informational text

Take a look at the Common Core Language Arts standards, which Minnesota adopted for ELA, and you will notice the focus on complex, informational text starting in the elementary grades and continuing through the end of high school. I was just in an elementary school helping some teachers analyze some NWEA MAP strand data, and it was clear that the students needed some more instruction in comprehension of informational text. When I ask students or teachers to list the types of text they read in a given week, once they start thinking of text in a broad sense, it's clear that most of what we read is not literary fiction. And we have different strategies when we're reading a contract for a new roof than we do when we sit down with Stieg Larsson's Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.

So for this week's post, I'm going to focus on some great resources for teaching students comprehension strategies for informational text.

One of the key researchers for understanding how students comprehend informational text is Nell Duke. She wrote a great piece for ASCD called, "The Case for Informational Text," published a while ago but still very relevant. In the article, Duke (2004) suggests four things elementary teachers can do to start focusing on informational text:

• Increase students' access to informational text.
• Increase the time students spend working with informational text in instructional activities.
• Explicitly teach comprehension strategies.
• Create opportunities for students to use informational text for authentic purposes.

She goes on to describe ways to do each of these, but I'm going to give you some other ideas. I've already shared that ReadWriteThink is one of my favorite lesson plan sites, and I like this lesson developed for K-2 students around teaching students a 3-2-1 strategy, writing 3 things they learned, 2 things they found interesting, and 1 question they have after reading an article.

Have you seen Wonderopolis yet? It has some amazing informational texts on different topics, ranging from who invented the high-five to whether pirate ships have flags. Students love exploring this site, and it's great text to apply a variety of strategies as they are reading about the highly engaging topics.  This would be appropriate for elementary or adolescent readers and writers.

With informational text, the key is helping students read with a purpose. Students need help knowing that they should set a purpose for their reading, and then keep that purpose in mind as they read and take notes. We all know the three main purposes of text - to inform, to persuade, to entertain - and kids will likely be able to name these. But they also need help knowing how to read a particular piece of text for purpose. Letting them know ahead of time what they will be doing with the information is a good start. But, like everything, this takes lots of work for students to know how to do this independently. Here's a ReadWriteThink lesson plan that looks at setting purpose.

One thing about informational text that students need instruction in using are the text features. Students need to know how to use to their benefit the information from headings, captions, graphs and maps, bold words, and all the other great features of informational text. I've used the lesson plan loosely described at the Link 2 Literacy blog with some really great handouts to help draw the attention of students to text features.

One of my favorite strategies is the "Say Something" strategy when students partner up with a text and at set points in the text, each partner has the responsibility to say something about the text. They can ask a question, make a connection, clarify something, add to what's in the text, the point is that they stop and say something related to the text with their partners. I have found it to be very successful with elementary through high school students.

Have you signed up to get the weekly newsletter, "The Big Fresh" from Choice Literacy? I just love getting these and reading them on Saturday mornings. In their archives is a list of resources for nonfiction text, particularly as it relates to the CCSS. Of particular interest might be the link to the INK THINK TANK, which shares excellent nonfiction texts for students. I love the book trailers, which can help hook students on some of these excellent books. Along with that great resource are the Nonfiction Monday blogs, linked at Kidlitosphere.

Doug Fischer, who writes mostly about adolescent literacy, focused on Duke's work in his piece for ASCD, "Helping Elementary Students Read for Information." Fischer gives specific ideas for teaching strategies before, during, and after reading informational text. Speaking of Doug Fischer, he and colleague Nancy Frey have a great website at Literacy for Life.

Another go-to resource for me for adolescent literacy is AdLit.org, which has some great videos, and, even more helpful, links to handouts that accompany some great strategies for content texts.

How do you help your students read informational text?

social studies resources (including Titanic-mania!)

I haven't provided some good resources for social studies teachers lately, so I thought I would pass along some great resources for you to look through in all your spare time (ha!). Here are some of my favorites. What are yours?

