<p>Reading Standards Across Content Areas: A Resource for 6-12 Teachers 2012</p><p>Howard County Public School System Renee A. Foose, Ed.D., Superintendent Sandra H. French Chairman</p><p>Frank J. Aquino, Esq. Vice Chairman</p><p>Allen Dyer, Esq.Ellen Flynn Giles</p><p>Brian J. MeshkinJanet Siddiqui, M.D.</p><p>Cynthia L. VaillancourtCole T. Rosenberg</p><p>Student Member</p><p>Renee A. Foose, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools</p><p>Copyright 2012 Overview</p><p>This document, Teaching Reading Standards Across Content Areas, provides resources related to reading skills and student expectations regarding analytical reading of content texts. This document includes informational sheets, reading strategies, lesson seeds, and supplementary documents. </p><p>As the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) provides additional information, this document will be revised. Acknowledgements</p><p>This document was prepared under the direction of Zeleana Morris, Coordinator of Secondary Language Arts and Sharon Stein, Instructional Facilitator for Secondary Reading. </p><p>Special appreciation is extended to the following curriculum writers:</p><p>Kathy Mehalko, Glenwood Middle School Patricia Robinson, Lake Elkhorn Middle School Kristen Vance, Dunloggin Middle School Danielle Wojcik, River Hill High School Table Of Contents</p><p>I. Text-Dependent Questions and Close Reading of Complex Texts a. Text Complexity……………………………………………………….. 1  MSDE Text Complexity- Informational Texts  MSDE Text Complexity- Literature  MSDE Teacher and Task  Lesson Seeds for Text Complexity</p><p> b. Close Reading...…………………………………………………….... 6  General Close Reading Practices  Close Reading for Informational Text  Lesson Seeds for Close Reading  Rubric for Close Reading  MSDE- A Guide for Creating Text-Dependent Questions for Close Analytic Reading</p><p> c. Text-Dependent Questions…………………………………….…….15  Creating Text-Dependent Questions  Progression of Text-Dependent Questions  Vocabulary and Text-Dependent Questions</p><p>II. Vocabulary a. Tiered Words………………………………………………………….. 20 b. Content Specific Word Parts………………………………………... 22  Using Word Parts to Unlock Meaning  Using Word Parts to Unlock Meaning- Academic Vocabulary (content-specific)  Unfamiliar Words and Words with Multiple Meanings</p><p>III. Reading Comprehension a. Inferences………………………………………………………….26  Prior Knowledge and Textual Evidence  Reader’s Connection to Text  Making Meaning of Stated and Implied Text  Inference Lesson Seeds</p><p> b. Facts, Opinions and Biases……………………………………... 39 c. Generalizations and Conclusions……………………………… 40  Drawing Conclusions from Informational Text  Strategies for Teaching Facts, Opinions, and Bias</p><p>IV. Summarization of Informational Texts  Strategies for Teaching Summarization  Summarization Nonfiction Graphic V. Resources…………………………………………………………………..53</p><p>Text-Dependent Questions</p><p> and</p><p>Close Reading of Complex Texts</p><p>Text Complexity</p><p>Definition: Text Complexity includes three components, qualitative dimensions, quantitative measures, and reader and task considerations. </p><p>Qualitative refers to meaning, structure, text features, clarity of the language, and the intended purpose of the text. </p><p>Quantitative refers to word frequency, sentence length and text cohesion. To get a sense of the difficulty of school texts, you have a measure on your computer called the Flesch-Kincaid. This is a tool that is designed to show if a text is easy or difficult to read. When using this tool, you will receive a readability formula called Lexiles. www.lexile.com</p><p>Reader and task considerations refer to the students’ cognitive abilities and skills, motivation, prior knowledge, and content/theme considerations.</p><p>Strategies for teaching complex text:</p><p> Challenge students to struggle with the text.</p><p> Encourage use of context clues and structural analysis of vocabulary.</p><p> Teach the reading/writing connection by having students practice variations in their writing to match the complexities of what they are reading.</p><p> Model and teach critical thinking skills to understand complex text.</p><p> Adjust instruction to accommodate reading issues as students read more complex text.</p><p> Encourage independent reading outside the classroom to increase comprehension and vocabulary.</p><p>(Adapted from http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/reading/why-and-how-to- teach-complex-text/)</p><p>1 Qualitative Dimensions of Text Complexity* Information al Text**</p><p>Text Structure Complex Mostly Complex Mostly Simple Simple  Complex/implicit/unconventional  Some complexities and  Primarily simple and conventional;  Simple/explicit/conventional informational structures unconventionality; more implicit more explicit than implicit informational text structures  If present, illustrations/graphics/text than explicit  If present, illustrations/graphics/text  If present, illustrations/graphics/text features are sophisticated, essential  If present, illustrations/graphics/text features enhance reader’s features are unnecessary or to understanding, and provide features are sophisticated, may be understanding and supplement supplementary to understanding the information not otherwise conveyed in essential to understanding, and understanding of the text text the text provide information not otherwise conveyed in the text Language Conventionality and Clarity Complex Mostly Complex Mostly Simple Simple  Complex sentence structures  Primarily complex sentence  Primarily simple sentence structures  Simple sentence structures.  Strongly employs the use of irony, structures with modest use of complex  Literal language abstract, and/or figurative language  Employs the use of irony, abstract, structures  Clear, contemporary, familiar,  Complex language (generally and/or figurative language  Predominantly literal language with and/or conversational language unfamiliar, archaic, ambiguous, and/or  Moderately complex language moderate use of figurative language  Simple vocabulary purposefully misleading) (generally unfamiliar, archaic, and/or irony  Sophisticated use of vocabulary that is ambiguous, and/or purposefully  Primarily clear, contemporary, multi-meaning, connotative, misleading) familiar, and/or conversational conceptual, academic, and domain-  Some sophisticated vocabulary that language specific is multi-meaning, connotative,  Largely simple vocabulary with conceptual, academic, and domain- moderate use of vocabulary that is specific multi-meaning, connotative, conceptual, academic, and/or domain-specific Levels of Meaning or Purpose Complex Mostly Complex Mostly Simple Simple  Subtle, implied, difficult to determine  Implied but fairly easy to infer  Implied but easy to identify theme  Explicitly stated theme and/or theme and/or purpose theme and/or purpose and/or purpose based upon context purpose  Sophisticated, multiple themes and  Multiple themes and perspectives  Primarily single themes and  Single themes and perspectives perspectives  Perspectives and experiences perspectives  Familiar perspectives and common  Perspectives and experiences uncommon to most readers  Perspectives and experiences everyday experiences distinctly different from the common  Inter-textuality (some references common to many readers  No inter-textuality (no references reader to/citations of other texts)  Moderate inter-textuality (few to/citations of other texts)  High inter-textuality (many references references to/citations of other to/citations of other texts) texts) Knowledge Demands Complex Mostly Complex Mostly Simple Simple  Requires extensive and specialized  Requires specialized experiences  Requires everyday knowledge with  Requires everyday knowledge 2 Qualitative Dimensions of Text Complexity* Information al Text**</p><p> experiences and knowledge and knowledge modest experiences  Requires familiarity with genre   Requires a depth of discipline-specific  Requires some discipline-specific Requires some discipline-specific conventions content knowledge content knowledge content knowledge *This tool should be used for all instructional text in grades 3 and above and for read-alouds only in PreK through Grade 2. **Informational text in the Common Core includes literary non-fiction.