Jeanne Swafford
Logan McKnight
University of North Carolina - Wilmington
Presentation at the 2013 International Reading
Association Conference, April 20, 2013,
San Antonio, TX
1
Goals
1. Share a sample of resources from our
annotated bibliography of awardwinning informational picture books
2. Demonstrate how a sample of the
books can be used to address CCSS
3. Provide access to our resources and
annotated bibliography
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How do you find
informational texts?
3
Where We Go First
to Find Informational Books
 Orbis Pictus for
Outstanding Nonfiction
Books (NCTE)
 Robert F. Sibert
Informational Book Award
(ALA)
 Notable Social Studies
Trade Books for Young
People (NCSS)
 Outstanding Science Trade
Books for Young People
(NSTA)
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Orbis Pictus Award, Sibert Award,
Cook Prize (STEM), Outstanding
Science Trade Books (2012 winner)
Balloons Over Broadway
The Story of the
Puppeteer of Macy’s
Parade
by Melissa Sweet
(Houghton Mifflin)
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Sibert, National Book finalist,
Newbery Honor, YALSA (2013 winner)
Bomb: The Race to Build—
and Steal—The World’s Most
Dangerous Weapon (2013
winner)
by Steve Sheinkin
(Flash Point)
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Orbis Pictus, Sibert Honor, Notable
Social Studies Trade Book (2012)
Ballet for Martha: Making
Appalachian Spring
by Jan Greenberg &
Sandra Jordan; Brian
Floca
(Flash Point)
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Notable Social Studies Trade Books
includes NCSS Standards
Ballet for Martha: Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Culture
Time, Continuity, &Change
People, Places, & Environments
Individual Development & Identity
Individuals, Groups, & Institutions
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Sibert Honor, Outstanding Science
Trade Book, Boston Globe-Horn
Book Nonfiction Honor (2012)
The Elephant Scientist
(Scientists in the Field
Series)
by Caitlin O’Connell,
Donna M. Johnson,
& Timothy Rodwell
(Houghton Mifflin)
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Outstanding Science Trade Books
include NSTA Standards
The Elephant Scientist: Standards II, VII, VIII
Science as Inquiry
VII. Science in Personal and Social
VIII. History and Nature of Science
II.
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What we know:
 We need to teach children how to read
 informational texts with varying text
structures
 visual representations of information
(maps, charts, photographs)
 Students need to question the
authenticity of texts (critical reading)
 Students need to be engaged
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 Students need choices
 Learning engagements and texts must
be relevant to students’ lives
 Students engage in multiple forms of
literacy outside of school
 Individuals need to use multiple texts
(not just print texts) to learn
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Logan McKnight
April 20, 2013
International Reading Association’s
58th Annual Convention
What is a text set?
 A text set is a collection of resources from different
genres, media and levels of reading difficulty that are
designed to be supportive of the learning of readers
with a range of experiences and interests.
 Focuses on a concept or topic and may include
multiple genres such as books, charts, maps,
informational pamphlets, poetry, songs, photographs,
etc.
 Provides multiple perspectives from which to view a
topic
http://www.ed.sc.edu/raisse/pdf/handouts/iraGoodman.pdf
Inquiry through text sets
 Organize text sets based on questions about the topic
 Cover general questions about the topic as well as
interdisciplinary considerations
 Students can help develop questions
 Provides opportunities for inquiry study
 Can be guided to come up with questions you already
have in text set

Also offers opportunity for new questions you haven’t
considered – peers can teach each other about discoveries
based on new questions
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Why are there endangered species? How does this
happen?
How do we know a species is endangered?
What species are endangered?
What would it feel like to be a threatened or
endangered species?
Where are endangered species located?
What can we do to help protect and conserve
endangered species?
Questions
1. How would a historian look at conservation/endangered
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
species?
How would an artist view endangered species? How do you
represent something you’ve never seen?
How would a mathematician view endangered species?
What questions would they ask? What problems would they
solve?
What songs/sounds do we hear that we might not if the
species went extinct?
How are ecosystems affected when a species is endangered
or goes extinct? How do endangered and/or extinct species
affect us?
What local issues/stories are there involving endangered
species and/or conservation?
Common Core Connections
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures,
ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or
technical text, including what happened and why,
based on specific information in the text.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.5 Describe the overall
structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect,
problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or
information in a text or part of a text.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.7 Interpret information
presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in
charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or
interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how
the information contributes to an understanding of
the text in which it appears.
Common Core Connections
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.8 Explain how an author uses
reasons and evidence to support particular points in a
text.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.9 Integrate information from
two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak
about the subject knowledgeably.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.10 By the end of year, read and
comprehend informational texts, including
history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the
grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
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Resource Highlights
 Can We Save the Tiger? (Jenkins, 2011)
 Design a Habitat for the Black-Footed Ferret
 Interactive Map
 The Price of Progress (CBS)
 Through Endangered Eyes (Dillon, 2009)
Can We Save the Tiger?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.5
Describe the overall
structure
(e.g., chronology,
comparison,
cause/effect, problem/
solution) of events,
ideas, concepts, or
information in a text or
part of a text.
Design a Habitat
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.7
Interpret information
presented visually, orally,
or quantitatively (e.g., in
charts, graphs, diagrams,
time lines, animations, or
interactive elements on
Web pages) and explain
how the information
contributes to an
understanding of the text
in which it appears.
http://www.arkive.org/education/games/de
sign-a-habitat
Design a Habitat continued
 Information
about why/how
the species
became
endangered.
Design a Habitat continued
 Students use
information
learned to
problem solve
and create a
suitable habitat
for the ferrets.
Map of Endangered Species
 http://www.escapefoundation.org/about-escape-
foundation/a-world-of-endangered-species/
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3 Explain events,
procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical,
scientific, or technical text, including what
happened and why, based on specific
information in the text.
The Price of Progress
 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/22/sunday/main2714
532.shtml
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RI.4.8
Explain how an
author uses reasons
and evidence to
support particular
points in a text.
NSTA Outstanding Science Trade
Books (2013)
Rachel Carson and
Her Book that
Changed the World
By Laurie Lawlor;
Laura Beingessner
(Holiday House)
Standards
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Through Endangered Eyes: A Poetic
Journey into the Wild
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RI.4.9 Integrate
information from two
texts on the same topic
in order to write or speak
about the subject
knowledgeably.
Why are there endangered
species? How does this happen?
How do we know a species is
endangered?
What species are endangered?
What would it feel like to be a
threatened or endangered species?
What can we do to help protect
and conserve endangered species?
How would an artist view endangered species? How do
you represent something you’ve never seen?
How are ecosystems affected when a species is
endangered or goes extinct? How do endangered and/or
extinct species affect us?
What we know:
A variety of resources in a text set:
 Makes for a well- rounded, in-depth study of a topic
 Offers multiple perspectives and encourages students
to ask questions and think critically
 Encourages students to synthesize across multiple
sources to deepen understandings of a topic and to
create new understandings
For information:
people.uncw.edu/swaffordj/
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