Welcome to the Unit - Weeblyk164.weebly.com/uploads/8/5/5/4/8554966/third... · the unit relies on the book Navigating Nonfiction from Units of Study in Teaching Reading, Grades 3‐5

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Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

Reading Curricular Calendar, Third Grade, 2013-2014 Unit Three – Nonfiction Reading: Reading to Get the Text

UnitThree–NonfictionReading:ReadingtoGettheText Mid‐NovembertoMid‐December(Level3ReadingBenchmark:N/O)ThisRWPreadingunitmarksthetimeoftheyearwhenyourstudentswillleavetheadventuresoftheircharacters,theirstrugglesandchanges,andmoveintotheworldofthewatercycleandwhales,spaceshipsandskateboarding.They’llwanttoleapatthewholenewsectionofthelibraryyou’llopenupforthem,withadrumrolltoannouncethestartofthisnewadventureyou’lltaketogetherasaclass.Maybeyou’llclearoffthechalkboardledgeandfillitwiththecoolest,mostbeautiful,mostawe‐inspiringnonfictionbooksinyourlibrary.Maybeyou’llsurpriseyourstudentswithabulletinboardclearedofalltheircharacterwork,andinitsplace,adisplayofmapsandnewspapers,brochures,blogs,photographs,websites,andmagazineclippings.Perhapsyou’llstartonthefirstdayshowingthemashortclipfromapopularTVshowthathighlightsachild,curioustoexplorenewfactsandcoolinformationsuchasBillNyetheScienceGuy.Regardless,you’llhelpallyourreadersfeelathomeinthisnewgenre,andhopetoespeciallyenticereaderswhomayfeellikestoriesarenotexactlytheircupofteayet.Attheheartofthisunitisthenotionthatteachingkidstonoticetheunderlyingstructuresoftextswillhelpthemtoholdontothemainideasandkeydetailsofthesetexts.MuchoftheunitreliesonthebookNavigatingNonfictionfromUnitsofStudyinTeachingReading,Grades3‐5byLucyCalkinsandKathleenTolan.Youwillnotethatwe’veaddednewinstructioninspecificareas,andrefinedtheunittomakeitexactlyalignedtograde‐levelexpectations.Youwillseethatwehaveespeciallyaddedfurtherlessonstohelpstudentsbuildnonfictionreadinglives.Inthiscurricularcalendarwrite‐up,weoutlineaunitofstudyinwhichyougivechildrenstretchesoftimetoreadwholetexts,readingnottoansweraspecificquestionortomineforaninterestingfact,butrathertolearnwhatthebookhastoteach.Theunitspotlightsskillsandhabitsessentialtoareaderofexpositorynonfiction:determiningimportanceandfindingmainideasandsupportivedetails;questioningandtalkingbacktothetext;figuringoutandusingnewcontent‐specificvocabulary;andapplyinganalyticalthinkingskillstocompareandcontrast,rankorcategorize.

Welcome to the Unit


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InBendOneoftheunit,thegoalisforchildrentodevelopnonfictionreadingidentities.Allchildrenhaveinterests(orobsessions!),hobbies,thingstheywanttoknowmoreaboutandtopicsonwhichtheyfeelexperts.InBendOne,theywillbeinvitedtobringtheirpassionsintotheclassroomanddosomehigh‐interestreadingintextsthatare(perhaps)slightlymorecomplexthanwhattheywerereadinginfiction.Theworkofthebend,then,willbetohelpstudentstackletheseslightlymoredifficulttexts‐‐helpingthemtoreadwithstaminaandfluency,self‐monitortheirunderstandingandgetthegistofthetext,determinethemeaningofunfamiliarwords,andsoon.InBendTwostudentswillbegintoseethatnonfictiontakesaspecialkindofreading.They’llbegintoconsiderthewaysthattheyreadnonfictiondifferentlyfromfiction.Alargepartofthisworkwillbetodeterminemainideasthroughgraspingthetext’sinfrastructure.Studentswillneedtobeabletorecognizethatmanyexpositorytextsfollowa“boxes‐and‐bullets”structure‐‐the“box”isthemainidea,andthe“bullets”arethedetails.Ifreadersexpectthisinfrastructureandiftheylearntousetextfeatures,whitespace,andtransitionalphrasestohelpthemdiscernthatinfrastructure,theywillbeabletogleanwhatmattersfromtextsthatcontainanoverwhelmingamountofrawinformation.Intheirpartnerships,readerswilllearnhowtoteacheachotherwhatthey’relearningbybeingengagingteachers—usingtheirwholebodyandgestures,notjusttheirwordsandtheactofteachingwillhelpyourreaderstomakechoicesaboutwhatismostimportanttoconveytoothers,therebydeterminingthemostcrucialinformation.

EssentialQuestion:HowcanIreadexpositorynonfictiontextsinsuchawaythatIcandeterminewhatismostimportantandconsolidateinformationandideas?

BendI:BuildingaNonfictionReadingLifeHowcanIorganizearichnonfictionreadinglifeformyselfsothatIreadnonfictionoften,andlivetowardsgoalsthatIsetformyselfasanonfictionreader?(ashorterbend‐approx.3or4sessions)

BendII:NonfictionTakesaSpecialKindofReadingCanIusemynonfictionreadingstrategiesto‘get’whatexpositorytextsaresaying—tograspthecentralideasandthesupportingdetails?CanIuseaboxes‐and‐bullets,expositorytextstructuretohelpmeorganizemyunderstandingofthetextsIread?(approx.aweek)

BendIII:SynthesizingAcrossPartsandGrowingIdeasAboutNonfictionEventhoughmymindwilloftenbefullofallthatIhavelearnedwhilereading,canIleavespaceinmymind,andtimeinmyreading,togrowideasaboutthecontent?CanIpushmythinkingsothatIelaborateonthoseideas?(approx.aweek)

Overview


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InBendThree,studentswillsynthesizeinformationacrosspartsandgrowideas.Theywillbegintoaskhowpartsfittogetherandtoholdquestionsinmindastheyread,lookingforanswers.Thisthirdpartoftheunitalsoasksreaderstolearntothinkandtalkaboutthetextstheyarereading.Thoughtheymaybeginwithreactionslike“Weird!”or“Cool!”or“Ineverknewthat______,”youwillwanttopushkidstonoticeplacesinthetextthatdrawthemin,andyou’llwanttonudgekidstoquestiontheinformationthey’rereading.Partnerscanworktogetherheretotalklongaboutquestions,tosynthesizekeypartsoftheirtext,andtodevelopaknowledgebasetogether.Toguideyourplanning,keepinmindthisunitisexpectedtoextenduntil(butnotpast)mid‐December.Thisunitisnotintendedtobeoverlylengthy.ThesecondandthirdbendcomealmostdirectlyfromVolumeIofNavigatingNonfictionwhichissevensessionslong.WehaveaddedafewextrasessionsonBuildingaNonfictionReadingLifebuttheseshouldonlyaddfewadditionaldaystoyourunit.Thisunitaddressesmultiplestandardsbutthereareafewthatwewanttoespeciallyhighlight.Oneofthemajorgoalsofthisistosupportstudentsinbeingabletodetermineamainideaandkeydetails,theworkofStandard3.2.Thisthefirstyearthatstudentsareheldaccountablefordeterminingamainideaaslastyearinsecondgradetheywereexpectedtodeterminethemaintopicaswellasthefocusofspecificsections.Atthesametimethatstudentsaretaughttolookatstructuretodetermineamainidea,theyarealsobeingtaughttolookatthestructuresandrelationshipsofsentencestosupportthatwork.BeingabletolookatthelogicalconnectionsbetweensentencesistheworkofStandard3.8andwilllaterleadtostudentsbeingabletoanalyzetheauthor’sargument.Inaddition,thisunitsupportsstudentsinbeginningtosummarize,worktheywillbeexpectedtodoasfourthgraders(4.2).Thefirstpartoftheunitworkstosupportfoundationalstandards,suchasfluencyandmonitoringformeaningandaddressesRF3.4.Theunitalsoworkstosupportstudentsindeterminingthemeaningofunfamiliarwordsandindecodingthosewords,theworkofRI3.4andRF3.3.Acrosstheunit,studentsaresupportedingroundingtheirideasintextevidence.Inaddition,theunitmovesstudentstowardmakinginferencesabouttexts,workthatwillbeexpectedoftheminfourthgrade(4.1).

CCSS/LS Standards Addressed in this Unit


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Hereareafewtipstohelpyoutogetreadytoteachthisunit.

