Finding Your Way Through
a “Functional Passage”
3rd Quarterly LLT Training
SBC Administrative Offices
Thursday, February 9, 2006
Dr. Audrey Cooper-Stanton, Chief Officer
Session Facilitators:
Heather Connolly
Tracey Garfield-Mbolela
Carmel Perkins
Kenya Sadler
Cynthia Slater-Green
3rd Quarterly LLT Training –
February 2006
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Office of Literacy
Mission Statement
The Office of Literacy’s mission is to
provide a framework for high quality
literacy instruction that is focused on
the four components of the Reading
Instruction Framework -- word
knowledge, fluency, comprehension,
and writing -- to meet the diverse
needs of all students.
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February 2006
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Session Purpose
• Develop a clear understanding of the
purpose of a functional passage.
• Examine types of functional passages and
how they vary in complexity from grade to
grade.
• Review examples of functional passages
at each grade level.
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February 2006
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Functional Passages
• A functional passage relates useful information
and facts. Directions and recipes are examples of
functional reading materials.
• Functional material, also called informational
material, is writing that is intended to convey
information or demonstrate how to do something.
Some examples are the writing on a cereal box,
road directions, and instructions on how to put a
bookcase together.
– Retrieved from www.cousd.k12.ca.us – Charter Oak Unified School
District Parent Study Guide – Reading Grade 6, p. 10
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February 2006
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The Paired, Functional Passage
• Addresses the following IAF-R assessment
objectives:
– Determine whether a set of complex directions is
complete and, therefore, clear.
– Use information in charts, graphs, tables,
diagrams, maps, and headings.
– Identify or summarize the order of events in a
story or non-fiction account.
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February 2006
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All reading is not the same:
Literature doesn’t prepare readers for
demands of informational reading
• External Features
• Internal
Structures
• Visual and
graphic
information
• Vocabulary
carrying concepts
• Look for different
points of view
• Read for own
purposes
• Use study
strategies
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February 2006
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Functional Passage Text
Structures
• List items
(numbered)
• Sequential order
• Chronological
order
• Simple to complex
• Least to most
important
• Description
• How the author
remembers the
details/events
• Compare/Contrast
• Cause/Effect
• Problem/Solution
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February 2006
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Functional Passage Structures
When students understand how different
functional passages are structured, they
stand a better chance of remembering what
they have read.
The general structure of the functional
passages may vary from a map, to a
diagram, to a recipe.
In this activity, you will become more familiar
with aspects of understanding structure of
functional passages and their varying levels
of complexity.
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February 2006
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Recipe
Features of this passage:
Cream of Potato & Turkey Soup
5 T. butter
1 medium onion chopped
Heading
5 large carrots peeled and diced
10 large potatoes peeled and cut in cubes
List of ingredients
4 C. chicken broth
Directions that are listed
in a sequential order
Graphic
2 C. milk
3 C. ham cubed
1.
2.
3.
4.
Pair Share
5.
What are the important
features of this passage?
6.
Melt Butter into a pot
Add onions and carrots and cook until soft.
Add potatoes and chicken broth.
Cook covered until bubbly, then simmer for
1 hour.
Take half of the soup mixture and blend it in
a food processor or blender.
Return to pot; add milk slowly, stirring. Add
turkey and heat thoroughly.
Serves 8 - 10.
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February 2006
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Food Label
Features of this passage:
Heading
Subheading
Table
Pair Share
What are the important
features of this passage?
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Map
Features of this
passage:
Map
Legend
Pair Share
What are the important
features of this
passage?
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What should the students look
for in a functional passage?
Help the student look at the structure of
the passage. Ask questions about the
passage.
– What is the title?
– What kind of predictions can you make about
the passage based on the title?
– Is there a numbered list? How long is the list?
– Is there a legend? Could this be a map?
– Is there a list of supplies? Are there ingredients
for a recipe?
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February 2006
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Let’s look at a functional
passage…
• See copy of
AppleSeeds
Magazine, “Check It
Out,” pp. 10-11.
• What types of
questions can we
answer about the
structure of the
passage?
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February 2006
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“Check It Out”
– What is the title?
– What kind of predictions can you make
about the passage based on the title?
– Is there a numbered list? How long is the
list?
– Is there a legend? Could this be a map?
– Is there a list of supplies? Are there
ingredients for a recipe?
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February 2006
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–Determine whether a set of
complex directions is complete
and, therefore, clear.
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Hand and Foot Reindeer
Supplies:
•
•
•
•
•
Brown and tan (or orange) construction paper
Pencil
Scissors
Glue
Googly eyes (optional)
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TO MAKE THE REINDEER:
1. Trace around your foot using brown construction paper. This
will be the reindeer's head.
2. Trace around your hands using tan construction paper.
These 2 pieces will be the reindeer's antlers.
3. Glue the handprint "antlers" to the top of the reindeer. Add a
bright red paper nose, a paper (or drawn) mouth, and googly
eyes (or paper eyes) to the reindeer's head.
4. You can now decorate your house with these cute reindeers.
5. Don't forget to put your name and date on the back of the
reindeer.
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February 2006
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1. What would you do if you didn’t have glue?
__________________________________
2. What other objects could be used for eyes?
Tell why you chose these objects.
___________________________________
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–Use information in charts,
graphs, tables, diagrams,
maps, and headings.
–Draw conclusions from
information in charts, maps,
and graphs, etc.
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Third Grade Sample Test Questions
1. If Central Bridge is closed for repairs, what will happen
in Milltown?
a) More people will drive faster.
b) More people will use Upper Bridge.
c) More people will use Central Avenue.
d) The shopping center will close.
