Reading+Cluster+2+(4,+5,+6)

Reading Cluster: **Craft and Structure**
 * RST.6-8.4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to //grades 6–8 texts and topics//. ||
 * RST.6-8.5. Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic. ||
 * RST.6-8.6. Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text. ||

1. Choose two or three texts that represent DIFFERENT opinions on the SAME topic. (For example, you might choose one or two short articles on the development of nuclear weapons; you might choose another article about the impact of the nuclear energy; you could choose another article where the author argues against the use of nuclear weapons. In social studies, you might use primary sources from different individuals that represent different points of view about the same topic/event.) 2. Assign students different articles. Tell them that they are to read in order to discover the AUTHOR’s POINT OF VIEW about the topic. After they read, they should write down their author’s point of view. 3. Students should then RE-READ the article. This time, keeping the author’s point of view in mind, they should take specific notes (e.g., examples, facts, direct quotes, etc.) that support their author’s point of view. (They might write on the article if they have their own copies, they may use sticky notes, etc.) 4. (optional) Put students in homogeneous groups. In other words, group students according to the articles that they have read. Let them discuss in their groups what conclusions were drawn and what facts supported those conclusions. 5. Put students in heterogeneous groups. Have students share their AUTHOR’s point of view with the group. They SHOULD NOT give their personal opinions at this point. They are only representing the author of their text. 6. At the conclusion of the class, ask students to list their AUTHOR’s opinion in ONE sentence. Next, in ONE sentence, identify at least another point of view that someone in their heterogeneous group shared. Finally, in ONE sentence, the student needs to identify his/her own point of view about the topic.
 * __ Instructional Strategy: “Presenting the Author’s Point of View” (Ginni Fair, 2011) __**

1. Pre-teach students some domain-specific vocabulary that is relevant to the unit/section of text that students will be reading. Try to keep this list of vocabulary to 3-5 terms. 2. Demonstrate for students how to “code” a chunk of text. An example from Harvey and Steineke’s book explains using the following example: “To help you read these articles, I’m going to suggest a special version of our text coding strategy. To become invasive, an alien species must do three things: arrive, survive, and thrive (p.147).” The teacher goes on to explain/define these words, and as students read, they label whether the creatures are arriving (A), surviving (S), or thriving (T). Teach students the 3-5 vocabulary words on which you want to focus and demonstrate for them how to label these topics/concepts in context and throughout the reading. 3. Monitor the students as they read, helping them mark or annotate their reading. 4. As class discussion follows, you might have students chart the characteristics of species that survive and thrive (for example). This helps students //apply// what they have read instead of just identifying details from the text.
 * __ Instructional Strategy: Teach students the art of “Coding” (adapted from Harvey and Steineke, 2011) __**

Daniels, H. & Steineke, N. (2011). //Texts and Lessons for Content Area Reading.// Portsmouth: Heinemann.

1. With the students, look at the features of a particular text. What is the title? Does it have headings? Does it use illustrations, graphs, maps, tables, pictures, etc.? Have a conversation with students about what the text features tell readers about the topic and structure of the text. 2. Read the first paragraph (or two) of the text aloud to the students. With the students, identify the purpose of this article. Is the topic explicit or inferred? If it is explicit, have students underline the exact sentence. If it is inferred, help students explain their reasons for making that inference. 3. Decide the mode (or purpose) of the text. Is it //ARGUMENTATIVE, INFORMATIONAL, or NARRATIVE//? If it is argumentative (or informational or narrative), what should they expect to see as they read? List the characteristics of this type of text on the board. 4. As students read, tell them to look for these characteristics in the text. For example, if argumentative texts give opinions and evidence, they should mark their text with the opinions (by underlining, circling, writing “O,” etc.) and the evidence or facts that are used to support the opinions (by “starring,” writing “E,” etc.) Do the first paragraph or so with the students. 5. Monitor students as they read. Work one-on-one with students who don’t seem to be marking anything. 6. While students are reading, write the topic on the board. After they finish, have students call out the evidence or opinions that they found in the article. Talk with students about whether this evidence is strong support for the content (which is the topic.) Discuss any fallacies in the argument or any points that the evidence clearly supports. In this way, you are using reading to teach your content.
 * __ Instructional Strategy: Teach students a Textual Mode (Ginni Fair, 2011) __**


 * __ Vocabulary Webbing __**



1. When a text introduces new (and related) vocabulary, a vocabulary web is an appropriate instructional choice. For this particular activity, design a vocabulary web that identifies the main topic and the related terms. 2. Guide students to write the DEFINITIONS of the terms on the lines that lead //to// the outside circles. On the lines that extend //from// the outside circles, students should write down examples of that particular concept. They may use examples from the text, or they may come up with their own. 3. After students complete this process, you may post 10-15 new examples on the board. Have students work in partners to classify the new examples. (In the example that you are provided, for example, if I gave you the square root of 13, you’d classify that as an irrational number.) This classification step helps students move beyond //comprehension// to //application//. 4. Hint: Brain based research tells us that we remember things that are grouped by COLOR, so you might have students complete each “arm” of the web in a different color.


 * __ Guess and Adjust __**__ (Zwiers, 2004, p.122) __



*Zwiers, J. (2004). //Building reading comprehension habits in grades 6-12//. Newark: International Reading Association. 1. Write the title of a text to be studied on the board or, preferably, on the graphic organizer. Distribute a copy of the graphic organizer. 2. Direct students to write in any clue words that are important to the text. You should have between 3-5 new words and approximately 6-10 clue words. 3. Have students guess the meanings of the new words using the text’s title and their knowledge of word parts. They should write their guesses in the middle column. 4. Using the Text Prediction triangle, have students write down a prediction about the text content. (This is not as applicable to the math text, so use your discretion about using this particular part of the graphic organizer.) 5. Let the students read independently (or you read aloud) and stop at the new vocabulary to allow students to update their guess and adjust sheet. 6. Extension: You may have students write a final summary of the text, using the new words.


 * __ Target Words __**__ (adapted from Zwiers, 2004) __



*Zwiers, J. (2004). //Building reading comprehension habits in grades 6-12//. Newark: International Reading Association. 1. Identify 5-8 new vocabulary words/concepts in a text. Provide students with enough sticky notes that they can write one word on each note. 2. Direct students to write whatever you want them to on the sticky note. (For this activity – in pencil – write the TERM, its DEFINITION, and an EXAMPLE.) Students should not leave anything undone. If they are unsure, they should at least guess. 3. Distribute the “Target Words” worksheet. Direct students to place their sticky notes on the appropriate place on the bullseye. 4. Direct students to read the text. They should make adjustments to their sticky notes (both to the content and/or the placement, as needed.) 5. Allow students to talk to a peer about sticky notes that are on the outside edges. This also provides an easy way for the teacher to move around the classroom and determine students’ success with the vocabulary. 6. Follow up with an activity that requires students to //use// or //apply// the new terminology.