Barbara A. Marinak, PhDMount St. Mary’s University

The Rest of the Story…

Informational Text in the Age of the

Common Core State Standards

Quiz Time!!

#1

Spiders can tune their webs.

#2

The bones of an African slave hung in a

Connecticut museum for more than 80 years.

+3

The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is endangered due

to logging.

+4

A “gel” developed for a dolphin is now widely used

to ease the pain of prosthetic limbs.

+5

Curiosity, the Mars rover, tweets.

#1

Spiders can tune their webs.

TRUE

Spiders can tighten or loosen their silk strands to alter the way each

string resonates.

#2The bones of an African American slave hung in a

Connecticut museum for 80 years.

TRUE

The bones of Fortune hung in the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury,

CT from 1933 to 2013.

+3

The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is endangered due

to logging.

FALSE

+4A “gel” developed for a dolphin is

now widely used to ease the pain of prosthetic limbs.

TRUE

Winter's Gel, developed for the dolphin Winter, is a soft rubbery sock material that reduces the

pain and skin friction of prosthetics.

+5

Curiosity, the Mars rover, tweets.

TRUE

Runnin' Down a Dream: I'm healthy & heading West. Latest pics from travels

on Mars.

May 30

Curiosity Tweets“Mohawk Guy”

aka Bobak Ferdowsi NASA engineer and flight director

Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Mission

Truth is often stranger…more compelling…more interesting than fiction!

Why Informational Text?

Four compelling reasons to teach with and about informational text include:

• gains in reading comprehension for both proficient and at-risk readers.

• growth in vocabulary and the ability to transfer knowledge to new learning demands.

• enhanced motivation to read. Motivation matters! Motivation will be included in the reauthorization of new federal legislation.

(Duke, 2000; Duke & Pearson, 2002; Hall, Sabey & McClellan, 2005; Williams, Hall, & Lauer, 2004)

Fourth Reason

CCSS• Refer to details and examples in a text

when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

• Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.

CCSS

• Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

• Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.

CCSS

• Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Informational Text Imperative

• Significantly increase the amount of informational text students access

• Increase the diversity of informational text---informational books, periodicals, newspapers, web content, videos, podcasts, etc.

• Select mentor texts that support multiple core standards

• Teach informational text using high impact methods

Rigor Imperative

• Increase amount and variety of text students consume- including independent reading

•Connect every book students read to at least 2 additional pieces of text

Rigor Imperative

• Reduce frontloading/pausing and increase searching, reading, and representing

• Rigor ≠ length

Teaching with Informational Text

• Text Structures versus Features

• Structure versus Strategy

• Graphic Organizers

• Questioning

• Increase Amount of Informational Reading

Text Features versus Text Structures

Text Features

• Features = Formatting

• Black and white space organization color, chapters, headings, subheading,

sidebars, questions, font, boldface, italics, color, TOC, glossary

• Can support or erode comprehension

Text StructuresA text structure is the manner in which major ideas

and supporting details are organized in an informational text. The content being presented and author’s purpose determine how the writer organizes the concepts and ideas.

• Enumeration

• Time Order

• Compare & Contrast*

• Problem Solution

• Cause & Effect

Text Structures

Authors of authentic informational text do not write to a particular structure. Text structures are instruction we overlay to

enhance comprehension.

Structure versus Strategy

Time Order Structure

Compare/Contrast Strategy

Structure versus Strategy

Time Order Structure

Compare/Contrast Strategy

Knowledge of ContentGraphic Organizers

• A small cadre of graphic organizers and/or text maps should be used carefully

• Should be discipline-specific

• Should always be purposeful…discussion, writing, etc.

• Text Map

Compare and Contrast

We can compare and contrast giraffes and Emperor penguins. Giraffes live in Africa but Emperor penguins live in Antarctica. Giraffes have live births. Emperor penguins lay eggs. Both giraffes and Emperor penguins have one baby at a time. Giraffes and Emperor penguins are similar in how they protect their young. These two animals place their babies in kindergartens.

Compare/Contrast Summary

Compare/Contrast

Giraffe Emperor Penguin

Supporting Details Attributes Supporting Details

Africa Live Antarctica

One Number of Babies One

Live Type of Birth Egg

Kindergarten Protection of Young Kindergarten

We can compare and contrast giraffes and Emperor penguins. Giraffes live in Africa but Emperor penguins live in Antarctica. Giraffes have live births. Emperor penguins lay eggs. Both giraffes and Emperor penguins have one baby at a time. Giraffes and Emperor penguins are similar in how they protect their young. These two animals place their babies in kindergartens.