Gatherhighinterestexpositorynonfiction(print/digital) Chooseyourreadaloud(s) Ifpossible,printoutresourcesfromtheDVDtouseinyourminilesson

Gatherhighinterestexpositorynonfiction(print/digital)Fortheverystartofyourunit,youwillwanttoinvitereaderstobringintheirownhighinterestnonfictionsothatyoucanbesureallstudentswillbereadingabouttopicsaboutwhichtheyarepassionate.Thefirstpartofthisunitisallaboutdevelopinganonfictionreadingidentityandlearningwhatkindofnonfictionreaderyouaresostudentsbringingintheirownbookswillhelpyoumakesureallreadersarereadingabouttopicsofhighinterest.Ifyouknowyourstudentswilllikelyhavedifficultybringingintheirownbooks,thenwesuggestthatyoudowhatyoucantogatherbooksontopicsthatarelikelytointerestyourstudentsandkeepthatfirstbendveryshort.Duringtherestoftheunit,studentscancontinuetoreadexpositorynonfiction.Youmaywanttolocatetheexpositorytextsthathaveafairlyclearstructureofheadingsandsubsections,andifpossible,evengettwocopiesofsomeofthesetexts;creatingsame‐textpartnershipsearlyonintheunitcanprovidewonderfulscaffoldsforreaders.Ifsame‐textpartnershipsaren’tpossiblewiththelibraryyouhave,youmaywanttohavesame‐topicpartnershipsatleast.Ideally,informationaltextsintheclassroomlibrarywillbe:

Clearly‐structured Atlevelswherechildrencancurrentlyreadwithfluency,comprehension,and

accuracyandalsobeatlevelsjustabovethis,asyou‘llmovechildrenintotheseastheunitprogresses

Highlyengaging Variedenoughtoallowchildrentohavesomechoiceoverwhattopicstheyread

about,includingtopicsrelatedtosocialstudies,science,andhistory. Organizedintosame‐topicbaskets(notsame‐levelbaskets)toallowchildrento

read“up”inlevelofdifficultyonthesametopicWhatismostimportantistoensurethatallreadersarereadinglotsandlotsoftextswhicharematchedto‐‐andpushingsteadily‐‐theirabilitiesandinterests.Tohelpwithyourorderingandorganizingofmaterials,youcanfindaleveledbibliographyofinformationaltextsontheRWPwebsite,withasectiondevotedtotextsthatareexpository.SomeofthesetextsareonthelistofgradebandtextsthatisofferedbytheCommonCoreStateStandards.

Getting Ready


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ThebooksonthelistareallavailablefromBooksource—simplyaskfortheRWPcollection.Thinkofthesebooklistsasacommunityresourceandbearinmindthatwerelyuponinput.Know,too,thatanylistwillevolve.Pleasecontactuswithmorebooksuggestions.Youwillalsowanttosetupotherareasofyourclassroomtosupportinformationalreading,bookmarkingsitesofinterestonyourcomputersandmakingsureyourperiodicalrackshavehighinterestmagazines.Youwillwanttobookmarksitesthatoffergeneralinformation(suchasTimeforKids),butalsositesthatrelatetomorespecifictopics(suchassitesthatrelatetowildanimals,space,orsports).Ifyourclassisengagedinastudyonacountry,forexample,youcanbookmarkmapsandotherwebsiteswhichprovideinformationaboutthecountry’spopulation,tourism,economy,culture,andsoon.Youmightalsoconsidermakingsurethatyourlisteningcenterincludeshighlevelcomplexinformationaltexts.SettingupalisteningcenterwithaudiobookswillsupportstudentsincontinuingtodeveloptheirfluencyandvocabularyandhelpthemtomeetimportantFoundationalSkillsStandardsinReading(RF3.4).Atthesametimeastheyarehearingthewords,theyareseeingtheminprintinthebooksinfrontofthem.ThiswillbeespeciallyhelpfulforyourELLsandspeechandlanguagestudentsastheserecordingsprovidemodelsforfluentreadingofnonfictiontexts.Audiobooksalsogivestudentstheopportunitytoaccesstopicsandtextlevelsthattheymaynothaveotherwisereadontheirown.Astheunitprogresses,you’llwanttocontinuetoassesswhenareadermightbereadytomoveupalevelandsupportingthatreaderthroughavarietyofmethods:

includingafewbooksofthenextlevelintheirbaggies givingbookintroductionsandthenhandingoverabookofthenextlevel readingaloudthebeginningofthebookofthenextlevelup

Bepreparedwithsomebooksforeachstudentsatlevelsabovewheretheyaretoday!Insteadofclosingtherestofyourlibrary,westronglysuggestthatyoureservetimeeveryday(atleastfifteentotwentyminutesinschoolandmoretimeathome)forchildrentocontinuereadingliteratureateachstudent’shighestlevelofcomprehension,pushingthemtotransferandapplyalltheskillsyou’vealreadytaught.Inthisway,youcankeepstudentsreadingevenwhenmaterialsarelowandhelpthemtocontinuetoholdontothelearningtheyhavedoneinreadingfiction.Andinanycase,besurereaderscontinuetomaintaintheirreadinglogs.Monitorthatthey’rereadingenoughchapterbookseachweek—probablyanywherefromonetofour,inadditiontotheinformationaltextstheyread.Chooseyourreadaloud(s)You’llwantyourreadaloudstomirrortheworkyourstudentsaredoingsoyou’llwanttochoosebookswhichhaveclearexpositorystructures,plentyoftextfeaturesandare


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engaging.OnethatwesuggestisInsectBodiesbyBobbieKalman.At700LthistextisataLexilethatwillensurethatthosewhoarehypersensitivetoLexilelevelsaresatisfied.Inaddition,welikethisbookforitsveryclearstructure.Wehavefounditveryusefulforhelpingstudentstodeterminemainideasandalsoforsupportingtheminsynthesizingacrossdifferentsections.Youmightalsoconsiderreadinganotherbookonasimilartopicduringthisunit.WesuggestInsect(MondoAnimals)byBettinaBird,JohnShortandDeborahSavinifyouwantedtodosomecompareandcontrastworkonthesametopic.Youcanreinforcethelessonsonmainidea,summary,usingkeyvocabulary,andsoon,butyoucanalsobegintohelpstudentsseehowtheymightcompareandcontrastauthors’mostimportantpointsandkeydetailsonatopic.Thiswillsetthemupforthenextunitwhenstudentsdomoreinvolvedcompareandcontrastworkwhenstudyingaboutcountries.Inadditiontoyourreadaloudbooks,youmightalsowanttogatherafewresourcesthatshowkids/charactersbeingcurioustosupportstudentsincontinuingtodevelopnonfictionreadingidentities.SidtheScienceKidisashowaboutaboywhoiscuriousabouttheworldandasksaquestionwhichleadshisclasstoexplorescienceeachepisode.Whiletheshowisintendedforyoungerchildren,someofSid’squestionsactuallyleadtocomplexlearning‐‐suchaswhenhewonderswhyhecannotflyandtheclassvisitstheScienceCentertolearnthatearlyinventorsstudiedbirdstofindwaystocopytheirbodypartsandmovementstodevelopmachinesthatwouldallowhumanstofly.Showingabitofacliplikethiscangetstudentstoseethevalueofbeingcuriousandofwantingtoresearchtofindanswers.YoumightalsoreadpartsofIWonderWhyCamelsHaveHumpsandOtherQuestionsAboutAnimalsbyAnitaGaneri,whichissetupusinga“question/answer”format.OryoumightevenreadpartsofaMagicTreeHousebookwhereAnnieisshownbeingcuriousandaskingquestionsorpartofaCuriousGeorge.You’llbeconveyingtoyourstudentsthatbeingcuriousandwantingtolearnisattheheartofnonfictionreading.Ifpossible,printoutresourcesfromtheDVDtouseinyourminilessonSincethisunitisalignedinlarge‐parttothefirstvolumeofNavigatingNonfiction,thismeansthattheresourcesontheDVDwillbeusefulinyourlessons.Startinginbendtwo,studentswillneedtobereadingexpositorytexts.CalkinsandTolansuggesthavingstudentsallreadthesametextforjustabitsothattheycanpracticethisworkusingatextwhichissuretosupportthis.ThattextcanbefoundandprintedfromtheDVDascantheothertextsthatareusedasdemonstrationpiecesthroughouttheunit.