</p><p>3 Qualitative Dimensions of Text Complexity* Litera ture</p><p>Text Structure Complex Mostly Complex Mostly Simple Simple  Complex/implicit/unconventional literary  Some complexities and  Primarily simple and conventional;  Simple/explicit/conventional literary structures unconventionality; more implicit more explicit than implicit text structures  Frequent manipulations of time and than explicit  No major shift in time; may use minor  Chronological sequence sequence  Several major shift in time/use of flashback, but primarily chronological  No shifts in point of view  Many shifts in point of view flashback  Few, if any, shifts in point of view  Occasional shifts in point of view Language Conventionality and Clarity Complex Mostly Complex Mostly Simple Simple  Complex sentence structures  Primarily complex sentence  Mostly simple sentence structures with  Simple sentence structures  Sophisticated use of figurative language, structures modest use of complex structures  Literal language irony, allegory, and/or abstract language  Use of figurative language, irony,  Predominantly literal language with  Contemporary, familiar, and/or  Unfamiliar, archaic, ambiguous, and/or allegory, and/or abstract language moderate use of figurative language conversational language purposefully misleading language usage  Use of unfamiliar, archaic, and/or irony  Simple vocabulary  Sophisticated use of vocabulary that is ambiguous, and/or purposefully  Mostly contemporary, familiar, and multi-meaning, connotative, conceptual, misleading language usage conversational language academic, and domain-specific  Some sophisticated vocabulary that  Largely simple vocabulary with is multi-meaning, connotative, moderate use of vocabulary that is conceptual, academic, and domain- multi-meaning, connotative, specific conceptual, academic, and/or domain- specific Levels of Meaning Complex Mostly Complex Mostly Simple Simple  Subtle, implied, difficult to determine  Implied but fairly easy to infer theme  Implied but easy to identify theme  Explicitly stated theme and/or theme and/or purpose and/or purpose and/or purpose based upon context purpose  Sophisticated, multiple themes and  Multiple themes and perspectives  Primarily single themes and  Single themes and perspectives perspectives  Some unfamiliar, opposing perspectives  Familiar common everyday  Multiple, unfamiliar, opposing perspectives and/or experiences  Primarily common experiences and/or experiences or clearly fantastical perspectives and/or experiences  Frequent references/allusions, moderate use of fantastical situations situations  Sophisticated references/allusions, enhance understanding  References/allusions, if used are  No references/allusions essential to understanding commonly known Knowledge Demands Complex Mostly Complex Mostly Simple Simple  Extensive depth of cultural and literary  Depth of cultural and literary  A modest knowledge of cultures and  Requires only everyday knowledge knowledge promotes understanding knowledge enhances understanding genres enhances understanding and familiar genres  If present, illustrations are sophisticated,  If present, illustrations are  If present, illustrations enhance  If present, illustrations/graphics/text essential to understanding, and provide sophisticated, may be essential to reader’s understanding and features are unnecessary to information not otherwise conveyed in understanding, and provide supplement understanding of the text understanding the text the text information not otherwise conveyed 4 Qualitative Dimensions of Text Complexity* Litera ture</p><p> in the text *This tool should be used for all instructional text in grades 3 and above and for read-alouds only in PreK through Grade 2.</p><p>5 Reader and Task Considerations for Text Complexity</p><p>Cognitive Capabilities Discussion/Comments To what degree . . .  do the readers possess the attention span necessary to read and comprehend the text?  will the readers be able to remember and make connections among the various details presented in the text?  do readers possess the critical/analytical thinking skills necessary to understand the relationships between and among the various parts of the text?  can the text be sufficiently scaffolded to overcome any deficits in cognitive capabilities? Reading Skills To what degree . . .  do the readers possess the necessary reading skills (foundational skills, inferencing, questioning, comprehension strategies) to understand and make connections in the text?  can the text be sufficiently scaffolded to overcome any deficits in reading skills? Motivation and Engagement with Task and Text To what degree . . .  will the readers be interested in the content of the text?  will the readers be interested in and engaged with the style of writing and/or the presentation of ideas within the text?  will the readers be able to understand the purpose for reading the text, which might shift over the course of the reading experience (i.e., skimming, studying to retain content, close reading, etc.)?  can sufficient motivation be developed to increase the reader’s enthusiasm and engagement with the task and text? Prior Knowledge and Experience To what degree . . .  do the readers possess adequate prior knowledge of and/or experience with the topic, the vocabulary, the genre, the language (i.e., syntax, diction, rhetoric) of the text?  can connections be made between the content of the text and other learning experiences?  can deficits in prior knowledge of and/or experience with the topic, the vocabulary, the genre, and/or the language be overcome with minimal instructional time? Content and/or Theme Considerations To what degree . . .  does the text contain sensitive issues or topics (e.g., gender-bias, cultural stereotypes, age-bias, sexuality, outdated perceptions, etc.) that some readers may find inappropriate?  does the text contribute to a balance of diversity throughout the course or grade level reading selections?  do the readers possess the maturity to respond appropriately to any potentially sensitive issues or topics?  can potentially sensitive topics or issues be addressed through the creation of a safe classroom environment and open communication with students and parents? Associated Tasks To what degree . . . </p><p>6 Reader and Task Considerations for Text Complexity</p><p> will the characteristics of any tasks and/or questions (complexity, length, relevance, etc,) associated with the text interfere with the reading experience?  do all the tasks and/or questions require the reader to stay grounded in the text?</p><p>7 Lesson Seeds for Text Complexity A lesson seed is found at the objective level and is an idea for a lesson. Lesson seeds are not necessarily meant to take an entire class period. The seed is directly aligned with an objective and ranges in cognitive demand. The sequential development of the lesson idea may begin at a lower level of cognitive demand and then evolve into a higher level of cognitive demand. Teachers may use the entire seed or only a portion of a seed based upon the capability of their classes. </p><p>Lesson Seed: Modeling Annotation Description: Teachers collect informational passages that demonstrate a variety of writing styles. The collection includes samples of text that use formal/informal language, simple, disconnected sentences or long, complex ones, sentence fragments, a variety of tones, a consistent use of language in a particular manner, etc. The teacher models the reading of an informational passage, stopping to indicate specific uses of language. Teacher and students discuss how well the way the author uses language fits the topic, helps a reader construct meaning, is a hindrance to constructing meaning, helps relay the author's attitude toward the subject etc. This modeling and discussion should be exercised multiple times since the styles of informational passages can differ widely. Only after a variety of texts have been modeled should students work independently of the teacher. Then, ideally, each student should have a disposable copy of the text which he/she can highlight/mark for style elements and then make judgments about their use.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Focusing on Word Choice Description: Provide students with individual copies of "Sharebots" a grade 8 informational passage available through the online Toolkit. First have students read the passage silently. Next, instruct students that this author consistently uses sentence construction that includes appositives, dashes, and the words like, just as, and such as to provide explanatory information to help a reader frame information about robots and put ideas into terms that are more accessible to a reader. Following this explanation, students should reread "Sharebots" and highlight those particular sentence portions where these explanations occur. Next, both the teacher and students should focus on each example of sentence construction and determine how that construction specifically assists a reader in constructing meaning from the text</p><p>(Adapted from http://mdk12.org/instruction/lessons/reading)</p><p>8 General Close Reading Practices</p><p>Text Genre General Close Reading Practices Non-Fiction/Informational 1. Activate prior knowledge.