Compare/Contrast Summary

Questioning

Questions???

Questions???

Learn More

Core +2

CoreFortune’s Bones

+2• http://www.fortunestory.org/fortune/wh

o.asp

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/fortunes-bones-connecticut-funeral_n_3825367.html

Winter’s Tail

+2…or more!

• http://www.seewinter.com/winter/winters_story/winters-tails

• http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=winter's+tail&FORM=VIRE8#view=detail&mid=F2A576C6458DFEA8C455F2A576C6458DFEA8C455

• http://www.hanger.com/prosthetics/experience/patientprofiles/winterthedolphin/Pages/WintersGel.aspx

The Adventures of Sojourner

+2

Multiple Sources

Nubs on Facebook

Teacher’s Reading Log

• Teacher’s Reading Log invites readers into your thinking about text. Maintaining a teacher’s reading log makes your metacognition public and allows you to model the wide variety of ways we respond to text.

Tornadoes by Seymour

Simon

This book is fascinating and frightening at the same time. I learned from Tornadoes that the United States has had two F5 tornadoes. One was in Missouri in 1925 and the other was in Texas in 1997. However, Tornadoes was published in 1999. I learned from weather.com that since 1999, the U.S. has had another F5 tornado. In 2011, an F5 tornado hit Joplin, Missouri.

Good teaching is forever being on the cutting edge of a child’s competence.

Jerome Bruner

Break Out SessionPossibilities

•+2

•Text Impression

•Q-Matrix

Text Impression

Antarctic

Text Impression

Antarctic

African

Text Impression

Antarctic

African

one

Text Impression

Antarctic

African

one

rookery

Text Impression

Antarctic

African

one

rookery

herd

• Group on land is a waddle or colony

• Nesting group is a rookery

• A group of babies is a crèche

• A group in the water is a raft

Text Impression

Antarctic

African

one

rookery

herd

kindergarten

Q-MatrixLiteral

1.What is?What are?

2.Where/When is?Where/When are?

3.Which is?Which are?

4.Who is?Who are?

5.Why is?Why are?

6.How is?How are?

7.What do?What does?What did?

8.Where/When do?Where/When does?Where/When did?

9. Which do?Which does?Which did?

10.Who do?Who does?Who did?

11.Why do?Why does?Why did?

12.How do?How does?How did?

Inferential

13.What can?

14.Where/When can?

15.Which can?

16.Who can?

17. Why can?Why can’t?

18.How can?

19.What could?

20.Where/When would?

21.Which would?

22.Who would?

23.Why would?

24.How would?

Extended

25.What will?

26.Where/When will?

27. Which will?

28.Who will?

29.Why will?

30.How will?

31.What might?

32.Where/When might?

33.Which might?

34.Who might?

35. Why might?

36.How might?

Q-Matrix

TEXT + me = literal (stems 1-12)

Text + Me = inferential (stems 13-24)

text + ME = extended (stems 25-36)

Q-Matrix

Literal

1.What is?What are?

2.Where/When is?Where/When are?

3.Which is?Which are?

4.Who is?Who are?

5.Why is?Why are?

6.How is?How are?

7.What do?What does?What did?

8.Where/When do?Where/When does?Where/When did?

9. Which do?Which does?Which did?

10.Who do?Who does?Who did?

11.Why do?Why does?Why did?

12.How do?How does?How did?

Q-Matrix

Inferential

13.What can?

14.Where/When can?

15.Which can?

16.Who can?

17. Why can?Why can’t?

18.How can?

19.What could?

20.Where/When would?

21.Which would?

22.Who would?

23.Why would?

24.How would?

Q-Matrix

Extended

25.What will?

26.Where/When will?

27. Which will?

28.Who will?

29.Why will?

30.How will?

31.What might?

32.Where/When might?

33.Which might?

34.Who might?

35. Why might?

36.How might?

TEXT + me = literal

• How long do penguin chicks stay in a kindergarten?

• How old is a giraffe calf when it enters a kindergarten?

Text + Me = inferential

• When would penguins and giraffes form kindergartens?

text + ME = extended

• Giraffes and penguins use kindergartens to protect their young. What might other animals do to protect their babies?