The Library of Congress has some amazing resources available for teachers found on their site and their blog: Teaching with the Library of Congress. I also love the map collections there. Virginia Tech has some cool modules on US and European History on their Digital History website. Annenberg Media has created some interactive modules as professional development in historical thinking and interactives for students as well. Teachinghistory.org focuses on historical thinking, and because I believe in the power of music to tell a story and as a sense of context, the collection of posts about teaching social studies through music appeals to me. Teaching History with Technology also provides lesson plan and presentation ideas, and resources for collaborative research projects using technology. These barely scratch the surface, and are mostly history-related. I'll definitely do another post on this, as there are so many resources to share.

This is maybe a bit late, as the anniversary is this weekend, but perhaps students will still be interested on Monday! As for the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, one historian out there estimates that the only two things more written about than the sinking of the Titanic are Jesus and the Civil War. That might not be true, but what is true is that for 100 years, the Titanic and its demise has captured the attention of young and old. With the rerelease of the James Cameron blockbuster, many are obsessed all over again. The NY Times has an article with tons of links to passenger accounts and historical coverage of the sinking.  NPR's Planet Money did an interesting story about why people on the Titanic didn't panic that would be interesting to read with students. Teacher Larry Ferlazzo has an amazing list of websites for teaching about the Titanic disaster. The Library of Congress has some great resources around teaching tragedies (a la the Titanic).  History Tech has some cool iPad apps about the Titanic. There's also an interesting unit on media critical thinking posted here.  Thinkfinity has some great lesson plans linked to their page. Go to the site and type "Titanic" into the search bar and go!

And (unrelated but timely) don't forget about the TC2 Job Fair coming up on Apr 17 (next Tuesday!), open to teacher candidates prepared at the TC2 institutions, and the MN Education Job Fair on Monday, Apr 23, which is open to all MN university teacher candidates and/or alumni. Let us know how the events go!

TC2 Teacher Job Fair! April 17th

Teacher Candidates completing their teacher licensure programs at TC2 partner colleges and universities are invited to attend a Teacher Job Fair on Tuesday, April 17 from 4:30-6:30 at Hamline University in the Bush Student Center Ballroom (2nd Floor), 1561 Hewitt Avenue, St. Paul. TC2 partner institutions include:

• Augsburg College
• Bethel University
• Concordia University (St. Paul)
• Hamline University
• St. Catherine University
• University of St. Thomas

Representatives of the Minneapolis public school district and the St. Paul public school district will be available. Attend the event to learn how your career goals may fit their current and future hiring needs.

Representatives will have the opportunity to identify candidates to interview during the fair, so bring copies of your resume with you!

You do not need to register ahead of time for this event. Parking is located in the visitor parking lot at the corner of Hewitt Ave and Pascal Street in St. Paul. See the TC2 website for a flyer for contact information if you have any questions about the event.

teaching Trayvon Martin

Sometimes things happen that captivate the attention of people in powerful ways. Along with many others, I have been thinking a lot about Trayvon Martin's death. In a middle school and then a high school earlier this week, I overheard several conversations outside of class between students discussing the case and their responses to the murder, and there have been events in schools and college campuses all week to help people make sense of what happened. Along with the huge response by young people to the Kony video posted on YouTube a few weeks ago, there are a lot of discussion of race, power, rights, and justice happening with our youth lately.

It can be complex and scary to hold discussions of these topics with students. Navigating conversations about race can be uncomfortable and messy. These conversations get charged with emotion and, I know in my own experience until I was more confident in leading these discussions, it can seem easier to shut it down and move on. But the students in our classes are concerned about and engaged in this case, and need space to have structured dialogues with people who can help them make sense of these issues that, for some, have daily implications for their lives.

Below are some resources if you are interested in having conversations about this case with your students.

