Reject the Instructional Level Theory! Really?

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There were three shifts with the Common Core:

  1. Use of complex text and interaction with academic language.
  2. Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence of the text.
  3. Increase of Non-Fiction text.

 

To review, when we use the term complex text we are referring to text that challenges the student and both quantitative (the mathematical reading level) and qualitative (quality of text and structure) factors have been considered.  In addition, the reader, task and instructional strategies used must be considered.

 

With the three shifts came the controversy of whether we should be using the guided reading theory of using instructional text for small group reading or providing a more rigorous text where students needed to “grapple with the language and structure.  The idea behind Guided Reading is that a teacher works with a small group of students with similar reading abilities and behaviors and provides support. The text is easy enough that students can read the text easily with the support from the teacher.   The Common Core Shift opposes this idea by proposing an increase in the level of text.  The Common Core Shift encourages the student to struggle with the text while the teacher adjusts instruction and strategy use (scaffolding) to ensure the child can reach text meaning.

 

If we think of the contrast between these two ideas—you can see the importance of the reader and the teacher which are crucial to the process of growth in reading. Knowing the reader and the strategies that they know and apply while reading can change what type of text the teacher can give the student. For example:  If a child is good at figuring out context clues, the child does not require as much front loading by the teacher and the text can include more complex language.

 

In a research study published by the Journal of Educational Research in December 2000, researchers studied the optimal difficulty level for improving poor readers’ skills.  They studied children below grade level in reading and recorded fluency (rate), word recognition, and comprehension.  The readers were divided into three groups.  The first group was given books at their instructional level, the second were given books two grade levels above their instructional level and the third group was given books four years above their instructional level. All of these students regardless of their group were paired with a strong and proficient reader for shared reading time fifteen minutes per day for five months.

 

The study found that the group paired with text two grade levels above their instructional level made the most growth and gain.

 

My BIG Takeaways:

 

  • Guided Reading groups should be leveled higher than the instructional level to stretch the student since they are receiving instructional support from the teacher.
  • Independent reading should be done on a text where the student has comprehension at about 80%.  This allows the text to be a bit harder than is comfortable but not TOO difficult.
  • Pairing a low reader with a strong reader for 15 minutes a day for shared reading can increase the students’ exposure to text and allow them to “see strategies” applied by a peer.
  • Struggling readers need to be exposed to complex language structures and unknown words to be able to apply strategy independently.

 

My final thought from this study is that we as teachers have to be careful NOT to OVER SUPPORT!  We must allow students to make mistakes, struggle and not know an answer—it is then we can help them “fix it” and learn.  We must PUSH our students—ALL of them and ensure that they reach the expectation but not too easily.  Think about the Goldilocks Analogy—not too hard—not too easy—JUST RIGHT!  More importantly, using your knowledge as the teacher and scaffolding–keep the “carrot” dangling in front of the child. Keep the text just a bit harder than they can manage without your support!

Reading Motivation

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I was reading a research study by Gary Moser and Timothy Morrison entitled, “Increasing Students’ Achievement and Interest in Reading,” and came across the term “alitearcy.”  Aliteracy refers to a person with the ability to read but lacks the motivation—WOW!  This definition described half of our struggling readers!

 

Anderson, Heibert, Scott and Wilkinson (1985) reported of fifth graders, “50% of the children read books for an average of four minutes per day or less, 30% read two minutes per day or less and fully 10% never reported reading any book on any day.  For the majority of the children, reading from books occupied 1% of their free time or less.”   Considering these statistics were twenty years ago, students now have smartphones, Ipods, computers and gadgets that increase apathy towards reading. Clary (1991) points out,” hesitant readers are not just the poor readers but include many capable readers,” which is a reminder that just because students are struggling does not mean they are not capable—just not motivated!

 

Knowing these statistics, I am challenging each of you to find seven to ten minutes to incorporate intentional increased reading time for students. Before you say—“I DON’T HAVE TIME!”  Look at this chart from Scientific Learning (2008):  http://www.scilearn.com/sites/default/files/imported/alldocs/rsrch/30388RAExtra10min.pdf

How can we NOT increase the motivation and time for students to read?