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Asmentionedinpreviousunits,youwillalwayswanttoengageinformativeassessments,usingthesetoinformyourteaching.YoumaydecidetogivetheTCRWP’sPerformanceAssessmentinInformationalReadingandOpinionWritingatthestartoftheunittogatherdataonhowwellyourstudentscanwriteopinionpiecesaboutinformationaltextsafteraunitofstudyininformationalreading.ThistoolisalignedtotheCommonCoreStateStandards1,2,and10ininformationreadingandStandard1inwriting.ThetoolwasrevisedwithsuccessiveroundsofinputfromNewYorkCity’sacademicevaluationteamandacceptedasamodelperformanceassessmentbyNYC’sDepartmentofEducation.Thisperformanceassessmentwillhelpyouascertainstudents’abilitiestosummarizeinformationtexts,determinemainideasandkeydetailsaswellashowwellstudentsrefertothetextasevidence.TheRWP’sPerformanceAssessmentinInformationalReadingandOpinionWritingasksstudentstoviewavideoandreadtwoinformationaltextsregardingsafetyincontactsports,andthenwriteapersuasivepiece.Arubric,groundedintheRWP’slargerlearningprogressionsoninformationreadingandopinionwriting,isprovidedtohelpyouquicklyassessthelevelofeachstudent’swork.Studentswhoseworkisscoredatalevel3ontherubricbythesecondtimethisassessmentisgiven,attheendoftheyear,areconsideredatgradelevel.Onceyouhaveconductedaformativeassessment,weurgeyoutositwithyourgradeteamtoassessstudentworktogether,compilingasetofanchorpaperswhichyouallagreearerepresentativeofeachlevel.Theconsistencyofthewayinwhichyouviewandassessstudentworkwillincreasebecauseofthetimespentaligningyourjudgmentsandthiswillallowyoutotrackstudentgrowthacrossthegrade.Theinformationfromthisassessmentwillbeimportantinhelpingyoutoplanfornonfictionreadingworkinthecontentareas,aswellastestpreparationinreadingnonfictionandwritingusingtextevidence.Atthesametimeasstudentsareinvolvedinthenonfictionreadingunits,theyarealsowritingopinionpiecesinChangingtheWorld.Thus,aftertheReadingToLearn:CountriesAroundtheWorldyoucouldgivethelengthierperformanceassessmentagain,usingtherubrictoassessyourstudents’work.Bythen,youshouldexpecttoseeenormous,visiblegrowth.

Assessment


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InformationalReadingLearningProgressionTheTeachersCollegeReadingandWritingProject’sInformationalReadingLearningProgressionallowsyoutolookatyourreaders’progressfromkindergartenthroughninthgrade.Itdescribesaprogressionofskillswhicharecriticaltoinformationalreading,anditisavailabletoschoolswithwhomwework.Thelearningprogressioniscomprisedofthreestrands—“DeterminingCentralIdeasandKeyDetails,”“AnalyzingtheRelationshipBetweenAuthorialIntentandCraft,”and“SupportingThinkingWithTextEvidence.”ThesestrandshavebeendevelopedtosupportkeyStandards.Assessingwherestudentsfallalongtheprogressionofeachofthesestrandswillofferanunderstandingofhowwelltheycancomprehendandanalyzeinformationaltexts.(Youmayhaveseenpreviousversionsofthislearningprogressions,suchasthesummarycontinuum,adraftthatwaspilotedlastyear.)StudentSelf‐AssessmentThroughouttheunit,youwillwanttoprovideopportunitiesforyourstudentstousetheInformationalReadingLearningProgressiontoreflectontheirownwork,self‐assess,setgoals,andcreateactionplansforhowtheywillreachthesegoals.TheRWPhasdraftedaversionofthis,butyouwillwanttodevelopitinconcertwithyourstudentsandcolleagues,makingsurethetoolyoucreateiswritteninkid‐friendlylanguage.Thegoalistopassalongtostudentsanunderstandingofthecriteriafortheirwork,andtoengagetheminsettingandworkingtowardsgoals.YourstudentsshouldbeathomewithatleasttheirversionoftheRWP’sInformationalReadingLearningProgression(orwhateversubstituteyouuse)andtheyshouldbemeetingwithyoutothinkaboutambitiousbutaccessiblegoalstowardwhichtheycanwork.Astheunitproceeds,you’llaskstudentstopausefromtimetotime,inordertoreflectontheirwork,revise,andsetnewgoals,ifneeded.Pushstudentstoholdthemselvesaccountabletogrowth,andtothinkaboutgrowthinreadingastheresultofeffortandresolve.Guideyourstudentstodeveloptheirownactionplansoutliningthestepstheywilltaketoreachtheirgoalsandreflectingonhowtheywilltakeownershipofthisprocessandtheworktheydo.Whenaskingstudentstoself‐assess,besureyouaskthemtoreflectontheinformationalreadingtheydooutsidethereadingworkshop,inalltheircontentdisciplines.Itiscruciallyimportantforstudentstobeengagedinthistypeofgoal‐settingworkcontinuallyasinvestedpartnersinordertodevelopinternalaccountabilityandensuretheaccelerationofachievement.Inthisunit,onemajorgoalistosupportstudentsindeterminingmainideasandkeydetailsbutanothermajorgoalistohelpthemtocultivaterelationshipswithnonfiction.Sothisbendisabouthelpingstudentsdevelopnonfictionreadingidentities.Forsomesessionsinthisbend,youwillbeabletodrawonsimilarworktowhatyoudidduringtheBuildinga

BendI:BuildingaNonfictionReadingLife


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ReadingLifeunitinSeptemberandthus,canutilizeBuildingaReadingLifebyCalkinsandTolan.However,youcanalsouseNavigatingNonfictiontosupportyourteaching.Wewillprovideinformationforwheneachofthetextsmightbehelpfultoyou.Bynow,yourstudentsprobablythinkofthemselvesashavingcertainreadingidentities.Canyousaythesameforyourkidsasnonfictionreaders?Whenyouaskthemwhatkindofreadertheyare,theymightsaytheyaremysteryreaders,ortheyloveCaptainUnderpantsorMarvinRedpost.Theyknowwheretofindtheirfavoriteauthors,andgenres,andtheyaresomewhatexpertinthese.Inthisunitofstudy,you’llhelpyourstudentstodevelopthesamesenseofexpertiseandidentityaboutnonfiction.Allchildrenhaveinterests(orobsessions!),hobbies,thingstheywanttoknowmoreaboutandtopicsonwhichtheyfeelexperts.Togetstarted,wesuggestthatyouinvitestudentstoinvestigatetheirnonfictionlives.“Allofyou,”youmightsay,“knowforsurewhatkindofbooksyoulikeinfiction.Youknowthegenresyoulike,andtheseriesandtheauthors.YouareAmberBrownreadersandKevinHenkesreadersandCaptainUnderpantsreaders.Youhavefictionidentities–peopleknowwhoyouareasafictionreader.It’stimeforpeopletoknowyouasanonfictionreaderaswell.”Youmightinvitethemtobrowsethroughthenonfictionlibrary,encouragingthemtolookforbooksontopicsaboutwhichtheyfeelexpert.Thenafterstudentshavecollectedbooksandtextsontopicsthatmattertothem,theymightsittogetherattablesandtalkaboutwhytheycareaboutthesetopics.Thereasonwhywe’redoingthisistobeabletoteachyourreadersthatoftentheycanpauseandtakestockoftheirreadinglives.Youcanalsoletstudentsthatthiswillbeaunitwheretheygetthechancetolearnevenmoreaboutwhattheyalreadycareaboutbutalsohaveachancetolearnaboutnewtopics.So,astheylistentotheirgroupmemberstalkabouttopicsaboutwhichtheywanttoread,studentscanbeconsideringwhatnewtopicsofinteresttheymightnowbehaving.Asyourreadersresearchthenonfictiontheyhavebroughtfromhomeandgatheredfromthelibrary,nextyoumightinvitethemtoapplytheskillstheyknowhowtodoasfictionreaders–havethemconsidertheirnonfictionreadinglives.Teachthemthatreadersoftenposepredictablequestionstopushthemselvesasreaders.Questionsnonfictionreadersmightaskthemselves,forinstance,include:

·WhatkindofnonfictiondoIliketoread?·Whenhasnonfictionreadinggoneparticularlywellforme?·WhenandwhereandwithwhomdoIreadnonfiction?·WhatcouldIdotoreadmoreorbesmarteraboutmynonfictionreading?