• The Learning Network blog at the NY Times has a guest blog post written by a 19-year-old black teenager's response to the case. 
• Teaching Tolerance has an insightful and powerful blog posting related to Trayvon's death. 
• A teacher's blog post provides links to some helpful readings to understand the context of the outrage over this murder. 
• Though written for teacher educators, this article might have some helpful ideas to think about for leading discussions around this case.

Have your students been talking about this case? How have you navigated these conversations in the classroom? Any advice to other teachers wanting to find a way to start these dialogues?

upcoming education job fair_April 23

Next month, on Monday April 23, the 2012 MN Education Job Fair will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The fair will be held from 10-3, though interviewing with districts may occur through 5 pm that afternoon.

This is an event open only to MN college and university students and alumni. In order to register, you must go through your college or university's career services office. You can find contact information for MN college and university career service offices here. Your college/university career services office may be planning an information session to help you get prepared for the fair, so visit the website asap to get that on your calendar.

The MN Education Job Fair site has a very helpful pdf download available with tips to help you prepare for the job fair. Look under the "Student" section on the left-hand site and click "Prepare for the fair." Aside from researching districts that will be there and completing applications ahead of time for the districts you are most interested in, the preparation sheet advises job seekers to have copies of an outstanding resume to hand out and prepare (and practice!) a 30 second "elevator speech," giving the highlights of who you are and your experience. You can search this blog for posts labeled "job search" for more helpful tips in prep for the Job Fair.

This is a great opportunity for folks about to graduate or those who have already finished but are still looking for a job or looking to switch positions. If any readers went last year, what are some words of advice for attendees?

analyzing data

When I was first teaching and the principal would ask us to "analyze our student data," I wasn't always so sure what that meant. It wasn't until I went to get my MA that I really had explicit instruction on what that process really looked like.

In this season of assessment, you might be getting requests to analyze data. It might be standardized test data, like MAP or AimsWEB, or it could be common assessments from your team or grade level. Whatever data you are looking at, I've found the following guiding questions helpful in starting the process of analysis.
          
  1. What the purpose of the assessment data we are analyzing?

• If a standardized assessment, review the test specs or search online for information about what specifically this assessment is designed to measure. 
• If a teacher-developed assessment, list how this assessment was created and for what purpose. 

  2.  What do we know as a result of examining this data?

• List facts.
• List quantifiable statements.
• List statements that cannot be debated or argued about.

  3.    What do we think as a result of examining this data?

• List what we think this tells us about what students know and can do.
• List what we think this data suggest that students are struggling with.
• List the kinds of instruction we think are going on.
• List hunches we have. 

  4.    What don’t we know as a result of examining this data?

• List information that we cannot know just by looking at the data and, therefore, should not consider in our decision.

  5.    What do we want to know as a result of examining this data?

• List questions that we have about student performance.
• List questions that we have about teachers' instruction.
• Note other information we may need to look at.  

  6.    How does/will this data help us improve instruction?

• The point of looking at data is to prepare and plan for the most effective instruction to meet student needs. List some ways we might do that.

 Do you have a framework to help you analyze student data that works for you?

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Adapted from Moran, M. C. (2007). Differentiated Literacy Coaching. ASCD.

moving beyond disillusionment

A few months have passed since I last wrote about the common phases of first year teachers. At this point in the year, firmly into second semester or starting your final trimester soon, there is a new excitement. Some of it is overwhelming (I only have 57 days left in the school year and I need to accomplish all this?!?!), but some of it comes from taking a look at what you've done so far and how much your students have grown. You might be feeling more comfortable with the curriculum and the workings of the building. Maybe you've developed a unit you're particularly excited to try. Maybe, just maybe, you're able to reflect on what you'd like to do next year. Hopefully, you have moved out of disillusionment and into rejuvenation.

For today's post, I wanted to share an article written by a first year teacher, because I think it will speak to many of you. Posted on the New Teacher Center's website, I think that the experience of this new teacher will strike a chord with you.

How are you feeling at this point in the school year? Are you moving beyond disillusionment?