How about starting by getting students talking and excited about what they are reading!  Don’t we love to tell our friends and family about movies or television shows we are “into?”  Maybe we can use that type of excitement to get kids “into” books.

Ideas to try:

  • Weekly Book Talks by teacher and students.
  • Take 10 minutes at the end of the week or on a rainy day and let students pair up and share about the book they are reading to someone else.
  • Create a Blog and let students share about books or respond to a question and answering from their book’s perspective

 

What do you do in your classroom to make reading fun?  Share an idea with your colleagues!

Brain Breaks

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‘Tis the Season!  We think of the season as a merry time with fun and memory making but it can also bring tons of stress to our families.  December can be filled with worries of custody schedules, work schedules, money and balancing all the elements of life. January intensifies these worries with added stress of bills collected in December. Our students are the recipients of much of this stress because they are “in it” and have no control to fix or change the situation.

 

Food for thought coming back in January:  

Judy Willis M.D., Edutopia Article, stated the following, “For students to learn at their highest potential, their brains need to send signals efficiently from the sensory receptors (what they hear, see, touch, read, imagine, and experience) to memory storage regions of the brain. The most detrimental disruptions to traffic along these information pathways are stress and overload.”  Providing our students with “Brain Breaks” often throughout a lesson can help students obtain optimal retention of information and attention.

 

Your brain contains 100 billion neurons or brain cells.  These cells have the primary job of receiving information and signaling other neurons using electricity or chemicals to stimulate messages within the body. The hypothalamus is the regulation center of the brain.  It keeps your body at a constant; including temperature, heart rate, etc.  Learning happens when neurons are activated and a message is sent along the axon.  When repeatedly stimulated a process called synapse is created. Synapse is created when two neurons are connected from the end of the dendrite. The creation of dendrites is when the brain is relating information that is important within the brain and “filing it” for retention or when the brain makes a learning connection which puts it in our memory.

 

 

When the brain is exposed to stress the body begins to release cortisol which is the primary stress hormone. This chemical affects your heart, lungs, skin, immune system and circulation.  In addition, it stimulates the hypothalamus and when it reaches the neuron, it shuts off the impulses of the dendrites which halt learning.  This is a temporary response and the dendrites will grow back UNLESS there is a long term period of stress.  When stress is repetitive the brain will respond by short circuiting that pathway which will stop impulses and result in the lack of input and messaging.  Many of our students are in a constant state of stress from instability at home, lack of confidence in a subject, poor self-esteem, and relationships with their peers, etc. This constant state of stress causes inability to stay on task, inattention, and lack of self-control.

 

Implementing a “Brain Break” is essential to keeping learning happening and can be a natural way for students to “sum up learning” or thinking.  No more than 20 minutes of any activity should be taking place in the elementary school without a change in thought or activity.  A person’s attention limit is approximately their age plus one –a second grader only has an attention span of about 8 to 9 minutes!  By rebooting the brain, you restart the learning process by restoring to a calm state and producing dopamine.

 

Three Ways to Implement a Brain Break!

 

  1. Use the summarizing throughout the lessons that was featured the last two weeks.

How?

  • During teaching stop frequently and ask students to talk to a partner and summarize learning or their ideas. To change things up you can have students draw, write or act out their learning as well.

 

  1. Read Aloud for a few minutes after an activity or lesson to calm and relax students while provoking thought.

How?

  • Read aloud and stop often to discuss or have students act out scenes, visualize through drawing or writing or to chat with a partner about an event or character.

 

  1. MOVE.  Have students move such as jumping jacks, walking in place, sing a song with movements or throw/catch a ball.  All of these activities help to produce dopamine and increase blood flow to the brain.

How?

 

  • Just free movement for 3-5 minutes can get blood flowing and stop the production of cortisol in students.  Don’t forget https://www.gonoodle.com/is a great site with videos to get them moving.

 

Enjoy your Christmas Break and think “January Brain Breaks.”

https://www.edutopia.org/article/brain-breaks-restore-student-focus-judy-willis

 

YOU Are LIGHT

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Last week in my update, I shared this quote:

 

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.

— Albert Schweitzer

 

Authors refer to light and darkness when creating imagery within a text. These references are so powerful that when you hear the word “light” you immediately have a picture in your mind and the connotation stirs positive thoughts and images.  The power of evoking or igniting light into another person’s life is a true opportunity.  Educators are given the gift to do this every single day.