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Onthissameday,youmightsetstudentsupwithreadinggoals,forhowtheycanimprovetheirnonfictionreading,perhapsbydoingmore,ormakingmorepurposefulchoices,orbysharingtheirpassions.Youmightinvolveyourstudentsinlookingovertheworktheyhavedoneattheverystartoftheunit—looking,forexample,attheirPost‐itsandnotebookwork—inordertoself‐assesstheextenttowhichtheyhavedrawnonalltheyweretaughtpreviously.Youmightputupachartofallthatyourstudentshavealreadylearnedfromsecondgrade.YoumighthavethemsetgoalsandmarktheseonPersonalGoalCharts,creatingandrevisingactionplanstoreachthesegoals.Someteachershavetheirstudentstapethesechartstotheirdesks,othersmakebulletinboardswiththem.Theimportantthingisnotthatthegoalsarepostedbutratherthattheymatterenoughtostudentsthatstudentscandiscussthosegoalsandtalkaboutwaystheyintendtoworktowardthem.Remindyourstudentstolookbackatgoalsfromearlierintheyearandreflectontheirprogress,keepingtrackoftheirgoalsnotjustforthisunit,butacrossallunits.Oncethisgetslaunched,you’llwanttomakesurethatyoukeepgivingstudentsopportunitiestoreflectonwhatkindsofnonfictionreaderstheyare,perhapsduringshares,midworkshops,and/orpartnerwork.Asstudentsmoveofftoreadthehighinterestnonfictiontheyhavegathered,youwillwanttowatchthemcarefullytoseehowtheyareworking.Ifyounotice,forexample,manystudentsreadingatextthengettinguptogofindanotherone(thuslosingsomereadingtime),you’llwanttoteachstudentsthattheycansetthemselvesuptoreadlotsandlotsbyplanningoutwhatthey’llreadandgatheringabunchofbooksortextssothatwhentheyfinishone,theycanbeginanotherrightaway.(YoucanseeSessionIIIofBuildingaReadingLifetofindfurthersupportinteachingthislesson).You’llalsolikelyseethatmanyofthesamelessonsthatyoudidintheinitialBuildingaReadingLifeunitwillbeneededhere.Forexample,youmayseesomestudentsholdingbooksfarawayfromthemselvesorglancingupwhilereading,differentthanthewaytheyhuggedbooksclosewhentheyreadfiction.Soyoumayfindthatyouneedtoteachalessoninwhichyouhelpstudentsseethatjustastheychosewhatkindofrelationshiptheywantedtohavewiththeirfiction,sotheycanalsochoosewhatkindofrelationshiptheywanttohavewiththeirnonfiction.“Readersmustchoosewhatourrelationshipstobookswillbe.Wecanbeacurmudgeontowardbooksorwecanletbooksmattertous,readingthemliketheyaregold,”youcantellstudents.Youmightfirstshowwhatitmeanstoreadlikeacurmudgeon,similartothewayyoudidintheBuildingaReadingLifeunit.YoucanpickupatextlikeBugwise:ThirtyIncredibleInsectInvestigationsandArachnidActivitiesandopenitwithabored,disinterestedlook.Afteryoureadaloudforabitusingadisaffectedtoneandfacialexpressions,youcanthen

“Readersmustchoosewhatourrelationshipstobooks

willbe.Youcanbeacurmudgeontowardbooksoryoucanletbooksmattertoyou,readingthemliketheyaregold.TodayIwanttoteachyouthatonewayto

readatextlikeitisgoldisbygettingyourmindsrevveduptoread.Youcandothisbypreviewingthebook,andimaginingwhatandhowitmightteachyouabouta

topic.”


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demonstratehowyoumightreadanonfictionbooklikeitisgold.Youmaywanttobeginbyteachingyourreadersthatit’sagoodideatorevupyourmindtoreadinformationtexts,andthatthewaymostinformationaltextsarestructuredallowsyoutodothiswell.“Oh,thislooksinteresting,”youmightsayasyouopenBugwise.“BeforeIjustdiveinletmegetmyselfreadytolearnwhatthistextmightteachme.Iwanttogivemyselfsomeenergytoreadthisbook.Letmerevupmymind.IwonderifthistextwillhavetheusualcategoriesofinformationthatI’vecometoexpectinanimal‐texts:theanimal’sbody,eatinghabits,predators,habitat,andsoforth...””Youcancontinuetoshowstudentshowyoufirstwelcomethetextbypreviewingthetext.Youcannoticewhattheauthorhighlightsinbold,andthetextfeaturesheorshechooseswhenyoufirstturntoapage:titles,subtitles,photos,captions,andcharts.Thesefeatureshelpyoutogetreadytotakeinthenewinformationonthepage,thinking“What’sthispage(ortwo‐pagespread,orchapter)likelytobeabout?WhatdoIknowaboutthistopicalready?”(SeetheteachinginsessionIofNavigatingNonfictionforfurthersupportofthisteaching.TheconnectiontothatlessonwillbeusedlaterinthisunitoncestudentsareinBendII).Youmaygiveyourchildrenactualphrasestouseastheytalk,suchas:“Thisheadingsays______,soIthinkthispageismostlyabout______,”or“Ilookedatthis(picture/caption/graph)andsaw______,andthis(picture/caption/graph)andsaw______.IfIputthemtogether,Ithinkthesepageswillbeabout______.”Youmightteachreaderstoscanacrossthepage,part‐by‐part,andpointtoorcircletheaspectstheyarepayingparticularattentiontowithafinger.Theirpartnershouldgivethemfeedbackandadjustorrevisewhatthefirstpartnersaid.Itmightsoundlikethis:“Butlookatthis(picture/caption/graph)whereIsee______.SonowI’mthinkingthatmaybe______.”Indoingthiswork,yourstudentswillagainbeusinginformationgainedfromillustrationstodemonstrateunderstandingofthetext,workcalledforbytheCCSS(RI3.7).Asstudentspreview,setexpectationsandread,youmayseethattheystickwiththeirsameexpectationevenwhenthetextdoesnotmatchthatexpectation.You’veundoubtedlyworkedwithstudentsonthisinyourlastunitofstudy,wherereadersmayhavegottenanideaaboutthecharacteronpagefive,thenstucktothatideathroughoutthetext.Youtaughtthosechildrentoreadandrevisetheirthinking,addingnewinformation,synthesizingitanddevelopinganewtheoryaboutthecharacter.Well,it’slikelythesamewillbetrueininformationalreading.Ifyou’vetaughtyourchildrentogetreadytoreadapagebynoticingtheheadingsandfeatures,andthentoanticipatewhatspecificallythey’lllearn,they’llthenneedtoreadonandcheckthatthinking.They’llneedtorevisetheirthinkingbyconsidering:“Iwasrightaboutthetopicofthesetwopages—itisaboutwhales—butIwaswrongaboutthemainidea.Thispartisactually

“TodayIwanttoteachyouanotherwaytoreadatextlikeitisgold:Readingitinawaythatengagesyouandyourreaders.Youcanpausebeforeexcitingordramaticparts,changethesoundofyourvoice,andevenreadthetextaloudasifyouareaddressingan

audience.”


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mostlyabouthowfishermenareadangertowhalesintheArctic,notjustwherewhaleslive.”Thisflexibilityofthinking,althoughchallenging,isanimportantgoaltotakeon!Anotherdayyoumightsupportstudents’deepengagementwiththetextbyhelpingthemtodevelopnonfictionfluency.Youmightteachthemthattogetreadatextlikeit’sgoldandwelcomeandunderstandthetext,ithelpstoseehowyoucanreadinwaysthatgetyouevenmoreengaged. Youmightshowaclipofadocumentaryandaskstudentstowatchwiththeireyesclosed,askingthemselveshowthespeakernarratesthedocumentaryinawaythatpullstheviewerin.Studentsmightnotice:

Speakerpausesbeforepartsthatareexciting/dramatic Speaker’svoiceriseswhenpartsareexciting Speaker’svoiceissmooth,evenwhensayingwordsthatseemdifficult Speakeremphasizeswordsthatareimportant(youcanalmostimaginethatthey

wouldbeinbold) Whenreadingalist,youcanhearthespeakerpauseaftereachitem,almostasifa

commawasthere.Thesentencebeforesetsupthelist(Therearemanywaysthatpenguinstakecareoftheiryoung:...)

Speakersometimesaddresstheaudience(youwillnote) Manyspeakerssoundveryformal(manyofthemareBritish)

Youcantheninvitestudentstorereadasectionoftheirownbooks,thinkingabouthowtheywouldreaditinawaythatengagedtheirlistenermoreandthenhavethemrereadtoapartner.Asstudentsgooff,youcanremindthemthatitisimportanttoreadaloudinwaysthatpullyourlistenerinbutitisalsoimportanttoreadsilentlytoyourselfinthesameengagingwayssothatyoupullyourselfin!Fortheshareofthatday’slessonthen,youmightinvitestudentstoreadpartsaloudtoeachotherandevenscheduleavisittoayoungergradesothatstudentscanpracticereadingaloudnonfictiontoyoungerbuddiesinwaysthatareengagingandexciting.StudentscanalsolistentobooksonaudiotapeandpracticereadingaloudwiththenarratorontheCD.Thiswillhelpthemworkonrateandpacingandfluency.Bynow,studentsshouldbereadingtonsofhighinterestandaskingyouformorebooksontopicsaboutwhichtheycare.“DoyouhaveanyotherbooksonSharks?”theymightask.Or“IwanttoreadmoreaboutDinosaurs!”Youmightnowbegintomovethemtoseethatpartofdevelopinganonfictionreadingidentityisaboutbeingwillingtotrysomethingnew.Soyoumightnowpushstudentstotrytotakeonsomenewbooks.“MaybeyouloveourreadaloudbyBobbieKalmanandyouwanttofindmorebooksbyher,”youmightsay.“Ormaybeyousawaninterestingbookonelephantsandyoudon’treallyknowanythingaboutthematallbutyou’dliketolearnmore.”Asstudentsmovetofindingbooksonothertopics


