ELA: Focus on Informational Text
FCUSD Instructional Focus Meeting
Lari Miller-Powell & Sara Parenzin
March 22, 2012
10.21.11
Session Structure
• Teacher as Learner
– Session Opener
• Teacher as Professional
• Teacher as Practitioner
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Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Session Outcomes
Today we will…
• Define informational text
• Learn about informational text standards in
California’s Common Core State Standards
• Identify the structures and features of
informational text and the importance of
explicit instruction
• Explore implications for teaching
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Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Learner
Identify the Challenges
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• Browse the following sample of “typical”
informational text from our curriculum.
• Identify/Highlight the challenges in reading
informational text.
• Talk with a partner.
• Be ready to share your observations.
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Professional
Types of Informational Text
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• Exposition (e.g., texts, news, tradebooks)
• Argumentation and persuasive text
(e.g., political speeches, editorials, ads)
• Procedural text and documents
(e.g., manuals, directions)
National Assessment Governing Board (2011)
Reading Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Professional
Informational Text
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“Informational text, specifically exposition,
argumentation, and persuasive text, does not
have a single, identifiable structure. Rather,
different types of informational text exhibit
distinct structural features.”
National Assessment Governing Board (2011)
Reading Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress
What types of informational text are included
in your curriculum?
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Professional
Why Emphasize
Informational Text?
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Standards aim to align instruction with this National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP) framework.
Percentages do not imply that high school ELA teachers
must teach 70% informational text; they demand instead
that a great deal of reading should occur in other disciplines.
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Structure of the ELA Standards
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The CCSS are divided into four strands:
• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking & Listening
• Language
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Structure of the Reading Strand
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Grades K-5
– 10 Reading Standards for Literature
– 10 Reading Standards for Informational Text
– 4 Reading Standards – Foundational Skills
Grades 6-12
– 10 Reading Standards for Literature
– 10 Reading Standards for Informational Text
– 10 Reading Standards for Literacy in
History/Social Studies
– 10 Reading Standards for Literacy in
Science and Technical Subjects
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Teacher as Practitioner
Consistent Subheadings
in the Reading Strand
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•
•
•
•
Key Ideas and Details
“What did the author say?”
Craft and Structure
“How did the author say it?”
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
“How do I evaluate what the author says and
how do I go beyond it?”
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
“How challenging and varied is the text?”
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Explore the Standards
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• Locate the handout CCSS for ELA and turn
to the informational text standards.
• Read the standards for your grade
level and the grades immediately
before and after.
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Structures and Features
“Text structures and
features define the
organization and elements within the text.
The organization and elements refer to the
way ideas are arranged and connected to
one another. Features refer to visual and
structural elements that support and
enhance the reader’s ability to understand
the text.”
National Assessment Governing Board (2011)
Reading Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress
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–
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Structures and Features
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• Text structure is the organizational
pattern of the text.
– Examples: problem/solution, description,
cause and effect, sequence, etc.
• Text features are the visual and structural
elements that support and enhance a
reader’s ability to comprehend text.
– Examples: headings, captions, italicized
print, graphics, illustrations, etc.
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Trace the
Progression of Standard 5
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• Read standard 5 across grades K-12
• As you read, highlight elements of the
standards that relate to text structures
and text features.
• As you read through the standards, write
down three observations.
• Share your observations with your
table partners.
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Identify the Focus
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• Browse the following sample lesson, Web
Wise, to “Identify the Focus.”
• Read Scenario 1 and Scenario 2 on the
following slides.
• Which of the two scenarios better prepares
students to comprehend informational text
when they are reading independently?
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Identify the Focus
Scenario 1
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Teacher X begins the lesson by showing
students a video clip of spiders weaving
webs. She then asks students to pair-share
an interesting fact that they learned from the
video clip. After the discussion she tells
students they will get a chance to draw their
own spider webs, but only after they read the
story in the anthology.
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Teacher as Practitioner
Identify the Focus
Scenario 2
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Teacher Y begins the lesson by posting the
objective and telling the students that they
will be reading a non-fiction article and learning
about the text features title, subtitle, and
headings, and how they support comprehending
informational text. She uses a web organizer to
define and give an example of each term. Before
reading the text, Teacher Y tells students they
will stop and discuss how the title, subtitle, and
headings support their comprehension.
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Connect to the Curriculum
Teacher as Practitioner
Think-Pair-Share
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• How do the CCSS correspond to what you already have
in your curriculum?
– Take a look at your TE
– Are opportunities provided frequently for students to
grapple with informational text?
– Are the structures and features of informational text
explicitly taught?
– If they aren’t, can you identify places where it would be
appropriate to add this instruction?
• Think back to the last informational text selection students
read in your class. As you transition to teaching the
CCSS, what might you do differentlySacramento
nextCounty
time?
Office of Education | 10.21.11
Putting it into Practice
• Give students opportunities to identify text
structures and text features to help them
comprehend informational text
• Use the resources you have: tweak it here
and there
• Your science, history, and math texts and
readers are examples of informational text!
Putting it into Practice
• Remember, not all of the selections in your
ELA anthologies are “stories,” therefore, they
often require a different set of reading skills
and strategies
• Lots of information on the Internet
• Continuing professional development through
district and Sacramento County Office of
Education
For more information:
 Common Core State Standards initiative:
www.corestandards.org
 California Common Core Standards:
www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cc/
 Assessment:
www.smarterbalanced.org
 SCOE Professional Development:
http://scoecatalog.net/
 FCUSD Professional Development:
http://fcusd.gosignmeup.com/
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Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11
Common Core State Standards
• Exit Ticket
– I learned…
– I valued…
– I’d like more information about…
– Comments…
*no need to write your name, but if you could please write
your grade level on your exit ticket, that will help us
organize needs & concerns by grade level!
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Thank you!
Sacramento County Office of Education | 10.21.11