 

Taylorsville is filled with light in many forms including actions, thoughts, words and people.   Our building is not fancy and in places is worn and needs paint but the children that fill our building bring a joy. Their laughter and chatter surround this space with energy and remind me of their eagerness to learn. They come each day ready for us to guide and encourage.  It is our actions as educators that can bring light to their lives or darken their world.

 

You, as individuals and as a staff, have ignited my light.  My light had dwindled by the stress of deadlines, frustrated voices, and a plethora of tasks that have yet to be completed on time.

 

Here are the top 10 things about Taylorsville Elementary that has filled me with light!

10.  The laughter of students filling the hall and bright colored art work that covers the walls creates a warm glow throughout the school.

9.  Lessons created with care and thought and then executed with passion to connect learning for students and deepen understanding.

8.  Data discussions that pin point “Swiss Cheese Holes” and end with a plan to fill them.

7.  Colleagues who fill my desk with encouraging notes, smiling sticky notes and an occasional Slim Jim.

6.  My fellow teachers using words like prosody, text complexity, interventions, growth mindset and YET.

5.  Actions that show—PUSH!

4.  An extra kindness for a student with clean clothes, money for a fieldtrip, school supplies, hugs, etc.

3.  Walking through the building, seeing teachers and staff putting into action their own learning from professional development and PLC.

2.  Compassion, kindness and patience with our students who have big emotions and are struggling to channel them.

 1.  EDUCATORS WHO TEACH FROM THEIR HEART AND ARE HERE BECAUSE THEY LOVE TAYLORSVILLE AND THOSE WHO INHABIT THIS BUILDING!

 

My ending thought for you!  Remember I value you as my colleague and I see you do amazing things each day. I am in continuous awe of your patience and compassion—do not lose sight of these characteristics with the stress of every day “teaching.”  You do make a difference and are appreciated!  Be the LIGHT for all to see—Taylorsville is LIGHT and I am proud to be a part of this staff.

 

L- eading our students to knowledge

I-  nspite of obstacles and setbacks

G- uiding them with words and actions

H- oping to inspire and ignite

T- hought—passion and character within!

Deepen Learning with Summarizing and Reflection

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After my workshop last week, learning how utilizing summarizing techniques WHILE instructing and teaching can impact learning—I decided to investigate further!  Note:  Summarizing ranks 2nd in the top 5 list for most effective instructional strategies that impact students.

 

Remember it is not about writing a summary but having students engaged in thinking, writing, and actively summarizing their learning DURING instruction.  When learning a topic, your student goes through four levels of thinking to attain mastery.   Learning begins with awareness of the topic and moves to knowledge.  With a knowledge base, students must be given the opportunity to apply learning and begin the opportunity to understand or use the skill. When application is  mastered then students have the ability to understand or use the skill to mastery.  By stopping throughout the lesson to review and synthesize information, students have the opportunity to build on one level of thinking and begin moving to the next. A teacher can then provide another layer of information, graphics, questions, or scaffolding for students to continue deepening their learning.

 

Three strategies to encourage reflective thinking and infuse summarizing in lessons ALL day!

 

  1. Quick Writes: Allow students opportunity to stop and write words, phrases or sentences on a topic you are learning. For example, you have just taught about the water cycle.
    • Stop and allow students to write for 3 minutes and show you everything they know about what they have learned. No worries about spelling or conventions.
    • Pair this strategy by allowing them to partner with another student to share their ideas and learning. This deepens their learning by allowing them to begin applying the academic language they have learned.

 

  1. Draw It! Yes it is that simple!  Just like a quick write but instead of writing—they draw.  The important step for drawing out their ideas is that after they have finished drawing—they have to label it. This begins students associating their own thinking with the academic vocabulary you are teaching.
    • As an extension you can require students to include certain vocabulary.
    • Have students continue to add to their drawing as they learn more and discuss with a partner what additions they added or changes they made and why!

