Audrey Fisch and Susan Chenelle
Collaborating Across
Disciplines:
Using Informational Text to
Enhance Curriculum
Who we are & what we’ve done
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Susan Chenelle and Audrey A. Fisch are the authors
of the Using Informational Text to Teach Literature
series from Rowman & Littlefield Education. The first
volume, Using Informational Text to Teach To Kill a
Mockingbird, was published in April.
Susan has taught English and journalism for six
years at University Academy Charter High School in
Jersey City, New Jersey. Audrey is Professor of
English and Coordinator of Secondary English
Education at New Jersey City University.
The power of collaboration
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Thoughts on collaboration
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What thoughts about collaboration
does this video provoke?
Informational text
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 What is an informational text?
 How do you use informational text now?
 What are some of your favorite informational texts
and how do you use them?
 What opportunities does informational text offer?
 What are the challenges of using informational text?
Beyond PARCC and the CCSS –
Why should I use informational texts?
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•
Students need support and experience with a wide
variety of informational texts to develop the literacy
skills they will need in college and beyond.
•
Engaging informational texts can be the on-ramps
that make your content area relevant and
meaningful to your students.
Literacy goals
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•
What are the literacy expectations for your
discipline?
•
What disciplinary-specific literacy skills do you
want your students to master?
•
What literacy skills does a professional in your
discipline use?
Concern about informational text
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 Isolated informational text!
 As Katie Masden writes on an
englishcompanion.ning.com forum,
 “I want the informational texts to relate; otherwise,
it feels like stop what we are doing and read this
informational piece that doesn't tie into anything.”
Our approach – texts in dialogue
Teachers need to be able to incorporate
nonfiction in ways that are meaningful and
substantive, and enhance rather than take
away from their teaching of content.
Our model
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“To Study Aggression, a Fight Club for Flies”
and Lord of the Flies
Our model for using informational texts
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• Find a great informational text that relates to something you’re already
teaching
• Cut! Use excerpts
• Identify key vocabulary
• Front-load key vocabulary and concepts
• Create sidebar reading prompts that highlight key concepts and
vocabulary
• Create PARCC-style multiple-choice and open-ended questions to
check for understanding and extend thinking
• Open with an engaging media link to increase motivation and
engagement
When to find informational texts
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WHEN:
your students are having trouble engaging with the
content
you want your students to have greater background
knowledge or context (but you don’t want to lecture)
you want your students to be better readers and
thinkers (and that’s always, right?)
How to find great informational texts
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 Finding the right informational text can seem
daunting, but it is possible and can be very
rewarding.
 Sometimes you’ll find the right piece with your
first internet search; other times it can be a very
time-consuming hunt.
 See our tips and resources!
Preparing an informational text
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 Finding a great informational text is just the first step.
 Your students may not be prepared to read it.
 Support their success with the text by scaffolding the
reading process and anticipating stumbling blocks.
Cut/excerpt your informational text
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Don’t overload your students!
Challenge: Length – Though
we do not want to shy away from
readings of challenging length,
many informational texts are too
long and/or go beyond our
instructional goals.
Cut/excerpt your informational text
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 Strategy: Use excerpts – While we want to
expose our students to rigorous texts, that doesn’t
mean that they always have to read the entire text.
 Try to keep essential features intact, but exclude
material that does not serve your instructional
purposes.
Like this ...
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Vocabulary
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• Identify key vocabulary (not too many!)
• Create authentic, fun pre-reading activities that
front-load key vocabulary AND concepts
Reading prompts
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• Create sidebar reading prompts that highlight key
concepts and textual features
• Think about prompts specific to different
disciplines
• Model reading comprehension strategies as you
read through your informational text and build
these strategies into something students do on
their own when working with informational text
Check for understanding, extend thinking
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 Create PARCC-style multiple-choice questions that
check understanding and reinforce two-part
PARCC question format.
 Create open-ended questions that build
connections and drive home the extended thinking
and learning of the informational text.
 (NOTE: PARCC asks students to put texts into
conversation; our approach is the perfect
opportunity to practice this important skill)
Multimedia
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 Find an engaging media link to increase
motivation and engagement
 Open with your media clip to create fun!
 Remember that PARRC also stresses media
texts, so these non-text clips are great testpreparation while being engaging
You don’t have to do this alone!
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• Informational texts are a great opportunity for
cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• You can share the workload with a colleague while
you each focus on the concepts and skills
embedded in the informational text that are most
relevant to your respective curricula.
Professional development
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 Collaborating across the disciplines to create
cross-disciplinary units using informational text
requires time but pays enormous dividends.
 Ask for time during your next professional
development day to devote to this kind of
collaborative work!
THANK YOU!
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Audrey Fisch
afisch@njcu.edu
Susan Chenelle
susanchenelle@gmail.com
www.usinginformationaltext.com
#usinginfotext