</p><p>2. Know characteristics of text such as bold print, illustrations, graphs and tables.</p><p>3. Read the first and last line of each paragraph carefully.</p><p>4. Take notes or highlight/underline key words and phrases.</p><p>5. Make comparisons and contrasts. </p><p>6. Determine the author’s purpose. </p><p>7. Determine the writer’s opinion or attitude concerning the subject.</p><p>9 Close Reading of Informational Text</p><p>Definition: Close Reading is the careful, sustained analysis of any text that focuses on significant details or patterns and that typically examines some aspect of the text’s form, craft, meaning, etc. It can be viewed as the reader looking at text through a magnifying glass. Close reading provides the building block for a larger analysis leading to a spoken or written response.</p><p>How is Close Reading Used?</p><p>There is no formula for close reading. </p><p>The reader often begins by asking questions about the text itself, focusing on the text type, its organization, and the author’s purpose. While questions about tone, language, or vocabulary apply to most texts, if not all texts, questions about procedure or claims would be more discipline specific.</p><p>Close reading is not intended to be used with every text a student reads. Close reading is purposeful and leads to a larger analysis. Usually the larger analysis is a written or oral response.</p><p>Providing opportunities for students to practice close reading in all content areas will allow students to acquire analytical reading skills necessary when independently reading unfamiliar and diverse text.</p><p>Planning for Close Reading</p><p> What support do my students need before they begin reading?  What support do my students need before reading each chapter/section?  What strategies will assist them to read the text with purpose and clarity?  How can I encourage a second reading to facilitate deeper reading?  Which collaborative activities will help deepen their understanding?  How can I help students to see the relevance this text plays in their world?</p><p>Strategies for Close Reading</p><p> Silent Exchange-After reading a passage or chapter, students work in groups of five with each person in the group creating an open-ended question, not questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Questions should be written. Students then pass question to next person, and there is no talking. Students have two minutes to write a response to the question, and then the paper is passed to the next person until the rotation is complete.</p><p>10  Trouble Slips-On a piece of paper, students take notes of where they are having difficulty in the text as they read. Afterwards, the students are placed in groups and asked to share what they wrote with their peers. As a group, the students discuss and work through the difficult parts of the text.</p><p>(Adapted from Deeper Reading by Kelly Gallagher. Stenhouse Publishers, 2004)</p><p>Question Stems for Close Reading Informational Texts</p><p> What clues show you …  Point to the evidence…  How does the author describe X in paragraph X? What are the exact words?  What reasons does the book give for X? Where are they?  Share a sentence that (tells you what the text is about/describes X/gives a different point of view)  What is the purpose of paragraph X? What are the clues that tell you this?  What does the author think about X? Why do you think so—what is your evidence?  What do you predict will happen next? What are the clues that make you think so?</p><p>(Adapted from Race to the Top/Strategies for Close Reading)</p><p>11 Lesson Seeds for Close Reading A lesson seed is found at the objective level and is an idea for a lesson. Lesson seeds are not necessarily meant to take an entire class period. The seed is directly aligned with an objective and ranges in cognitive demand. The sequential development of the lesson idea may begin at a lower level of cognitive demand and then evolve into a higher level of cognitive demand. Teachers may use the entire seed or only a portion of a seed based upon the capability of their classes.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Predict and Confirm Purpose for Reading Description: Students preview an informational text. With a partner, students identify a purpose for a close reading of the same text. After reading, student partners complete a chart to determine if the text fulfilled their purpose for reading. Once the chart work is complete, students should share their findings with the rest of the class.</p><p>Title of Text Purpose for Reading Did the text meet the purpose? Text Support</p><p>As an extension, if the text does not fulfill the student's stated purpose, a determination can be made about what purpose is met.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Find Evidence to Support Purpose for Reading (Different Purposes for Same Text) Description: The teacher supplies students with an informational text and three purposes that the text may fulfill. Students are divided into three groups with each group being instructed to read the same text but with a different purpose in mind. After reading is complete, within the three groups, students should be paired. The pair of students determines to what degree the text met the stated purpose and finds text support to justify their answer. In full class discussion students determine if all or none of the three given purposes were met, and if all three were met, to what degree did each fulfill the purpose for reading.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Find Evidence to Support Purpose for Reading (Different Texts for Same Purpose) Description: Prior to this activity, the teacher makes available several different types of informational texts. Students will work in small groups with each group receiving a different informational text. Each member within the group will receive the same text to read with the same specific purpose. After reading is complete, group members discuss how effectively the text was organized to fulfill the purpose for reading. Group members can offer suggestions about additional features the author could have employed to boost the effectiveness of the text for the stated reading purpose. Each group records findings on a large sheet of </p><p>12 newsprint detailing the title of the text, their recommendations, and reasons for those recommendations. Once each group's work is complete, the texts and its newsprint review will rotate among the groups. A class discussion that compares and contrasts the texts and their fulfillment of purpose culminates the activity.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Determining Purpose Based on Text Features Description: Students are paired for this activity. Ideally, each pair of students is given a different informational text and a stated purpose for reading the assigned text. The student partners develop a plan to determine if the text meets the stated purpose for reading. At no point should the student partners actually read the text. Instead, they should preview the text's features taking into account all possible leads to determining the fulfillment of purpose. For example, the student partners note the title, any bold print, italicized print, boxed text, graphics etc…A sample student plan might look like the following… To determine if ______fulfills the purpose for reading I need to examine</p><p>Feature Notes Title Boxed Text Drawings </p><p>Once the student partners have created a specific plan for their assigned text, the plans are exchanged. Next, the partners follow the plan created for them to determine how well the text meets the stated purpose for reading. An exchange of completed plans and discussion about them between the two sets of partners culminate this activity.</p><p>(Adapted from http://mdk12.org/instruction/lessons/reading)</p><p>13 Rubric for Close Reading Name: ______</p><p>ANALYTICAL READING RUBRIC</p><p>Students will develop the ability to read analytically. </p><p>Comprehension</p><p>5. Demonstrates ability to independently identify and explain main ideas/themes of the assigned text(s); adopts critical reading techniques to discover underlying meanings and raise important related questions and issues.