 

  1. Create a Simile: After you have discussed a vocabulary term or topic, have students create a simile to make a comparison to the word or idea to something similar to their lives. This type of thinking helps students take an abstract idea and make it concrete in their own terms.
    • Use a sentence frame to help students get started such as meteors are like__________________ because ______________.
    • Have students share out similes and continue to refine your discussion and explanation until students begin to deepen thinking of the idea.

 

Having students reflect on their thinking is not a new concept and neither is writing a summary.  However, by having students applying reflection and summarizing throughout a lesson, you are deepening their ideas on a concept. Remember when talking, drawing, writing and interacting with information—students are building conceptual understanding!

 

 

 

Articles considered when writing this Blog:

http://www.learningfocused.com/tips-for-using-distributed-summarizing-with-higher-order-thinking/

http://www.hawaii.edu/intlrel/pols382/Reflective%20Thinking%20-%20UH/reflection.html

Writing and Speaking to “PULL UP” Reading

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As I sat in staff development today, I heard the presenter use this phrase, “writing pulls up reading.”  Pretty powerful if you think about it right? The act of reading does not pull up writing—but the act of writing does pull up the knowledge of what a person has read.  He shared that students by the end of high school should be able to read informational text and express the main points by writing 1500 words on the topic.  Are we preparing our kids for this?

Within this workshop, 8 strategies that have been proven to be effective and yield high growth were shared.  One of these is summarizing.  When we think of summarizing, we think of writing a summary but this concept is a bit different and ties in VERY well to our school wide goal of student interaction. Summarizing can be effective for learning when it is used to break up a lesson, story, or activity and students are asked to summarize before, during and after instruction.  A child’s attention span is their chronological age plus one; think about our 90 minute math block or 120 minute reading block. Breaking this up into chunks is great but is providing center time always the answer?

If you are teaching or reading, simply stop and have students summarize with a partner or stop and write their thoughts and then discuss. The act of summarizing and stopping to synthesize information actually reboots the brain and prepares it for more learning. So, by stopping every 7-9 minutes, to think, write or talk about learning—you are maximizing learning for students AND layering learning. You are allowing information to be processed and then you can build on those ideas after debriefing whole group.  These mini discussions or writing tasks are actually having students “write or speak to inform” which is what we want them to do as students who are graduating and reading 1500 words—right?

This information made me think of an earlier blog post about a strategy to make reading more interactive.  This strategy allows students to synthesize learning, interact with the information and then prepare for more information.  The strategy does not have a formal name to my knowledge but I used it in the classroom and called it Stop Draw, Act, Write and Talk.

As you read, it is important to have ongoing interaction with the students and not having them listen passively.  You can have students make responses verbally or in written form. They can create story maps, think pair share, partner discussions, act out, reflections, etc. I used to keep a poster in my room with the following words:  STOP Draw, STOP Act Out, Stop Jot, and Stop and Talk. These are the options students could use to participate as we read and made notes in their reading journals.

stop

I challenge you for the month of December to begin to use this strategy during whole group reading to allow students to truly take the information, summarize it and apply it in different ways (talking, acting, writing, etc.) It is important for our students to take knowledge in through reading or listening and to practice paraphrasing their learning into a summary and then use it in a new way.

Printable Poster for Interaction: posterread-aloud-11eqc1n-1

 

Implications of Brain Research

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Through this school year, we have investigated the idea of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to literally change.  Brain research tells us that it is possible to change learning, mindset and even intelligence.  It is when we use and process information in the prefrontal cortex—learning happens and encodes to long term memory!  We have learned how stress inhibits learning and self-confidence.  Judy Willis, Edutopia 2012, shared that when studying neuroimaging scan of students in states of boredom, frustration and sustained stress within the classroom the brain increases the metabolic state and blocks processing in the prefrontal cortex.  Knowing these facts makes you a powerful change agent for students.

Building on these ideas, an article from Education World on October 26, 2016, there are twelve principles or ideas that can help us make small changes in our instruction. Educators can change ways we plan and execute lessons to make a HUGE impact. Here are my five favorite to share.