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innonfiction,youmightseethattheymayreturntoreadinginwaysthatlookslightlydisinterested.Andso,youwillwanttorallystudentstorememberthebiggestlessonstheyhavelearned‐‐‐theycanchoosehowtoreadandthatthebooksmatter.Soyoumightteachalessonwhereyoushowstudentstheyneedtotakethemselvesoffautopilotandpushthemselvestodeeplyengagewiththebookandallowthemselvestobemoved.So,youmightpickupInsectBodiesandreadthepartonpage15whichstartsDidYouKnow?“Iwasjustgoingtomovepastthispart,”youmightsay,“ButI’mtryingtogetoffautopilotandletallpartsmattertome.Soletmereadthispartandexpecttobefascinatedandwonderandseewhattheauthorissaying.‘Didyouknow?Allbugsareinsects,butnotallinsectsarebugs.’Hmmm...Ididnotknowthat.Wow.I’mkindofconfused.Whatinsectwouldnotbeabug?Hmm...I’mnotsure...Letmekeepgoing.Bugsareonekindofinsect.’Okay,waitsoHmm...thatmeansthatthereareotherkindsofinsects.Sothisisliketherearemanykindsofhats.Andbaseballcapsareonekindofhat.Butthereareotherkindsofhats,too.So,rightnowletmetrytopictureaninsectthatisnotabug.....”Youmightkeepgoing,continuingtoshowstudentshowyoureadandmakecomparisonsandconnections,drawingonwhatyouknow.Bytheendofthebend,studentsmightbegintodononfictionbookbuzzestoeachothertotrytoswaykidstoreadtopicstheymightnotnormallyreadontheirown.Inthiswaytheycanbroadentheirreadingidentities.Theycanlistentobookbuzzeswiththeirnotebooksinhand,consideringwhatnewtopicstheymaywishtoexplore.(YoucanseeSessionVIIIofBuildingaReadingLifeforsupportinteachingalessononbookbuzzes.)Atthispointintheunit,studentsshouldnowbereadingwithenergy,workingtorevuptheirmindsbeforetheyreadbypreviewingthetextandsettingexpectationsforwhattheymightencounter.Uptonow,theyhavebeenreadingontopicsofhighinterestandworkingtodeepentheirengagementwiththetextthroughreadingwithfluencyandexpression.Thisbendoftheunitwilltakeashifttowardsupportingstudentsindeterminingthemainidea(s)ofatext.Forafewsessions,theywillnowallbereadingthesametext(availableontheDVD—seeAppendix)sothatyoucanbesuretheyarereadingatextthatwillallowthemtopracticetheworkyouhavetaught.Tostartoffthisworkyoumightletthemknowthatbynowtheyhaveprobablynoticedthatnonfictiontakesaspecialkindofreading.“Bynow,youarebecomingexpertsatnonfictionreading,justlikeyouareexpertsatfictionreading,”youmightsay.“Andyou’reprobablynoticingthatnonfictionreadinglooksabitdifferentthanfictionreading.Rightnow,showmehowafictionreaderlookswhenreading.”You’lllikelyseestudentsimaginingthatthey

BendII:NonfictionTakesaSpecialKindofReading


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arehuddledupclosewiththeirbooks.Youcanthenaskthemtoshowyouhownonfictionreadersread.Youmayseestudentsnownolongerpretendingtoholdbooks,butratherbentoverthem,studyingthemintently.Some,perhaps,aredemonstratinglookingoverabigpageoftext,studyingpartsclosely.(Forfurthersupportinteachingthispartofthelesson,youcanseetheConnectionofSessionIinNavigatingNonfiction).Youcanthenletstudentsknowthatpartofwhatmakesnonfictiondifferenttoreadthanfictionisthatthetextsaresetupdifferently.Youmightshowthemhowexpositoryinformationaltextsoftencontainamainideafollowed—orsurrounded—bysupportingevidence.Thisboxesandbulletsstructurewillallowstudentstodeterminemainideasandkeydetails.Inyourteaching,youwillprobablymodelreadingamentortextwithaneyetowardthatmainideaaswellasforsupportivespecificdetails,andyou’lldemonstratethatexpositoryreadinginvolvesgleaningoutlinesandsummariesofthetext.SessionIIinNavigatingNonfictiondescribesthislesson,whichteaches:“Nonfictionreadersreadwithapencil.Youdon’tjustuseapenciltodoodlepalmtreesaroundthewords.Youuseapenciltohelpuspayattentiontothemainideas,tonotethewaythoseideasaredeveloped,andtomakethosethoughtsandideasvisible.”Thelessongoesontoshowchildrenhowtheycanreadachunkoftext,pausetorecallcontentinsummaryform,boxes‐and‐bullets,andthenlistthatinformationacrosstheirhands.OnegoaloftheRWP’sinformationalreadingunitisthatthisawarenessbecomesfoundationaltothewayyourchildrenapproachexpositorytexts.Inthisway,you’dsupportreadingexpositorytextsintheirentirety,enablingchildrentounderstandthemainconceptsthatthetextteachesasopposedtoan“extractive”wayofreadingexpositoryinformationaltextswherereadersminetextsforisolatednuggetsoftriviaor“coolfacts”that,totheireye,mightbearnoconnectionatalltothelargerschemeofatopic.Whenstudentsgoofftoreadthatday,theycanreadthesamearticlesothattheycansupporteachotherinfindingmainidea(s)andkeydetails.LookintheAppendixtoseearticlesyoumightgivestudentstoread.Allofthesearticleshaveaclearstructuretosupportthiswork.Studentsmighttalktogetheraboutwhattheyarefindingandconfirmand/orchallengeeachother’swork.Youcancontinuetocoachintotheirwork,byremindingthemtousetheirhandsasatooltohelpthemlistkeydetailsandbyhelpingthemtotakenotesthroughboxesandbullets(seepage46ofNavigatingNonfictionforsomegreatexamplesofstudents’boxesandbulletsnotetaking.)Asyouwatchstudentsdothiswork,you’lllikelyseethatpredictableconcernsarise.Oneisthatthisworkofscrutinizingparagraphsformainideasandkeydetailsmayslowstudents’

“Nonfictionreadersreadwithapencil.Youdon’tjustuseapenciltodoodlepalmtreesaroundthewords.Youusea

penciltohelpyoupayattentiontothemainideas,tonotethewaythoseideasaredeveloped,andtomakethosethoughtsandideasvisible.”

“Whenyoureadnonfiction,itisimportantthatyoudon’tjustreadforfacts,butformainideas.Onewaytodothisisbystoppingperiodicallytoask,“Whatistheonebigthingthat

thistextisteachingandhowdoalltheotherdetailsconnectwiththis?”


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workdowntoacrawl.Ifthisisthecase,youmaywanttoteachalessonwhereyouhelpsupportstudentsinreadingnonfictionfaster,stronger,longer(youcanseeSessionIIIofNavigatingNonfictiontosupportyourteachingofthatwork).You’llalsoseestudentswhoarehavingdifficultyinfiguringoutmainidea(s)andkeydetails.Itisnoeasytaskforchildrentodeterminethemainideaofaparagraphorapassage,especiallywhenthesearemiredinintriguingoroverwhelmingnewfactsanddetails.Youwillneedtoteachandthenoftenremindstudentsthatreaderstoaskthemselves,“Whatistheonebigthingthatthistextisteachingandhowdoalltheotherdetailsconnectwiththis?”referringexplicitlytothetextasthebasisforanswers,astheCommonCoreexpectsthirdgraderstodo.Youwillwanttomodelreferringexplicitlytothetextinyourread‐aloudsandteachpartnerstoholdthemselvesaccountableusingphrasessuchas,“Whatinthetextmakesyouthinkthat?,”“Whatpartshowsthat?”or“Let’slookatthatparttogether.”Teachchildrenthatreaderssimplylookforthe“pop‐outsentence”astheyread,knowingthatoftenonesentencesummarizesthecontentofaparagraphorapassage.Tellreadersthatthistopicsentenceisoftenthefirstorlastsentence—butnotalways!Youmightteachchildrentoreadthefirstsentenceofaparagraphandask,“Whatisthissaying?”andthentoreadon,sentencebysentence,asking,“Howdoesthisfitwithwhat’sbeensaidsofar?Andthis?”Tofindthemainidea,readersneedtotakethesentencesthey’vereadandsaywhattheylearnedinoneshortstatement,notaquestion.Itmayhelpchildreninitiallytomakethisunderlyingboxes‐and‐bulletsinfrastructurevisiblebypencilingonacopyofatexttounderlineorboxthemainideasandto“bullet”thesupportingdetails.You’llwanttoteachchildrentobreakdenseswathsofexpositorytextintochunks—eitherwithapencilorwiththeirmentaleye—andtacklethesechunksbyfishingoutandholdingontothemainideaswithin,ratherthanbeingside‐trackedbysupportingfactsanddetails.Attheendofeachchunk,childrenwillprofitfromsaying(orwritingonaPost‐it),“Thispartteachesme...”Afterthisday,studentswillbereadingalldifferentexpositorynonfictionindependentlybutyoucanalwaysreturntothisarticleduringsmallgroupinstruction.Wheneverpossible,ifstudentsareinpartnerships,readingthesametext,thatwillsupporttheirmainideaandkeydetailworkimmenselyastheycanhelpeachother.Asstudentsarebeginningtodetermineimportanceandfigureoutmainideasandkeydetails,youwillwanttogivethemopportunitiestosynthesizewhattheyhavelearned.Readersofinformationaltextsneedregularopportunitiestosynthesizetheirlearningbyteachingsomeoneelse.Thisexpectationcreatesaccountabilitytothetext—readersknowtheywillhavetoexplainthebigideasofthetexttosomeoneelse,butthismakeswhat

“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatnonfictionreaders

oftenlookforthe“pop‐outsentence”astheyread,knowingthatoftenonesentencesummarizesthecontentofaparagraphorapassage.Thistopicsentenceisoftenthefirstorlast

sentence—butnotalways!”