</p><p>4.</p><p>3. Demonstrates ability to adjust reading technique according to the requirements of the assigned text(s) with limited instructional support; identifies and accurately paraphrases main ideas/themes.</p><p>2.</p><p>1. Shows little ability to vary reading technique according to the requirements of the assigned text; tends to read for literal meaning only; reads more for information than understanding.</p><p>Making Connections</p><p>5. Needs no instructional support to understand the connections between major ideas and supporting points, between an entire work and its parts, and between ideas drawn from diverse sources including personal experience and/or prior knowledge.</p><p>4.</p><p>3. Needs only minimal instructional support to understand the connections between major ideas and supporting points and between an entire work and its parts.</p><p>2.</p><p>1. Fails to see the connections between major ideas and supporting points, between an entire work and its parts and between information and ideas from multiple written sources. </p><p>14</p><p>Evaluation</p><p>5. Insightfully analyzes texts in terms of the writer’s assumptions, biases, and makes inferences; carefully evaluates the logic and accuracy of the writer’s evidence.</p><p>4.</p><p>3. Identifies the most critical assumptions, biases, and makes inferences in written material; distinguishes between the factual information and the author’s interpretation of that information; shows some ability to evaluate the logic and accuracy of the writer’s evidence.</p><p>2.</p><p>1. Fails to identify writer’s assumptions, biases, and makes inferences; does not distinguish between the topic and the author’s opinion of the topic; shows little ability to evaluate the logic and accuracy of the writer’s evidence.</p><p>Score: ______</p><p>15 A Guide to Creating Text-Dependent Questions for Close Analytic Reading</p><p>Text-Dependent Questions: What Are They?</p><p>The Common Core State Standards for reading strongly focus on students gathering evidence, knowledge, and insight from what they read. </p><p>A text-dependent question specifically asks a question that can only be answered by referring explicitly back to the text being read. Text-dependent questions rely on the text itself and what is directly stated within the text. It does not require that the student have background knowledge or other experiences to relate back to the text.</p><p>Text-Dependent Questions:  Can only be answered with evidence from the text  Can be literal (checking for understanding) and must involve analysis, synthesis, and evaluation  Focus on word, sentence, and paragraph, as well as larger ideas, themes, or events  Focus on difficult portions of the text in order to enhance reading proficiency  Can include prompts for writing and discussion questions.</p><p>Three types of Text-Dependent Questions:  Questions that assess themes and central ideas  Questions that assess knowledge of vocabulary  Questions that assess syntax and structure</p><p>For example, in a close analytic reading of Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” the following would not be text-dependent questions:</p><p> Why did the North fight the civil war?  Have you ever been to a funeral or gravesite?  Lincoln says that the nation is dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal.” Why is equality an important value to promote?</p><p>These are not text-dependent questions because they require no familiarity at all with Lincoln’s speech in order to answer them. Responding to these sorts of questions requires students to go outside of the text. These questions can be tempting to ask because they are likely to get students talking, but they take students away from considering the actual point Lincoln is making. These questions usually require a personal response that relies on individual experience and opinion, and answering them will not move students closer to understanding the text of the “Gettysburg Address”.</p><p>16 Non-Examples and Examples:</p><p>Not Text-Dependent Text-Dependent • In “Casey at the Bat” Casey strikes What makes Casey’s experiences at out. bat humorous? Describe a time when you failed at something.</p><p>• In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. What can you infer from King’s letter King discusses nonviolent protest. about the letter that he received? Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair.</p><p>• In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln “The Gettysburg Address” mentions says the nation is dedicated to the the year 1776. According to Lincoln’s proposition that all men are created speech, why is this year significant to equal. the events described in the speech? Why is equality an important value to promote?</p><p>Good text-dependent questions will often linger over specific phrases and sentences to ensure careful comprehension of the text. They help students see something worthwhile that they would not have seen on a more cursory reading. Typical text-dependent questions ask students to perform one or more of the following tasks:</p><p> Analyze paragraphs on a sentence-by-sentence basis and sentences on a word by word basis to determine the role played by individual paragraphs, sentences, phrases, or words.  Investigate how meaning can be altered by changing key words and why an author may have chosen one word over another.  Probe each argument in persuasive text, each idea in informational text, each key detail in literary text, and observe how these build to a whole  Examine how shifts in the direction of an argument or explanation are achieved and the impact of these shifts  Question why authors choose to begin and end when they do  Note and assess patterns of writing and what they achieve  Consider what the text leaves uncertain or unstated</p><p>17 Creating Text-Dependent Questions</p><p>Step One: Identify the core understandings and key ideas of the text. Start by identifying the key insights that you want the students to understand from the text, keeping an eye on the major points in order to construct successful questions.</p><p>Step Two: Start small to build confidence. The opening questions should be ones that help orientate the students to the text and be sufficiently specific enough for them to answer so that they can gain confidence to tackle more difficult questions later on.</p><p>Step Three: Target vocabulary and text structure. Locate key text structures and the most powerful academic words in the text that are connected to the key ideas and understandings, and craft questions that make these connections.</p><p>Step Four: Tackle Tough Sections Head-On. Find sections of the text that will present the greatest difficulty and craft questions that support students in mastering these sections (these could be sections with difficult syntax, particularly dense information, tricky transitions or places that offer a variety of possible inferences).</p><p>Step Five: Create Coherent Sequences of Text-Dependent Questions. The sequence of questions should not be random, but should build toward more coherent understanding and analysis to ensure that students learn how to stay focused on the text to bring them to a gradual understanding of its meaning.</p><p>Step Six: Identify the Standards that are being addressed. Take notice of what standards are being addressed in the series of questions and decide if any other standards are suited to being a focus for this text (forming additional questions that exercise those standards).</p><p>Step Seven: Create the Culminating Assessment. Develop a culminating activity around the key ideas or understandings identified earlier that reflects (a) mastery of one or more of the standards, (b) involves writing, (c) is structured to be completed by students independently.</p><p>(Adapted from achievethecore.org)</p><p>18 19 Vocabulary and Text-Dependent Questions</p><p>Which words should be taught?  Words essential to understanding the text  Words likely to appear in future readings</p><p>Which words should get more time attention?  More abstract words (as opposed to concrete words)</p><p>Example: persist vs. checkpoint Noticed vs. accident</p><p> Words that are part of semantic word family</p><p>Example: secure, securely, security, secured</p><p>Structure and Text-Dependent Questions:</p><p>Text-dependent questions can be crafted to direct students’ attention to features of text that enhance understanding (such as how section headers and captions lead to greater clarity or provide hints regarding what is most important in informational text, or how illustrations add to a narrative).