  1. The brain is a parallel processor. This means that thoughts, experiences and emotions are being processed simultaneously within the brain.  This matters because it is a reminder that environment and social/emotional needs must be considered and met to ensure optimal learning. We cannot control the students’ environment but we can make sure our school and classrooms are safe and inviting.
  2. Learning engages the entire body and physiology. Increasing active movement will increase engagement and neural activity.  Increase student to student interaction to increase listening and speaking while reading and writing which will boost sensory input. Engaging students in movement, gestures, games, etc. will increase their neural input and increase the brain’s ability to put the information in long term memory.
  3. The brain is constantly searching for meaning and is instinctive. Begin your lessons with a question, problem or scenario that requires students to figure something out or discover.  Even using photographs to spark intrigue will increase the brain’s innate search for meaning and to seek answers.  When the brain is seeking meaning—engagement is present.
  4. The brain searches for patterns. Repetition is crucial because it helps students organize and put things in order.  In addition, explicitly teaching a concept and then having students discover or apply information repetitively will help them develop a pattern of thinking.  When you hear the term layering it refers to teaching a concept and then providing the concept in a different way which causes the brain to first seek meaning and then organize this information by the previous pattern learned. This causes students to access information from memory and reuse it in a different way which is problem solving at the highest level.
  5. Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat. We must challenge our students with complex text and content but remember that scaffolding them and supporting them will keep the threats limited and engagement guaranteed.  (Keep the carrot dangling in front of them)

Wonder, graphics, student interaction, and movement all help increase student engagement and increase the ability to process information.  Using what we know about the brain helps us plan lessons to optimally produce student learning.  Remember explicit instructions and modeling help to lay the foundation of learning. Providing students a chance to interact and talk helps to make the concepts make sense.  The use of graphics, movement and games will increase the brain’s ability to remember and retrieve the information.  Increasing the challenge or layering new ideas upon patterns of learning helps students develop connections and deepen learning so that it is processed to long term memory and becomes automatic.

WEARY

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In October, as the weather changes and leaves fall, weariness begins to settle over the staff members at our elementary schools.  August and September are filled with the excitement of new students and building relationships within the frenzy of BOY testing.  Much like the mist during our October mornings, stress and testing data begins to permeate throughout our classrooms.

 

I recently ran across this quote which seemed to sum up the process:

“…weariness seemed to settle on him like a coating of dust.”

― M. Snyder

As this weariness sets in, the stress increases because the need for action continues to grow. As the end of the first nine weeks grows closer, our teachers have data on student strengths and weaknesses and it is time to begin “rolling” with a plan.  A PLAN?  Having the data and knowing the problem is the easy part—creating the road map and putting the plan into action is the hard part.

This blog will focus on reminding you of the amazing things YOU,  as elementary teachers,  accomplish the first six weeks of school by using the word—WEARY!

 

W is for WITNESSING and Discovering Abilities:

Gathering and digging into data can be a daunting task but elementary teachers sift through school, class and individual data to determine student strengths and needs. Tier I paperwork has been created to highlight the needs of our classrooms and plans to address these needs have been generated.  You, as a grade level, have identified needs and are implementing best practices within each daily schedule to ensure that the class deficit is filled.  In addition, digging deeper into data, Tier II paperwork has been created to identify needs of individual students and how to address their needs.  Planning for WHO—WHAT—WHERE and DURATION of interventions and best practices to help “build” individual foundations and make the “Swiss Cheese” go away is exhausting but necessary!  In addition, these plans are being implemented daily to make sure that the lowest deficits are addressed and progress monitoring happens to ensure the interventions are working!  We are continuously assessing progress and adjusting instruction as needed.  (W– May also stand for WOW!  Think of ALL you do each day!)

E is for EMBRACING change and learning:

Flexibility is part of your day as you have to adapt.  Embracing this change is a gift that you model for students.  Accepting the change of education and learning the new practices, ideas and concepts being taught.  Trying new ideas, adapting instruction and classroom procedures is all part of creating an inviting environment for students.

A is for ADVOCATING for student learning and needs:

Daily you advocate for your students and their needs including reaching out to the social worker or counselor to intervene with students who have an environmental or social need.  New shoes, money for fieldtrips, school supplies and any other need seems to find the way to students though the recipient rarely knows their teacher was the contributor.  Learning needs are met because YOU reach out, ask questions, find resources and simply give all you have to ensure learning. A—may also stand for AMAZING—that is what you are!