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couldotherwisebeamechanicalprocessintosomethingvitallyaliveandlotsoffun.You’reofferingachanceforownershipandtheopportunitytodevelopexpertiseonatopic—creatingarealincentiveforchildrentowanttoknowhowtomasterthestructureandorganizationoftexts.AccordingtoDanielsonandMarzano,ahigherlevelofteachinginstructionoccurswhenstudentsaregiventheopportunitytotakeownershipovertheirownworkandprocessitcollaboratively.Youmightaskkidstoprepareforpartnertalkbyrehearsinghowthey’llexplainimportantinformationthey’vejottedontheirPost‐its—theymightusethetext’spicturesandcharts,anexplainingvoice,anexplainingfingerandgestures.WeattheRWPsuggestyouteachthatwhenpartnersmeet,insteadofjustsayingwhattheyhavelearned,theymight:

Pointoutthedetailsinthepicturesordiagramsthathighlightwhatthey’resaying. Linkpreviouslearningtothenewinformationthattheyjustencounteredbyflipping

backandforthtoshowpicturesthatbuildoffofoneanotherandbyexplaininghowthosepicturesgotogether.

Addgesturestotheirexplanationsandusetheirvoicestoemphasizewhat’simportant.

Actoutwhattheylearnedandinvitetheirpartnertojoinin.Forexample,ifonepartnerisexplainingtohispartnerthatowlsdon’tflaptheirwingslikemostbirds,butrathertheyglide,hecouldhavehispartnerputouthisarmsandflapthemlikewings.Then,hecouldinstructhispartnertoswayhisbodyandkeephisarmsoutandstilltoillustratethedifferencebetweenglidingandflapping.

Moreover,givingyourreadersthechancetoteachothersabouttheirtopicswillalsohelpthemtomeetseveralkeyspeakingandlisteningstandardsoftheCommonCoreforthirdgrade:“Cometodiscussionsprepared,havingreadorstudiedrequiredmaterial;explicitlydrawonthatpreparationandotherinformationknownaboutthetopictoexploreideasunderdiscussion”(SL3.1a),“followagreed‐uponrulesfordiscussions(e.g.,gainingthefloorinrespectfulways,listeningtootherswithcare,speakingoneatatimeaboutthetopicsandtextsunderdiscussion)”(SL3.1b),“determinethemainideasandsupportingdetailsofatextreadaloudorinformationpresentedindiversemediaandformats,includingvisually,quantitatively,andorally”(SL3.2),“reportonatopicortext,tellastory,orrecountanexperiencewithappropriatefactsandrelevant,descriptivedetails,speakingclearlyatanunderstandablepace”(SL3.4),and“speakincompletesentenceswhenappropriatetotaskandsituationinordertoproviderequesteddetailorclarification”(SL3.6).(Toviewalessononthiswork,youcanrefertotheDVDwhichaccompaniestheUnitsofStudyforTeachingReading,3‐5series.)


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Asstudentsareworkingtoconsiderhowthestructureoftextshelpsupportthemindeterminingthemainideaandkeydetails,anotherwaytosupporttheirworkistoteachthemthatreaderslookatkeytermstofigureouthowasectionhasbeensetup.Forexample,studentsmightnoticewordslike“Justlike...”or“Differentthan...”tonoticethattheauthorislikelysettinguptwosentencesthatcompareandcontrastinformation. Orstudentsmightnoticeasentencelike“AsaresultoftheEarth’sturning,therearefourseasons.”Studentscannoticephraseslike“asaresultof”torealizethatthefirstpartofthesentenceisnaminganeffectandthesecondpartofthesentenceisnamingacause.Thisisnoteasyworkforstudentsandwilllikelybeveryhelpfultothemifthisisshowninyourreadaloud.SeymourSimonoftenhasveryclearexamplesofdifferenttypesoftextstructuresinhistext(andstudentsmaynotalwaysencounterthetextstructurestheCCSSwantsthemtonoticeintheirindependentreading).So,youmightputupasectionfromSeymourSimon’sDolphinstoshowstudentshowthesignaltermsareusedtoletreadersknowthatthissectionissetuptocompare.Studentsshouldbegintoseethatabookcanhaveanoveralltextstructureordifferentpartscanhavetextstructuresandsocandifferentsentenceswithinapart.(Whiletheydon’tneedtonametheoveralltextstructureofasectionuntilnextyear),ifwewantourkidstobeabovestandards,thenthisisworkthatwillgetthemtobeabovestandards.Inanycase,theydoneedtothinkabouttherelationshipsbetweensentencesinthirdgrade.Somekeytermsofwhichyoumightteachthemtobeaware:

Comparison:“Justlike...”,“Differentthan...”,“Alike...”,“Both...” Cause/Effect:“Asaresult...”,“Becauseof...”,“Thisbroughtabout...”,“Theeffectof

thiswas...”,“Thischanged...”“Therefore” Problem/Solution:“Threat”,“Challenge”,“Obstacle”,“Problem”,“Resolution”,

“Overcame” Chronological:“First,”“Second”,“Next”,“Afterwards”,“YearsLater” Question/Answer:“Who”,“What,”“Where”,“Why”,“When”,“How”

Somequestionsstudentsmightaskthemselvesandothers:

Whatistherelationshipbetweenthesesentences? Howdoesthisparagraphconnecttotheonethatcamebeforeit? Howdoesthispartconnecttothewholesection?

Inadditiontohelpingstudentsnoticethesesortsofsignalwords,you’llalsolikelyseethatyouneedtohelpthemdealwithotherkindsofvocabulary.Whenreadingbookson

“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatreaderslookforkeytermstofigureouthowasectionhasbeensetup.Forexample,wemightnoticewordslike‘Justlike...’or‘Differentthan...’tonoticethattheauthorislikelysettinguptwosentencesthatcompareandcontrast

information.”


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unfamiliarsubjects,asisoftenthecasewhenchildrentakeoninformationaltexts,childrenwillencountermanynewwords.Itiswiseforaunitofstudyoninformationalreadingtocontainseveralminilessonsdesignedtohelpreaderstacklechallengingwords.Studentsneedtonoticethevocabularythatisspecifictothetopiconwhichtheyarereading,determinethemeaningoftermsandtransferandapplythislearningbyusingthetermsthemselveswhenwritingorspeakingaboutthetopics.Inaddition,theyneedtotransferacademicwordsacrossunitsandacrossthecurriculum.TierTwowordssuchas“brief,”forexample,canbecarriedacrossanddiscussedineachareaofthecurriculum.Becauseyouwillbebuildingonstrategiespreviouslytaughttoyourreaders,youmightfirstinvolveyourstudentsinaninquirytoallowthemtoremindthemselvesandeachotherofstrategieswhichtheyknow.Youmightsay,“Readers,youhavebeenstudyingwordsolvingskillsyourwholeschoolcareersonowyouarelikeexperts.Todaywe’lldoaninquiryintohowwecantransferandapplythewordsolvingworkthatwehavedonetoournewwork.Youcanusealloftheresourcesandlearningyouhaveaboutdeterminingthemeaningofwordstohelpyou.Asyougoofftoreadtoday,willyoubethinkingaboutthequestion,‘HowcanIusewhatIknowaboutwordsolvingtohelpmereadinformationaltextswithpower?”Inthisway,youwillbeinvolvingyourstudentsasinvestedownersintheirlearningratherthanreiteratingstrategiesofthepast.Asyouwatchyourreaderstacklethiswork,youmayseethattheyarenottransferringandapplyingstrategieslearnedearlierintheyearaswellasstrategieslearnedinpreviousgrades,andyouwillknowwhereyourteachingneedstobegin.Youmightgathersmallgroupsordolessonstohelpreadersholdontothemeaningofthetext,suchas“substitutethehardwordwithasynonymandthenreadon.”Youmightalsoremindreadersofdecodingstrategiesyou’veintroducedinotherunitsofstudy,suchas:“Breakupthewordintoitsroot,prefix,and/orsuffixanduseyourknowledgeofthosewordpartstotrytofigureoutwhatthewordmightmean.”YoucanputupchartsfrompreviousunitsandhelpyourreaderstoseethatstrategiesliveacrossaRWPunitandacrossgrades.Youwilllikelyneedtosupportreadersintransferringandapplyingthesestrategiesandotherstotackleunfamiliarwordswithinthesemorecomplextexts.Sinceauthorsofinformationaltextsoftenusetechnicalorcontent‐specificwordsacasualreaderisn’tlikelytoknow,it’simportantforreaderstousestrategiesthathelpuspersevereandattempttofigureoutthosewords.Understandingthesenewwordsisoftenintegraltounderstandingthecontent.Whenthesewordsappearinthetext,theauthoroftenwilldefinethewordoutrightandexplicitlyinamarginalglossaryfeature,orintheglossaryinthebackofthebook.Othertimes,thewordthattheauthorwantsustolearnisillustratedorpicturedonthesamepage.Bylookingtothetextfeaturesonthepageforsupport,areadercanoftendeterminethemeaningofthesenewcontent‐specificvocabularywords.Forexample,anillustrationthataccompaniestextthatintroduces“baleenwhales”toareaderwilllikelyhaveavisualrepresentationofwhatbaleenlookslike.Childrenneedexplicitinstructionto


