Alexandra McKenrick - Scaffolding Learning About Text Structures

Scaffolding Learning about Text Structures Megan Kratz, 1st Grade Teacher, [email protected] Alexa McKenrick, Reading Recovery & LLI Teacher [email protected] Fairfax County Public Schools

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Overview of Session • •

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What is text structure? Why is it important? How do different teaching contexts support students’ understanding of text structure? – Video clips of Interactive Read Aloud (IRA), Shared Reading (SR), and Guided Reading (GR) – Planning teacher talk Other contexts that extend learning about text structures 2

As a result of this session, you will: • Understand why text structure is important; • Develop an awareness of text structure; • Hear and see how teaching language evolves to teach, prompt, and reinforce for strategic actions; • Plan your teaching language to support learning about text structures. 3

Text Structure is…. The way a text “works.”

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“Knowing the overall organizational pattern, as well as underlying structures such as comparison and contrast, provide a scaffold for deriving and understanding the information” -Fountas and Pinnell, When Readers Struggle, 319

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Why is Text Structure Important?

Predicting

Author’s message

Make connection

Text Structure Search for information

Scaffold for re-telling

Enjoyment

Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning, Fountas & Pinnell 6

Adapted From Revisit, Reflect, and Retell by Linda Hoyt

EXAMPLES OF TEXT STRUCTURES

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DESCRIPTION

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PROBLEM/SOLUTION

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CUMULATIVE CAUSE/EFFECT 10

TIME/ORDER

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COMPARE/CONTRAST

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DIRECTIONS

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OTHER TEXT STRUCTURES

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Awareness of Text Structure Sort the books at your table by text structure. Use the index cards labels or your own label for the different structures.

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Teaching Contexts • Allows us to scaffold our teaching to support a Deeper Understanding of Text Structure • Levels of support in IRA, SR, GR Overview

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Interactive Read Aloud (IRA)

• Watch how a teacher presents text structure during an IRA – Note teacher language and student responses.

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IRA • Share examples of explicit language to teach structure. • How did teacher use think alouds or reinforcing language to support her students’ understanding of the structure? • Consider how the teacher might revisit the same text or text with similar text structure.

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Shared Reading (SR)

• Watch how the teacher invites students to engage in a strategic action that is supported by the text structure. – Note teacher language and student responses 19

SR • Share examples of teacher language and student responses. • What evidence was there that students used text structure to aid comprehension? • How did the teacher scaffold so that the students were successful? (visual aid, prompts, think aloud)

• Other examples of using this book to teach other strategic actions….

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Guided Reading

• Watch how the teacher prompts students to use text structure as they discuss the story. – Note teacher and student language

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GR • Share examples of teacher language and student responses. • What evidence was there that students used text structure to aid comprehension?

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Other Examples of Scaffolding Learning about Text Structure • Problem/Solution: 2nd Grade IRA and GR example • Discuss planning structure.

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Planning Teaching Language across IRA, GR, and SR • Select a group of books within same structure. Or think about what you are planning to read with your students when you return.

• Plan teacher language, using planning sheet provided or your own method.

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Other Contexts that Extend Learning about Text Structure • Writing Workshop: – Pattern books, All about Books • Literature Discussion/Book Clubs – Select books by same author or within same series • Performance Reading

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Please fill out on-line survey.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION! 26