R is for RELATIONSHIPS:

Within six weeks, communication and trust has been built through conversations, planners, notes and simply reaching out with positive interactions.  Creating relationships is difficult but elementary teachers have the ability to create open two way communication AND a sense of support within weeks of getting to know their students.  Think of the ways you reach out each day—phenomenal!

 

Y is for YIELDING results and success:

With all that you do each day—YOU DO YIELD positive results.  Think of  what you have already accomplished and what your students can do that they could not do six weeks ago.  YOU DO make a difference.

 

As the nine weeks comes to a close, take a deep breath of the crisp October air, remember that you do make a difference even among the mist of stress and weariness that is settling around you.

Please do the following:

  1. Take care of yourself because stress affects your hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands. It can dampen your immune system; decrease your brain cells and memory.
  2. Ask for help when you are overwhelmed, do not understand or get behind. Support help is here to help you!
  3. Use your planning day to try to get a long range plan and where you want to go. Once you know the materials you need—use assistant help and tutors to help you create those materials in advance.
  4. Remember YOU ARE AMAZING and make a difference every day!

A Deeper Look at Non-fiction Text Structure

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Last week, I focused on how text features and signal words must be explicitly taught to help students understand that the “structure” of the text helps the reader better understand the main points of non-fiction. We teach different fiction genres to ensure students understand how to adjust their reading strategies, thinking and note taking.  A reader must adjust their metacognition differently when they read a myth vs. fairytale.  Non-fiction has differences in structure as well but we often forget to directly teach these to students. Don’t we read a social studies article differently than an essay on Global Warming?  This takes explicit instruction.

The main structure types of non-fiction are:

  • Cause and effect: describe cause and effect relationships.  The text describes events and identifies reasons (causes) for why the event happened.
  • Description: text that visualizes information which utilizes sensory and descriptive details that provides the 5W’s about a topic.
  • Sequential: chronologically organized from beginning to end
  • Compare and Contrast: comparisons used to describe an idea and similarities and differences are shared
  • Problem and Solution: author introduces a problem and presents solutions

 

Instruction of non-fiction text structure helps the student meet the depth of the Common Core Informational Standards.   The first three informational standards are organized under “Key Ideas and Details” and require students to interact with the text in a “surface” manner.  When you move on to standards 4, 5 and 6—notice that they are organized under “Craft and Structure.”

**Notice the words—CRAFT AND STRUCTURE!  Those words remind us as educators that the structure must be considered to fully meet these three standards.  Please view these three standards.

Craft and Structure:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5
Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6
Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

 

Within these three standards, students are challenged to do the following:

  1. Notice the word choice of the author.
  2. Analyze the structure of the text.
  3. See how the author’s choices “build” the text and how to interact with each section or part
  4. Determine the author’s point of view.
  5. Discern differences in the author’s opinion and their own.
  6. See subtle changes in how the author’s point of view changes the text and choices by the author.

 

When a student can identify the text structure of the text, it immediately alerts the brain to apply certain strategies as they read and to look for certain main points.  Knowing the text structure is important for many reasons including:

  1. The structure sets the purpose for the selection and lets the reader know what points the author WANTS to make to the reader. This allows the reader to search for this information rather than only discerning information from their own point of view. (RI.6)
  2. Text features and signal words help “lead” students to main points of the article. (RI.5)
  3. The structure helps students see which details are most important and sift through to determine relevant and irrelevant information. (RI.5 and RI.6)
  4. The structure helps the reader decide what kind of notes to take such as looking for the problem and list solutions or creating a timeline with an article written in chronological order. (RI.5)
  5. The signal words and text features help to point out what the author thinks is important and show their opinion or perspective. (RI.6)
  6. When a student “sees” the structure, they are able to more clearly organize their thoughts for a summary or to explain.

This is NOT an upper grade concept!  We do this with Kindergarten and small children when we read a story aloud. We stop and ask what is happening and model the structure of a story. When we read something, we look at the title and ask what the selection will be about which shows how the title relates to the book.  We must begin to show students how the small pieces of information are put together in a format to help the reader learn.  Seeing a text from the “macrolevel” or the overall level helps them see the framework or structure that the author “built” the selection. Powerful don’t you think?  If a student can SEE the structure—they can fully understand it. An added bonus to understanding text structure is that it aids the student when expressing their thoughts in writing.