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learnto“read”illustrativeportionsofthetextcarefully(e.g.,photographs,quotes,timelines,charts,andmaps).Forthird‐gradenonfictionreaders,it’shelpfultoteachconcretewaystonoticewhereinthetextthedefinitionislikelytoappear.ManywritersofnonfictiontextsleveledJ–Owilldefinethewordexplicitlyinthesamesentenceinwhichthewordappears,orinanearbysentence.ConsiderthefollowinglinesfromTheYangtzeRiverbyNathanOlson—theyaretypicalofonewayexpositorytextstendtogo:

“TheYangtzeflowsnorthandtheneastintoaseriesofgorges.Gorgesaredeepvalleyswithsteep,rockysides.”

Asyoumayhavenoticedhere,thenewwordisrepeatedinthesecondsentencewithadefinition,“______are...”Anothercommonwaythatauthorsdefinewordsincontextistooffsetasynonyminaparentheticalclausewithinthesamesentenceinwhichthewordappears.ConsiderthissentencefromLifeCycleofaSharkbyBobbieKalman:

“Mostsharkshavestreamlined,orsleek,bodies.”Othertimes,thedefinitionwillactuallycomeinasentencebeforetheword,likeinthisclusterofsentencesfromVolcanoesbySeymourSimon.Sometimes,likeinthissentence,thenewwordwillfollow“Thisiscalled______”:

“VolcanoesareformedwhenmagmapushesitswayupthroughthecracksintheEarth’scrust.Thisiscalledavolcaniceruption.”

Evenwhenthetextmakesovertefforts,incontextorintextfeatures,togiveyoungreadersdirectaccessibilitytounfamiliarvocabulary,childrenmayoftenresistadoptingthenewwordstheyseeinprint.Technicalvocabulary,withitsinfrequentreal‐worldusage,unconventionalspellings,andvaguepronunciation,isnottheeasiestormostnaturalforchildrentoincorporateintotheirownlanguage.You’llneedtourgechildrentoactivelyadoptthetechnicallingoofwhateversubjectthey’rereadingabout,butyouwillalsowanttocreateaclassroomenvironmentthatencouragesthis—askchildrentothinkofthemselvesasteachersandtopicexpertsandcreatespaceforpartnershipconversationsaroundthesetopicssothatchildrenmayhavethechancetoverballyusenewcontent‐specificwordsinarealcontext.Encourageyourstudentstomakewordbanksforthemselvesandkeepthesenearbywhentheyarediscussingorwritingabouttheirlearning.TheRWPhasfoundresearchsayingthatittakesrepeatedexperiencewithanewwordtolearnit—peopleneedtohearorreadtheword,understandwhatthewordis(synonyms),whatitisnot(antonyms),putthewordintheirownmeaningfulcontext,andusethewordintheirownspeechorwriting.You’llalsowanttoteachchildrentochoose


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flexiblyfromavarietyofstrategiesandusesentence‐levelcontextasacluetothemeaningofawordorphrase,usingknownrootwordsasacluetothemeaningofanunknownwordwiththesameroot.

Thisbendisallaboutsynthesis.Theworkofthisbendmovesstudentsfromlookingatoneparttodetermineamainideatolookingacrosslongerswathesoftext.Inaddition,thisbendisfocusedonstudentssynthesizingbyraisingquestions,makinginferences,andsoontogrowideasacrossatext.Studentsarereadingindependentlyinbooksthatareexpositorynonfiction.Wheneverpossible,itwouldbehelpfulforstudentstobeinreadingpartnershipsandlookingatthesamebookorarticle.Afterdeterminingthemainideaofapassage,childrencanmovetodeterminingtheoverarchingideaofachapterortwo‐pagespreadbynoticingwhetherdifferentsectionscontinuetobuildononemainideaorwhetherthesectionsturnabend,layingoutyetanotheridea.Informationaltextscanbetrickybecausesectiondividersareofteninvisible—teachstudentsthatreadersneedtobevigilant,readinginsuchawaythattheynoticewhenthetexthasgonethroughatransitionandsaying,“Oh,thisisaboutanewsubtopic.”Aschildrenreadacrossabook,youmaywanttoteachthemtolookacrossthemainideasofchunksorsections,asking,“Howdoesthisallfittogether?”Forexample,achildmaylearninonepartofatextaboutbaleenwhalesandhowtheystraintheirfoodtoeat.Whenthechildturnsthepageandcomestothenextpartofthetextwhichisaboutwhaleswithteethandhowtheyeat,youwillwantachildtonoticethatthispartofthetextconnectsbycomparison.WeattheRWPsuggestratherthanbroadlysayingthatthispartisallaboutanewwhale,youwillwantthechildtosay,“Oh,thelastpartshowedmeaboutwhaleswhohavebaleenandnowthispartshowshowwhalesthathaveteetheatdifferently.It’slettingmecompare.I’mseeingthatonewaywhalesaredifferentisthewaytheyeat.”Youwillwantreaderstocomprehendtextsintheirentirety,drawingattentiontohowinformationattheendofthetextbuildsuponthemainideaspresentedatthebeginningofabookorpassage.Correspondingly,yourteachingaboutaparagraph’smainideawillextendtoasection’smainidea,asyourchildrenbecomeaccustomedtoapplyingtheboxes‐and‐bulletsinfrastructureacrossmuchlargerchunksoftext.Youcouldteachyourchildrenthatreadersoftentakenotesonafewselectpagesthatseemparticularlyinterestingorparticularlyworthsharingwiththeirpartner.Theamountof

BendIII:SynthesizingAcrossPartsandGrowingIdeasAboutNonfiction

“TodayIwanttoteachyou thatreadersneedtobevigilant,readinginsuchawaythatyounoticewhenthetexthasgonethroughatransitionand

saying,“Oh,thisisaboutanewsubtopic.”


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writingmightbejustonePost‐itforalargechunkoftext,wherethestudentdrawsaboxatthetopandbulletsbelow.Thisnote‐takinghelpsmaketheirthinkingvisibletoyouasyouconferwithstudentsorwalkaroundyourroomlookingforsmallgroupstopull.Italsohelpsthembepreparedintheirpartnershipstoteacheachother.Youmaycontinuetoneedtosupportstudentsincategorizingtheirnotesifitseemsthattheyhavejustlistedfacts(youcanseepage63ofNavigatingNonfictionforsupportinhowtoconferwithstudentswhoneedhelpwiththisworkandviewstudentwork.)Bynow,studentsarereadingtoholdontoinformation.Anaturalnextsteptoparaphrasingandsynthesizingtextistorespondtowhatthetextteaches.Childrenwillhavereadycommentsforallthenewinformationcontainedinexpositorytexts:“That’sweird,”or“That’scool,”or“That’sinteresting,”or“That’sgross.”Ofcourse,thesearejustlaunchingpoints—quickreactionschildrenmighthavetothesesortsoftexts.You’llwantthemtotakesuchresponsesfurthersothattheyalsothinkandtalkaboutthetexts,andgrowtheirownideasaboutwhattheyread.Readerswillnaturallyquestiontheinformationtheyarereadinginexpositorytexts.“Howcomemaleemperorpenguinsstayalone,keepingtheeggwarmonitsfeetfortwomonths,withnothingtoeat,whilethefemaleleavestofishintheocean?”achildmightask.TheCommonCoreexpectsyourthirdgraderstoaskquestionsandalsotoanswerthem,referringexplicitlytothetextforanswers,soyou’llwanttoteachyourchildrenthatreadersnotonlyreadon,seekinganswers,butalsotothinkovereverythingthey’vereadsofarandeverythingtheyalreadyknow. Inresponsetohisownquestion,thechildmightofferasananswer,“Maybethemaleemperorpenguinkeepstheeggwarminsteadofthemotherbecauseonpage12itsayshehasthatbigflapoffatthatshedoesn’thave,”or“Maybetheemperorpenguinisliketheseahorse,andthemalesaretheoneswhoareresponsibleforthebabiesuntiltheyareborn.”Again,suchaninquirystancetowardtheirexpositorytextshasgreaterurgencyandmeaningforchildrenwhenitisundertakencollaborativelywithapartnerratherthaninsolitudebyalonereader.Theseinquiringpartnerconversationsthatreadersconductastheyexploretheirtopicscanfueltheirfuturereading.Astheygobacktotheirinformationaltexts,theycanreaddifferentlybecausethey’vehadtheopportunitytohaveaconversation.Theycanreadholdingthoseconversationsintheirminds.AsSessionVIIinNavigatingNonfiction:VolumeInotes,wecanteachchildrentostartaconversationbylocatingabigideaandthentalkingbacktothatidea.Then,wecanteachthemtouseconversationalpromptstoelaborateontheirthinking.Bytalkinglongand“talkingbacktothetext”withpartners,childrencanthen

“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatreadersoftentakenotesonafewselectpagesthatseeminteresting,importantorworthsharingwiththeirpartner.Theydon’tjustcopydownfacts,though.Instead,theythinkabouthowthey’llorganizetheirnotesbeforebeginning.Readersmightuseboxesandbullets,timelines,T‐charts,orothernotetaking

systems.”