</p><p>Examples: Look at the illustration on page 31. Why did the illustrator include details like the power outlets in the walls?</p><p>Dillard is careful to place opposing descriptions of the natural and man-made side-by-side. How does this juxtaposition fit with or challenge what we have already read? Why might she have chosen this point in the text for these descriptions?</p><p>Syntax and Text-Dependent Questions:</p><p> Syntax can predict a student’s performance as vocabulary does.  Questions and tasks addressing syntax are very important.</p><p>Example: Who are the members of the wolf pack? How many wolves are in the pack? To answer this, pay close attention to the use of commas and semi- colons in the last paragraph on pg. 377. The semicolons separate or list each member in the pack.</p><p>Reading Strategies and Text-Dependent Questions:</p><p> Text-dependent questions generally ask for students to employ reading strategies.  Strategies are no longer taught in isolation.</p><p>20  The text and readers’ need to comprehend should determine what strategies are activated.  Listening and speaking should be built into any sequence of activities, along with reading and writing.</p><p>(Adapted from R/ELA.MSDE and achievethecore.org)</p><p>21 Vocabulary</p><p>22 Tier Words</p><p>Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan (2002, 2008) have outlined a useful model for conceptualizing categories of words readers encounter in texts and for understanding the instructional and learning challenges that words in each category present. They describe three levels, or tiers, of words in terms of the words’ commonality and applicability. While the term tier may connote a hierarchy, the reality is that all three tiers of words are vital to comprehension and vocabulary development, although learning tier two and three words typically requires more deliberate effort than does learning tier one words as they are specific to the world of academia and can be referred to as academic vocabulary.</p><p>Terminology Defined:  Tier One words: o are the words of everyday speech usually learned in the early grades o not considered a challenge to the average native speaker </p><p> Tier Two words: o the Standards refer to as general academic words o are far more likely to appear in written texts than in speech o they appear in all sorts of texts: informational texts, technical texts and literary texts o often represent subtle or precise ways to say relatively simple things</p><p> Tier Three words: o the Standards refer to as domain-specific words o are specific to a domain or field of study and key to understanding a new concept within a text o are far more common in informational texts than in literature. </p><p>(Adapted from: Common Core State Standards for English Language Art & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects; Appendix A)</p><p>23 Using Word Parts to Unlock Meaning </p><p>Prefix- A word part added to the beginning of a root or base word to create a new meaning (i.e., regain, incomplete) </p><p>Here are some common prefixes. The meaning of each prefix is shown, as well as words that can be formed by adding the prefix to root/base words. </p><p>Prefix Meaning of Prefix Words Formed Using the Prefix re again replay, resend, replace hyper over hyperactive, hypersensitive, hyperventilate un not unclear, unsure, undecided tri three triangle, tricycle, tri-weekly pre before prepay, prepackage, predate mis wrong misconduct, misspell, misunderstand sub below subway, substandard, submarine</p><p>Adding these prefixes to many root words to form new words can expand vocabulary.</p><p>Prefix Meaning Prefix Meaning ante before auto self bi two circum around equi equal im not hypo under inter between neo new omni all poly many retro backward semi half trans across</p><p>24 Using Word Parts to Unlock Meaning </p><p>Suffix- A word part that is added to the end of a root word Noun Suffix Meaning Example -acy state or quality privacy -al act or process of refusal -ance, -ence state or quality of maintenance, eminence -dom place or state of being freedom, kingdom -er, -or one who trainer, protector -ism doctrine, belief communism -ist one who chemist -ity, -ty quality of sincerity -ment condition of argument -ness state of being heaviness -ship position held fellowship -sion, -tion state of being concession, transition</p><p>Verb Suffixes Meaning Example -ate become eradicate -en become enlighten -ify, -fy make or become terrify -ize, -ise become civilize</p><p>Adjective Suffixes Meaning Example -able, -ible capable of being edible, presentable -al pertaining to regional -esque reminiscent of statuesque -ful notable for fanciful -ic, -ical pertaining to musical, mythic -ious, -ous characterized by nutritious, outrageous -ish having the quality of childish -ive having the nature of creative -less without endless</p><p>25 Using Word Parts to Unlock Meaning - Academic Vocabulary</p><p>Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning pre- before -less without -ful full of un- not -ous quality of pseudo false/fake im- not re- again de- away/down in- not mis- wrongly inter between dis- not co- with/together intra within non- not col- with/together med middle -er person who com- with/together ped child -or person who con- with/together post after -ist person who -able able to crypt hide bene good -ible able to mal bad</p><p>ART - Tier Three Words Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning contra against chrom color cura care form shape graph write -ity quality of -ism belief of photo light proto first scrib write sculp carve struct build tact touch text weave</p><p>HEALTH – Tier Three Words Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning auto- self anti- against bene- good be- make for- prohibit eu- good col- with pro- for neo- new dis- opposite self- self meta- change enter- among -age process -ary place for mis- bad pan- all with- back, away</p><p>MUSIC - Tier Three Words Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning mono one syl- together grad step uni- one demi- half meter measure bi- two -mony product phon sound du- two -ial relating to scend climb tri- three cede go, yield sol alone equi- equal chron time voc voice mid- middle domin master</p><p>26 CAREER & TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION- Tier Three Words *depending on the specific career cluster Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning inter- among -ics system struct build intra- within -ment process sum highest macro- large -oid resembling term end micro- small -ose full of var different multi- many -wise reference ver truth mono- one -ize to make nano- billionth numer number</p><p>MATHEMATICS - Tier Three Words Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning mono one dec ten poly many uni- one graph write cent 100/.01 bi- two trans across milli 1000/.001 du- two meter/metr measure hemi half tri- three chrono time semi half quad four cycl circle demi half pent five mega very large circum around quint five graph write dia through oct eight trans across hemi half</p><p>SOCIAL STUDIES - Tier Three Words Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning geo earth graph write demo people trans across sub under chrono time dict speak port carry cent 100 hemi half terra earth cycl circle semi half anti against acro top/apex demi half mar sea paleo early ante before</p><p>SCIENCE - Tier Three Words Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning Word Part Meaning ology study of graph write phobia fear of bio life phon sound trans across geo earth son sound hydro water therm heat audi hear aqua water sub under derm skin meter/metr measure pod/ped foot/feet mega very large chrono time dent tooth/teeth port carry opt eye micro very small terra earth hemi half arium place manu hand semi half duct lead anti against demi half tele far auto self phot light cycl circle zo animal pater/part father</p><p>27 Unfamiliar Words and Words with Multiple Meanings</p><p>Choosing a definition for a word that has several meanings depends upon how the word is used in a sentence. </p><p>When determining meaning for unfamiliar words or words with multiple meanings consider…</p><p>1. Deduction – What is the sentence about? The unknown word relates to which words in the sentence?</p><p>2. Part of Speech - Which part of speech is the unknown word? Is it a verb, noun, preposition, adjective, time expression, or something else?