2. If Central Bridge is closed for repairs, what do you think
will happen to the workers who live on Front Street?
a) They will have to drive farther to work.
b) The mill will close and they will lose their jobs.
c) They will get to work faster.
d) They will have to move.
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Fourth Grade Sample Test Question
1.
•
•
•
•
2.
Which question could you answer based only on
the information in the map?
a)
At what times co the public trains arrive?
b)
How much time does it take to go from Forest
Hills to Oak Grove?
c)
How many miles is it from one station to
another?
d)
How can one travel from Alewife to the
Aquarium by public train?
Directly on the map, draw the most direct public
train route you would take to get from Boston
College to Braintree.
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Fifth Grade Sample Test
Question:
1. What explains the change in voter registration shown
by these graphs?
a) New laws made it difficult for African Americans to
vote.
b) Most African Americans were Democrats.
c) Most African Americans moved out of
Louisiana.
d) The White population in Louisiana
increased greatly.
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Fifth Grade Sample Test
Question
1. Look at the map of Africa. Which of the
following countries is north of the equator and
west of the prime meridian?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Sudan
Congo
Mauritania
Egypt
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Sixth Grade Sample Test
Question
1. Give two reasons why early civilizations
flourished in the valley of the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers.
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Sixth Grade Sample Test
Question
1.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Which is the main reason that many early peoples
settled between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers?
This river valley tended to be cooler than highland
regions.
This river valley was almost free of danger from wild
animals.
This river valley was easier to defend from attack than
the higher regions.
This river valley was fertile because floodwaters left
rich soil on the banks.
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Seventh Grade Sample Test
Question
1. Look at the pie charts. Which of the
following countries has the largest
percentage of the world's population?
a)
b)
c)
d)
China
Indonesia
Pakistan
India
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February 2006
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Seventh Grade Sample Test
Question
1. Which of the following continents has the
most manufacturing and trade?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Australia
Europe
Africa
South America
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Seventh Grade Sample Test
Questions
1.
a)
b)
c)
d)
2.
What percentage of the total population of Country 1 is
age 70 or over?
1.0%
1.2%
2.2%
3.0%
Describe the difference in population patterns for
people age 60 and over in countries 1 and 2. Give one
possible explanation for the difference you have
identified.
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Eighth Grade Sample Test
Questions
1.
The graph shows that:
a)
Wealthy people tend to have different political views that do
people with less money.
The incomes of certain groups of voters have increased
dramatically.
The higher someone’s income is, the more likely he or she is to
vote.
Young people are more likely to vote than older people.
b)
c)
d)
2. Give one explanation for the pattern of voter turnout
shown in the graph.
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Eighth Grade Sample Test Questions
1. According to the charts, people are most
likely to volunteer for organizations that:
a)
b)
c)
d)
focus on community affairs
solve easy problems
solve problems the government thinks are
unimportant
relate to international concerns
2. Choose three areas of volunteer activity
listed in Chart 1. For each one, identify
specific action individuals can take outside
their homes, and explain how it will make a
difference in their own community.
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Tsunami Warning Signs
• If you see the water recede quickly and unexpectedly
from a beach (this is called drawback), run toward higher
ground or inland -- there may be a tsunami coming.
• Also, if you are on the coast and there is an earthquake,
it may have caused a tsunami, so run toward higher
ground or go inland.
• The first wave in a tsunami is often not the largest; if you
experience one abnormally-huge wave, go inland quickly
-- even bigger waves could be coming soon.
• Some beaches have tsunami warning sirens -- do not
ignore them.
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1. What does the word recede mean in the
first sentence?
___________________________
2. Where might you find this sign?
_____________________________
3. Why should you pay attention to a siren?
_______________________________
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–Identify or summarize the
order of events in a story or
non- fiction account.
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One hot, sunny day Sally left two buckets of water out
in the sun. The two buckets were the same except that
one was black and one was white. At the end of the
day, Sally noticed that the water in the black bucket
felt warmer than the water in the white bucket.
Sally wondered why this happened, so the next day
she left the buckets of water out in the hot sun again.
She made sure that there was the same amount of
water in each bucket. This time she carefully
measured the temperature of the water in both
buckets at the beginning of the day and at the end of
the day. The pictures below show what Sally found.
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• How does the experiment help explain why
people often choose to wear white clothes in
hot weather?
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Questions 1-13 The
picture below shows a pond
ecosystem.
Use this picture and what you know about the things in
it to answer the questions in this section.
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1. Which of the following living things in the pond
system uses the energy from sunlight to make its
own food?
A) Insect
B) Frog
C) Water lily
D) Small fish
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Extended-Response
• If all of the small fish in the pond system died
one year from a disease that killed only the small
fish, what would happen to the algae in the
pond? Explain why you think so.
•
What would happen to the large fish? Explain
why you think so.
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2. Each of the animals in the pond needs food.
What are two things that the animals get from
their food that keep them alive?
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4. Look at the picture below, which shows
some of the organs that can be found inside
the human body. What is the main job of the
organ labeled 1?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Carrying air
Carrying food
Carrying blood
Carrying messages from the brain
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Functional Passage
Student Steps
Step 1: Survey the Text. Have students scan the text and note the
general purpose of the text. Pre-read questions.
Step 2: Identify the Features. Have students look for features such
as headings, subheadings, captions, maps, diagrams, legends,
photos, illustrations, tables, step by step directions
Step 3: Identify the Structure of the Text. Individually or in a small
group, students should discuss what they think the main structure
of the text “What kind of thinking will be necessary to understand
the information in the text?
Step 4: Read the Text. Have students read the functional passage.
Step 5: Read and Answer Questions. Have student reread and
answer questions.
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