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Informational Text Comprehension. By Scott Ferriell. Informational Text versus Narrative text.
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Informational Text Comprehension By Scott Ferriell
Informational Text versus Narrative text • Monarchs are amazing fliers and navigators. Every autumn, millions of them migrate from eastern and central North America south to Mexico and begin the journey back north in the spring; a round trip of a thousand miles! In spring, females lay eggs on their way back north, and their newly hatched offspring complete the trip for them. (excerpt First Field Guide: Insects Wilsdon, C.) • See Leopard. He can leap so quick he’s out of sight before you’ve blinked. Watch him. See Nyomo. His eyes are so good, he can stand at the bottom of a tree and see a fly on the topmost leaf. Watch him. You’ve heard of Lion? Wait for him. He comes later. One day Leopard says to Nyomo, “Let’s go, you and me, and find wild honey.” They walk. Leopard’s paws on the ground. Foop, foop, foop. Nyomo’s feet glide beside Leopard. Shoo,shoo,shoo. (excerpt How The Animals Got Their Colors Rosen, M.)
Hybrid text? • The summer after Ali Baba’s tenth birthday, he and his parents went on a trip to Wyoming. When Mr. Bernstein first announced to his son that they were going to vacation in a couple of parks, Ali Baba thought he was making a joke.” (excerpt Ali Baba Hunts for a Bear Hurwitz, J.)
3 Factors that affect Comprehension – within the reader Basic word skill set: • Recognize large bank of sight words. • Ability to read at an adequate rate. • Ability to recognize when comprehension breaks down. • Ability to choose an appropriate strategy when comprehension breaks down. DeVries, B. (1998)
Within the reader cont. • Linguistic, syntactic, and semantic knowledge: Can the reader identify the proper meaning/strategy to perform when presented with italics, pausing, and intonation? What is the reader’s prior knowledge(background) on the subject? What are the student’s interests? DeVries, B. (1998)
Within the environment • “Of the three environments most students inhabit- home, community, and school- the home most affects reading comprehension and is the foundation upon which attitudes toward reading are built.” DeVries, B. (1998) • Community, especially resources, such as libraries. • School (6 keys to a successful classroom) • Teachers who model a love of reading and learning new things. • Teachers who expect all students to succeed. • Teachers who accept all children as they are and do not assign blame for a lack of skill. • Teachers who encourage risk-taking. • Teachers who ask higher level thinking questions in addition to literal questions with correct answers. • Teachers who provide materials for all reading levels. DeVries (1998)
Within the text • How the text is written Chronological Descriptive- The blue whale is the largest mammal… Enumeration- (A concept is staged, then description begins. A blue whale gracefully pierces the dark water…) Listing Classifying Compare/contrast Cause/effect Persuasion/propaganda Technical vocabulary Eye appeal- Does the piece look interesting?
How do we assess deficiencies? • Interest inventory is paramount! • Can you enhance student’s grasp by including a personal interest? • Running record/miscue analysis • Compare/contrasts record using narrative vs. expository texts. • Design your rubrics for individual assessment and growth record. • Analyze deficiencies before they grow exponentially.
Means of remediating deficiencies; • Graphic organizers • Timelines, hierarchy, sequence, cause/effect, Venn diagram. • KWL charts • Pre-reading techniques; • SQ3R, inferring, think-aloud. • Post-reading techniques; • Scanning, skimming, journal entries, herring bone diagrams. • Writing expositorily. DeVries, B. (1998) Zimmermann, S. et al. (1988) and Trierweiler, H. (2007)
Remediating deficiencies cont. • Provide the class with periodicals such as National Geographic, etc. • Find a way to enjoy what you teach. • Loosen up. • The Beach Ball ?
Sources • DeVries, B. (1998) Literacy And Intervention For the Classroom Scottsdale, Holcomb Hathaway Publishers • Trierweiler, H. (2007) Instructor Vol. 117, No. 3 New york, Scholastic • Zimmermann, S. & Hutchins, C. (1988) 7 Keys to Comprehension New York Three Rivers Press • www.teachingtrends.co.uk