</p><p>3. Chunking - What do the words around the unknown word(s) mean? How could the unknown word(s) relate to those words? </p><p>4. Vocabulary Activation - When quickly skimming through the text, what does the text seem to be about? Does the layout (design) of the text give any clues? Does the publication or type of book give any clues to what the text might be about? Which words can you think of that belong to this vocabulary category?</p><p>5. Past Experience/Prior Knowledge – What do you already know about this topic?</p><p>(Adapted from http://esl.about.com/od/readinglessonplans/a/l_readcontext.htm)</p><p>28 Comprehension Strategies</p><p>29 Making Inferences</p><p>Prior Knowledge + Textual Evidence = Inference</p><p>Reading Standard 1 of the Common Core highlights the importance of reading closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. </p><p>Inferential questions require readers to find answers not explicitly stated in the text. In order to answer an inferential question, the reader must make connections between his or her prior knowledge and evidence from the text. The reader must also realize that additional information may either confirm or reject his or her inference.</p><p>Does additional information confirm, reject, Question Text Prior Inference or provide no Evidence Knowledge further evidence for inference?</p><p>What is The author Words such Because the After reading author’s says “____” as _____ and author says further, it is clear attitude (tone) and “_____.” _____ “____” and that the author’s toward his/her typically “____,” his attitude is subject? indicate attitude actually ______. toward the because his subject is one word choice of ______. shifts from ____ to ____. </p><p>30 Strategies for Teaching Inference (*Strategies in the Howard County’s Instructional Strategies Database: http://media.howard.k12.md.us/newcode/strategies/Strategies.php) </p><p>Strategy: Anticipation / Reaction Guides* Description: Students are asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with a list of statements about the topic of a lesson. These statements may be informational (some true and some false), or they may express opinions about the topic. Student responses provide information for both teacher and students about the level and accuracy of their prior knowledge. The guide can be revisited after teaching for students to correct any misunderstandings or to express changed opinions and attitudes. Reason: In order to access prior knowledge before students read the text, teachers can use an anticipation guide that students revisit during the text. For example, all of the statements on the anticipation guide can deal with theme. That way, when the theme emerges within the text, students have already considered its application in real life. </p><p>Strategy: When I Question by Rachel Billmeyer, author of Strategies to Engage the Mind of the Learner Description: According to Rachel Billymeyer, students complete certain actions when they question. The actions she lists are: search, ask, investigate, challenge, quarrel with, examine, doubt, quibble, explore, inquire, probe, seek information, and dispute. </p><p>Additionally, Billmeyer suggests that young readers learning how to make inferences should ask themselves the following questions as they read: What questions do I have about the topic? What does the author mean. . .? What am I thinking as I read the material? What clues from the story/passage help me understand the meaning? What is the big idea from this story/passage? </p><p>For this strategy teachers are showing students how to ask questions when they read. To teach this strategy, teachers can begin with a high-interest text and ask students (in pairs or independently) to be in charge of a particular verb (explore, doubt, dispute, etc.) as they read. For differentiation, the teacher might deliberately choose certain verbs for specific students or direct students even further (What should they explore? What should they doubt? What should they dispute?). When they finish questioning the text, students can come together as a class or in jigsaw groups in order to share their questions. To practice this strategy, teachers can provide students with the list of actions they should perform as they read a particular text. Eventually with enough practice, students should know which actions to perform when they question. </p><p>31 Reason: Sometimes, teachers ask students to ask questions as they read; unfortunately, some students claim that they do not understand any of the text, so they have no inferential questions to ask. This strategy provides students with the tools to successfully question a given text. </p><p>Strategy: Think Aloud* Description: Using excerpts from the current text, read the text and Think-Aloud your inferences; annotate the passage in order to connect the clues that helped you infer the meaning. For example, link pronouns to their antecedents. Locate context clues that help define unknown words. Model how you added details to help you picture events described in your excerpt. Reason: Just as the When I Question strategy teaches students how to question, the Think Aloud strategy teaches students how to annotate the text and perform a close reading, which obviously involves making inferences. </p><p>Strategy: QAR: Question-Answer Relationships (Worksheet Provided)* Description: This metacognitive strategy helps students understand that there is a relationship between a question, a text, and the background of the reader. QAR provides a four-part framework for helping students understand that questions about text will be answered either by what is in the text or by what they already know through their own experience. Four Parts  Attributes of Level I Questions 1. The answer is usually contained in one sentence and is easy to locate. 2. Often the same words that make up the answer are found in the question. 3. Question stems often begin with:  When is/was... ?  Who is/was... ?  What is/was... ?  Where is/was... ? 4. The reader only needs literal thinking to answer the question. Attributes of Level II Questions 1. The answer is found in more than one place. The parts must be put together to answer the question. 2. The words in the question may or may not be the same words used to answer the question. 3. Certain words—including pointer/signal words, plurals, and conjunctions—indicate that the answer is in more than one place. 4. Question stems often begin with:  Contrast...  Explain...  What were... ?  Compare...  Summarize... Attributes of Level III Questions 1. The reader must read the text to answer the question (text-dependent)</p><p>32 2. The reader must use inferential thinking in order to answer the question. 3. Question stems often begin with:  How can you conclude... ?  How can you tell... ?  What biases or beliefs are... ?  How do you know... ?  Who does ______remind you of... ? Note: The word you is often used in Level III questions. 4. The reader relies on prior knowledge and experience. 5. The reader must look for clues and evidence (prove the answer with details). 6. The reader must read between the lines as the answer is not explicit in the text. 7. The reader only needs literal thinking to answer the question. Attributes of Level IV Questions 1. The reader need not read the text in order to answer the question. 2. The reader must use inferential thinking. 3. Question stems often begin with:  Do you believe... ?  How do you know... ?  How would you... ?  Have you ever... ? Note: The word you is often used in Level IV questions. 4. The reader relies on prior knowledge and experiences. 5. The reader must use his own ideas and opinions to answer the questions. Reason: QAR serves teachers as a means of framing, planning, and instructing students in reading comprehension and questioning activities. QAR can help students to be successful when generating and answering questions, it facilitates reasoning skills, and it can help to promote reading across the content areas.