“TodayIwanttoteachyouthatreadersdon’tjustposequestions,theytrytoanswerthem.Whenreadersarecuriousaboutsomething,theyoftenjotthatquestioninanotebookoronapost‐itandthenreadoninsearchofanswers.”


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applythatsametypeofthinkingtotheirindependentreading.ThespeakingandlisteningsectionoftheCommonCoreStateStandardscallsforstudentstoaskquestionstocheckunderstandingofinformationpresented,stayontopic,andlinktheircommentstotheremarksofothers.WeattheRWPthinkyou’llwanttoemphasizethoseaspectsduringthispartandteachchildrentoexplaintheirownideasandunderstandinginlightofthediscussiontheyhavewithpartners.ConversationalPromptstoTalkBacktotheText

Icanpicturehowthisgoes.Itprobably... Thismakesmethink... Thismakesmerealize... Iusedtothink,butnowI’munderstanding... Maybeit’sbecause... Myideasaboutthisarecomplicated.Ononehand...Butthenagain,Ialsothink...

AttheendoftheRWPreadingunit,partnersorindividualchildrenwhohavereadmanybooksonatopiccancometogetherandquicklyplanapresentationthatthey’llmaketotherestoftheclass,ortoanotherclass,onthesharedtopictheystudied.Childreninpartnershipsmighteachtakeonepartoftheirstudiedtopicandteachthatparttoothers.Theymaymakeaposterboardincludingdiagramsorcharts.TheymaychoosetoreadapartandactitoutormakeamodelorputtogetheraPowerPointpresentation.Thesepresentationsaremeanttobesimpleandquickbutcanhelpsolidifywhatstudentshavelearnedandaddinterestandinvestmenttothetopicstudied.

Throughoutyourreadaloudyouwillwanttodemonstratealloftheskillsyouhavetaughthappeninginconjunction.You’llwanttobesuretoprovideplentyofmodelingofhowreaderslearnnewwordsfromthecontextclues,fromtextfeatures,andfromglossaries,aswellasdemonstrateusingwordattackstrategies.Ifstudentsneedsupportinpreviewing,forexample,you’llwanttomodelforstudentshownonfictionreadersassessatext,makeplansforhowtoreadit,beginbychunkingitandthenmoveacrossthesectionsandpages,includingthepicturesanddiagrams.You’llwanttomodelconsideringhowpartsconnectandhowyouarefiguringoutthemainideaandhowtousethetexttoexplainhowthemainideaissupportedbykeydetails.Inaddition,you’llwanttoprovideplentyofmodelingofvariousnotetakingstrategiessuchashowtosummarizeatextinaboxes‐and‐bulletsformat,andhowtokeepaddingtothoseideas,sortingoutwhenatexthasintroducednewideas,andwhenitisgivingthereader

Read Aloud


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additionalinformationaboutacurrentidea.Asyoureadaloud,youmaywanttoorganizeachartthatshowshowreaderssynthesizeandretellthetextasmainideasandsupportinginformation/examples.Soifyou’rereadingabookcalledOwls’Nests,youmightteachreadersthattheycouldtrytoinferthemainideaofthetextsofar,afterreadingthefirstpage—andthatthesystemtheymayusetoorganizethesenotesisaboxes‐and‐bulletsonethatlookslikethis:Owlsdon’tbuildtheirownnests.

Theymoveintoabandonednests. Theyliveinholesintheground. Theyliveinholesintrees.

Tomakenonfictionread‐aloudsinteractive,inadditiontopausingatstrategicpointsandofferingreadersquickopportunitiestorespondtotextswithsuchpromptsas:“Turnandtellyourpartner...”or“Stopandjot,”youmayalsodemonstrateactingoutinformationasyouexplainthepartyoujustreadbeforegivingreadersanopportunitytoactoutapartastheyexplaininformationtotheirpartner.Havingreadersstopandsketchwhatyouread,andencouragingthemtoadddetailstothesketchasyoureadon,isanotherwaytodothis.Thechancetoputtheinformationtheyarehearingintoactionbyaddingtheirowndramawillenhancecomprehension.Thisallowsstudentstosynthesizethetextthey’rehearingbyactivatingtheirownexperiencesandimaginationastheycreatemeaning.Ofcourse,oneofthemostimportantelementsofaread‐aloudisyourownvoice.Yourintonationalonemightclarifythestructureofexpositorytexts.Forexample,asyouread,youmightuseyourvoicetoemphasizemainideas,varyingyourintonationwheresupportdetailsaresuggested.Youmightcountoutbulletsorlistedpointsacrossyourfingers.Youwillneedtomodelthinkingandinferringexplicitlytoscaffoldandmodelthekindofworkyouhopechildrenwillultimatelydoautomaticallywithoutprompting.Whennavigatingnonfiction,readerswillencounterspecializedvocabulary.Thismakesitanopportunetimetouseread‐aloudtohighlighthowreaderstakeonnewvocabularyandincorporatethewordsintotheirconversations.Youmayfindithelpfultochartthemostimportantvocabularyfromthesectionsyouwillbereadingaloudthatday.WeattheRWPsuggestyougiveindividualsorpartnersawordbankofthespecializedvocabularysotheycanfindthewordsontheirownsheets.Then,whenstudentsturnandtalk,orduringwhole‐classconversation,remindthemtousetheirwordbanks.Thisway,theyareactivelyusingthesewordsnotjustthatday,butacrossthedaysthatyoureadaloudthatbook.Ifyoureadaloudbooksonthesametopic,readerswillhaverepeatedopportunitiestouseandlearnthesewords.


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Youmightalsohelpstudentsunderstandtheinformationtheyarelearningbygivingthemapictureortwothatyouhavecopiedfromthebook,sotheycanlabeltheseasyouread.Forexample,ifyouarereadingaboutinsects’bodies,andstudentshaveapictureofagrasshopperandabeetleinfrontofthem,youcanstoptohavethemaddlabelslikeexoskeleton,thorax,abdomen,andspiraclesasyoureadabouteachone.Then,partnerscanmeetandexplaintoeachotherwhattheylearned,orduringwholeclassconversations,studentscanreferencetheirdiagramstoexplain,compare,andcontrast.DuringtheRWP’sinformationalreadingunitofstudy,youwillalsowanttoprovidesomeopportunitiesforclosereadingofshortertexts.Asalwaysyouwillwanttoengagestudentsinstudyingsectionsofthetextclosely,rereadingkeypartsofthetext,summarizingthetextanddiscussingtheirthinking,referringexplicitlytothetextforevidence.Youcanreadsectionsaloud,askyourstudentstoreadtogetheraspartnershipsandalsoprovidesometimetoreadabitoftextindependently.Youwillwanttoposequestionswhichaskthestudentstoreconsiderthetext,synthesizingandinterpretingthetextandanalyzingitthroughspeakingandwriting.Anothermethodthatteachershavefoundparticularlyhelpfulishavingstudentstalkacrossread‐aloudtextsbyputtingstudentsintogroupsduringread‐aloud,witheachgroupgivenadifferentpreviouslyreadaloudtextonthetopic.Asyouproceedtoreadaloudanewtext,youcaninvolvethestudentsinmakingcross‐textconnectionsbetweenthetextyouarereadingandtheoneinfrontoftheirgroup,lookingforamainideaforwardedbytheirbook;importantpointstheirauthormade,andsoon.Anyofthemethodsyouusedtohelpsupportstudentsininterpretingfictioncannowbetailoredtohelpstudentsinterpretinformationtexts.

Documents

Welcome to the Unit - Weeblyk164.weebly.com/uploads/8/5/5/4/8554966/third... · the unit relies on the book Navigating Nonfiction from Units of Study in Teaching Reading, Grades 3‐5