’t a story? Orientation means the aligning of oneself to one’s ideas to the surroundings or circumstances.

What are the surroundings in informational

texts?

What are the ideas?

What are the circumstances?

How Non-fiction Text Work: Informational Features

Informational text features help the reader

navigate the text and provide additional

information to help students comprehend the

text.

Expository Organizational Patterns

Pattern Description Cue Words

Description The author describes a topic by listing characteristics, features, and examples

For example, characteristics are

Sequence The author lists items or events in numerical or chronological order

First, second, third; next; then; finally

Comparison The author explains how two or more things are alike and/or how they are different.

Different; in contrast, alike; same as; on the other hand

Cause and Effect The author lists one or more causes and the resulting effects or effects.

Reasons why; if…then; as a result; therefore; because

Problem and Solution The author states a problem and list one or more solutions for the problem. A variation of this pattern is the question—answer format in which the author poses a question and then answers it.

Problem is; dilemma is; puzzle is; puzzle is solved; question…answer

Pictures say words

“Helping boys find entry points into literacy must be a priority and it must happen early, when boys first become acquainted with literacy” (Zambo, 2007, p. 125).

Level 10

Writing Before Reading

Today we are going to learn what a penguin uses to make a nest. • What animal do you know

that makes a nest? • What does he use and what

could we say about that?

The topic might come

from a discussion of one

of his books. Page 55

We have read stories where the author asks a question and then answers the question. You know a lot about ________, what would a friend ask you about that animal? Now, let’s think about how we would write that so your friend understands.

Selecting and Introducing Text • Each teacher select one text from those at your

table • Think about a student you have or you have

taught • Consider whether you would select that book for

this child • If not, be prepared to say why • If so, prepare to talk about how you would orient

that child to the book by linking their experience and introducing the child to the ideas and language in the book.

Frogs have teeth

Fletcher, R. (2006). Boy writers: Reclaiming their voices. Markham, Ontario, Canada: Pembroke Publishers. Boltz, R.H. (2007). What we want: Boys and girls talk about reading. School Library Media Research, 10. Retrieved June 21, 2010 fromwww.ala.org/aasl/slmr (Motivation) Zambo, D. (2007). Using picture books to provide archetypes to young boys: Extending the ideas of William Brozo. The Reading Teacher, 61(2), 124–131. doi:10.1598/RT.61.2.2. Smith, M.W., & Wilhelm, J.D. (2002). “Reading don't fix no Chevys”: Literacy in the lives of young men. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. McTigue, E.M., & Croix, A. (2010). Visual literacy in science. Science Scope, 33(9), 17–22 (Cody’s)

Citations