</p><p>33 Terminology Defined: Prior Knowledge and Textual Evidence</p><p>PRIOR KNOWLEDGE can be explained as a combination of the learner's preexisting attitudes, experiences, and knowledge:</p><p>1. Attitudes  Beliefs about ourselves as learners/readers  Awareness of our individual interests and strengths  Motivation and our desire to read 2. Experiences  Everyday activities that relate to reading  Events in our lives that provide background understanding  Family and community experiences that we bring to school with us 3. Knowledge of  the reading process itself  content (literature, science, and math)  topics (fables, photosynthesis, fractions)  concepts (main idea, theory, numeration)  different types of style and form (fiction and nonfiction)  text structure (narrative or expository)  the academic and personal goals</p><p>TEXTUAL EVIDENCE requires the reader to return to the text in order to support his or her response to a question. </p><p>1. Text Features such as  Illustrations (photos, drawings, magnification)  Organizational Aids (bold print, italics, titles, headings, captions, labels, and sidebars)  Graphic Aids (diagrams, flow diagrams, sketches, comparisons, graphs, figures, maps, charts/tables, cross-sections, overlays, and timelines) 2. Style features such as  Rhyme Scheme  Repetition  Word Choice  Syntax  Organizational  Punctuation Structure 3. Direct Quotations from the text 4. Paraphrased Information </p><p>Prior Knowledge Information Adapted from The Strategic Teaching and Reading Project Guidebook (Kujawa & Huske, 1995).</p><p>34 Reader’s Connection to Text</p><p>Topic</p><p>What I Know What I Want to What I Learned Know </p><p>Inferences Made:</p><p>35 36 Making Meaning From Stated and Implied Text</p><p>Question-Answer Relationship or QAR (Raphael, 1982; 1986) is a great way to help students answer questions based on a given text. Students use textual evidence to substantiate textual claims, as well as draw conclusions and make inferences based on explicit and implied information. The model has been revised in order to better reflect Common Core goals. </p><p>Right There Questions</p><p>Right There questions require the reader to return to the passage to find the correct information to answer the question. These are sometimes called literal questions because the correct answer can be found somewhere in the text. These questions are not inferential, but their answers can help a reader answer an inferential question.  Who?  What?  Where?  When? </p><p>On My Own Questions</p><p>On My Own questions require the reader to think about his/her prior knowledge or experiences in order to make connections to the text.  “Based on the text and your opinion…”  “Based on your experience…”  “Based on your knowledge of…”  “Think about someone/something you know similar to ____ in the text…”</p><p>37  Think and Search Question</p><p>Think and Search questions are inferential and require the reader to connect ideas throughout the text. Answers to the question are not directly stated in the text. The reader will need to look back at the passage, find the information to which that the question refers, and then think about how the information or ideas fit together. </p><p> “The main idea of the passage…”  “What caused…”  “Compare/contrast…”</p><p>Author and Me Questions</p><p>Author and Me questions require the reader to think about an idea which he/she has read and formulate his/her own ideas or opinions.</p><p> “The author implies…”  “The passage suggests…”  “The speaker’s attitude..,”</p><p>38 Inference Lesson Seeds A lesson seed is found at the objective level and is an idea for a lesson. Lesson seeds are not necessarily meant to take an entire class period. The seed is directly aligned with an objective and ranges in cognitive demand. The sequential development of the lesson idea may begin at a lower level of cognitive demand and then evolve into a higher level of cognitive demand. Teachers may use the entire seed or only a portion of a seed based upon the capability of their classes.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Differentiating Between Inferential and Recall Questions Description: To help students differentiate among questions that can be answered directly from the text and those questions that require making inferences, the teacher selects a text that is familiar to students. Next, the teacher develops a series of questions about the text that lie in different levels of questions. A “right there” question is one where the answer is directly stated in the text. An “on my own” question is one that requires a student to think about their prior knowledge or experiences to answer. An “author and me” question requires a student to think about an idea presented in the text and to connect it to their thoughts. A “think and search” question is not directly stated in the text and requires a student to connect ideas throughout the text. To present these levels of questioning to students, the teacher references the text and present each question and explain why it fits within a certain level or category of questions. Next, the teacher supplies students with more questions of different categories about the same text or use a different text with questions. Initially, students should not attempt to answer the questions but should determine the type of question they are and how one should go about answering. Once this information has been shared, students may practice answering the questions. </p><p>Lesson Seed: Modeling Inferences and Backmapping to Find Evidence Description: The teacher selects a text for students to read and determine a series of inferences about the information or details within the text. Next, students read the text. In class discussion, the teacher shares the inferences he/she has drawn and then shows students the portions of the text and his/her prior knowledge or experiences that lead to the inference. Once this reasoning has been modeled multiple times, the teacher gives students inferences about a text and have them support the reasoning and text that supports the inference. Ideally, this is a verbal activity where students think aloud about their ideas. </p><p>Lesson Seed: Making Inferences About Cartoons Description: The teacher can bring in cartoons (or ask students to bring in cartoons) about the unit’s theme. The teacher begins with cartoons about where students have the prior knowledge to make inferences about and move toward including cartoons with which students will struggle. The class engages in a discussion about what prior knowledge viewers need in order to comprehend the cartoon’s message. The teacher has the option to launch a full lesson about the topic, which the difficult-to-interpret cartoon illustrates.</p><p>39 Lesson Seed: It Says, I Say, And So Description: This activity helps to frame a student’s thinking about making inferences from a text. After reading, the teacher proposes a question that requires inferential thinking. The teacher records the question and responses on a chart. From Raymond’s Run Question: Why did Squeaky say that girls don’t really It I And know how to smile at each other? Says: Say: So This format requires a student to return to the text, access his/her own thinking to develop a response. This activity comes from Kylene Beers’s after reading strategies. </p><p>Lesson Seed: Read Aloud Modeling Inferences Description: As a warm-up, the teacher begins one or more class(es) a week by reading aloud a short text excerpt and model making inferences. Eventually, students participate in making inferences. Finally, students lead the warm-up in making inferences about a specific reading passage. If the teacher notices that the anchor text is especially difficult for students, he or she might decide to pull significant passages from the previous night’s reading in order to help students practice making inferences about the excerpt and its contribution to the text as a whole. Note: This lesson seed also helps reinforce close reading as a skill. </p><p>Lesson Seed: Tone in Student-Generated Skits Description: Before this lesson, the teacher reviews strategies for making inferences about an author’s attitude (tone). Students form collaborative groups in which they write and present a skit based on a particular tone or mood word. After students spend 10-15 minutes crafting their skits, they begin presenting their skits to the class who, using inference skills, guess the tone of their scene. In advance, teachers should consider providing students with a list of tone words, preferably words with which students are already familiar. For closure, the teacher reviews how students determined the tone of the skits (examples: listened to voice, paid attention to facial expressions and body movements, and made a mental note of word choice).