Text Features or Text Structure?

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Literary elements are the “skeleton” of fictional text.  These literary elements give fiction structure but what about non-fiction?skeleton-6  Non-fiction is “held up” by the text features and signal words which help to determine the “skeleton” or structure of the text.  An author creates a text structure by designing or writing the text by using common text features to “build” the main ideas.  8cxanm5cpThe signal words are embedded to let the reader know what ideas are important and to better understand them.  The main structure types of non-fiction are:

  • Cause and effect: describe cause and effect relationships.  The text describes events and identifies reasons (causes) for why the event happened.
  • Description: text that visualizes information which utilizes sensory and descriptive details that provides the 5W’s about a topic.
  • Sequential: chronologically organized from beginning to end
  • Compare and Contrast: comparisons used to describe an idea and similarities and differences are shared
  • Problem and Solution: author introduces a problem and presents solutions

Text features must be explicitly taught to help students navigate through informational and non-fiction text.  These features help readers “see” how the author crafted the article or selection. The use of subheadings, columns, graphics, and other features help the reader determine what is important.

Educators spend a great deal of time teaching text features because we want them to navigate the text effectively.  This intentional instruction is important—right?  The answer to this is “YES” but that is simply not enough for a young reader to fully navigate the text. They must be taught the different text structure types, text features that accompany each structure and the signal words that the author uses to organize a selection.  Together these elements are used to create a text and help a reader find and understand the main points of the selection.  Explicitly teaching signal words helps students determine how the author organized or structured the information for the reader to understand.  Signal words are the author’s way of helping  the reader see and understand the main points.  Signal words help suggest and show the reader how the author has structured their writing to help you better understand the text.

Click this site to see important signal words to focus on:  http://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/9780205521067/downloads/SignalWords.pdf

What Questions Do Text Features and Signal Words Help a Reader Determine?

  1. How do I navigate a text?
  2. What main ideas and details does the author feel are important?
  3. What type of TEXT STRUCTURE does the non-fiction selection have? (The text features and signal words guide this!)

In conjunction with text features, an author uses signal words to help a reader determine the structure that was used to create the text. Please click this link to see a chart which shows the text structure types and signal words:  http://www.syracusecityschools.com/tfiles/folder836/3.11%20Text%20structure%20signal%20words.pdf

I have created a guide for students to use to determine the text structure of a text.  This is a step by step process and requires students to interact with the text and self question.  They must determine what they see and how it is organized using text features and signal words. Understanding the structure helps students to apply the correct type of note taking, look out for main ideas and to make sense of what the author finds important.

Click here for the guide:  analyzing-text-structure

What can you do to teach text structure explicitly?

  • Teach text structures using examples of texts and discuss how it has been organized.
  • Take text features out of a text and allow students to figure out where the features should go and why.
  • Discuss main idea sentences and key words that show a certain text structure.
  • Model how to preview a text and to collect information from the text prior to reading and information they can gain while reading in the form of annotation.
  • To solidify learning have students write using that specific text structure to ensure they understand how this type of text is crafted.

Check out resources below from FCRR which can help you gain more ideas about text analysis for students.  Student understanding of how something is written helps to aid their comprehension. We know that teaching by genre can help a student better understand fictional text by knowing what elements they are looking for as they read. Once a student knows they are reading a fairytale, they know that magic will be an element and contain a heroic event.  If the child is reading a tall tale, they will understand that hyperbole is an element which aids in the understanding that the story may not make sense at times but is meant in a humorous manner. Non-fiction and informational text takes many forms as well and deserves the explicit instruction that we provide when we teach literature.

Start noticing as you read non-fiction text what text structure the author has utilized.   Notice how you read differently if you know it is organized sequentially rather than in problem solution format. How does it change what you are looking for as you read? Do you take notes differently? When you notice how you read differently—you will see the importance of showing your students.

 

Florida Center for Reading Research Text Structure Resources:

FCRR: Text Analysis (Grades 2-3)

FCRR: Text Analysis (Grades 4-5)

FCRR: Expository Texts (Grades 2-3)

FCRR: Expository Texts (Grades 4-5)

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