</p><p>Lesson Seed: Making Inferences About Bumper Stickers and Characters Description: To begin this lesson, the teacher can either bring in (or ask students to bring in) bumper stickers. The teacher can display these under the document camera or on a PowerPoint presentation. The class discusses the difference between what the text says (external) and what the author means (internal). For example, a bumper sticker reads, “Wear short sleeves. Support your right to bare arms.” The external message is to bare your arms by wearing short sleeves, but the internal message, using a play on the homophones bear and bare, alludes to the Second Amendment. </p><p>40 To expand on this lesson, the teacher can focus on the external and internal dialogue in the current text. For example, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the effusive Lady Macbeth tells King Duncan that she and Macbeth are here to serve him. However, the reader recognizes her internal text because of the previous scene in which she speaks of his impending murder. From here, students can infer that she speaks sweetly in order to disguise her motives. “Look like an innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t,” (I.v) of course!</p><p>Focusing on literary elements such as irony and allusion can certainly help students make inferences. </p><p>41 Facts and Opinions</p><p>Facts are statements that can be proven true or verified objectively. Opinions are also statements, but they provide someone’s feelings, beliefs or judgments that cannot be objectively proven true or false. For example, saying, “That man has hair on his head” would be a fact. You can, in fact, prove that he has hair on his head. However, if you said, “The hair on that man’s head is hideous,” that would be an opinion because that is your judgment on his hair. </p><p>Remember that facts and opinions are not opposites. If a fact is proven untrue or false, it does not become an opinion. If everyone has the same opinion of something, it does not make it a fact. </p><p>Facts Opinions  Objective  Subjective (usually)Vary  Can be proven true depending on speaker  Often provide statistics  Can be refuted grounded in legitimate studies  Often use judgment words such  Can be clouded by opinions as ugly, beautiful, best, worst,  Can be used to disguise an horrible, incredible opinion: “This toothpaste is the  Often use key words such as “I best because 80% of all dentists believe,” “I think,” perhaps, in California agree!” probably  Can influence or change a  Sometimes disguised in a fact: person’s opinion “This toothpaste is the best  If the statement is eventually because 80% of all dentists in proven false, then it is an error California agree!” (ex: the statement that the Earth  Cannot change the facts is flat was originally a fact, but it was proven false. It is an error.) </p><p>Bias</p><p>A bias is a prejudiced, personal, often unreasoned judgment. Facts need to be proven objectively; a bias is a subjective perspective on something. Regardless of what you read, you always need to be aware of an author’s bias and your own bias. Though informational texts often include facts, both informational and literary texts can include biased information. </p><p>Informational Texts  Include facts but can manipulate Author can demonstrate bias through those facts to communicate the the use of: author’s opinion  Point of view  Can choose to use facts that  Purpose only support their purpose  Language</p><p>42</p><p>Generalizations and Conclusions</p><p>Conclusion - A decision based on details or facts in a story or article A reader’s conclusion is based solely on the text. The conclusion is not the reader’s personal opinions. FACT + FACT+ FACT + FACT= CONCLUSION</p><p>Generalization-A broad statement about a subject based on provided information</p><p>FACT- Larry likes to dance. FACT- Larry likes to play soccer. FACT- Larry likes to cook. FACT- Larry likes to read CONCLUSION- Larry is a very well-rounded person.</p><p>43 Drawing Conclusions from Informational Text</p><p>Text Fact Text Fact Text Fact Text Fact</p><p>CONCLUSION</p><p>44 Strategies for Teaching Facts, Opinions, and Bias A lesson seed is found at the objective level and is an idea for a lesson. Lesson seeds are not necessarily meant to take an entire class period. The seed is directly aligned with an objective and ranges in cognitive demand. The sequential development of the lesson idea may begin at a lower level of cognitive demand and then evolve into a higher level of cognitive demand. Teachers may use the entire seed or only a portion of a seed based upon the capability of their classes.</p><p>Strategy: Two Facts and an Opinion (spin off of Two Truths and a Lie) Description: Teacher can either run a class game of two facts and an opinion or have students complete the activity in pairs. If students complete it in pairs, the teacher gives the facts and opinions to them or has the students generate them. To complete this strategy, the teacher (or someone) provides two facts and an opinion; the class or the partner has to determine which statements are facts and which are opinions. During or after the activity, students underline the parts of the statements that illustrate why it is either a fact or an opinion. (For example, they have the underline statistics for a fact.) Reason: This assignment provides an informal opportunity for students to create facts and opinions as well as differentiate between the two.</p><p>Strategy: Find Someone Who / Walkabout Review Description: Teacher can create a BINGO board that includes facts (“She has blonde hair.”) and opinions (“I think she has awesome shoes.”). Students have to circulate the classroom in order to find someone who satisfies that criteria; that person will sign the box. Students need to highlight facts and opinions in two different colors. The student who fills in the board and correctly highlights all of the facts and opinions wins. For a literary spin on the activity, teachers can write in quotations that qualify as either a fact or an opinion from the book. In pairs or independently, students must determine: who says the quote/whom the quote is about and highlight facts and opinions two different colors. Reason: The first portion of this assignment works well at the beginning of a unit or the year, especially as a get-to-know-you activity. The second portion of this assignment works well as a review of a text and facts/opinions. These assignments can function in any and all units, so the teacher can continually reinforce the skill of differentiating between facts and opinions.</p><p>Strategy: Webquest Description: The teacher can create or find a webquest that includes advertisements or articles about controversial topics. Students have to evaluate each source for bias. It might be helpful to assign groups to a particular controversial topic (capital punishment, gun control, etc.) and have them peruse teacher-selected or self-selected sources for their credibility based on bias. For example, the group who finds sources on gun control need to see if the source 1.) includes objective facts, 2.) comes from a potentially biased author, 3.) includes propaganda, and 4.) provides more than one side to the issue. Students should be required to record or type examples of bias or objectivity. </p><p>45 Reason: This strategy helps students evaluate resources before beginning a major assignment (project or essay). </p><p>Lesson Seed: Bias in Advertisements (group work) Description: The teacher places students in small groups and provides each group with a folder containing a series of appropriate magazine advertisements. To begin, have students determine the opinion of the product presented in the advertisement. Next, have them determine how the advertisement supports that opinion. Finally, have students compile a series of questions they may have about the product. Next, the teacher selects several of the advertisements for a whole class discussion about the effectiveness of the advertisements and what kind of balance of information, if any, was apparent in its presentation. This procedure can be extended in further sessions to include texts with denser print.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Bias in Database Articles Description: The teacher supplies students with a current newspaper article and editorial about the same topic. The SIRS database is a possible resource for these passages. After reading both selections, students analyze both passages. For the newspaper article, students list all pertinent facts about the topic. For the editorial, students note the author's opinion and all evidence used to support his/her opinion. Next, students note any factual information from the newspaper article, which also appeared in the editorial. Finally, both passages are reviewed side-by-side to determine that the newspaper article is free of opinion while the editorial shows definite opinion. To extend this activity, teacher and students could focus solely on the editorial to determine if the support for the author's opinion is biased or balanced.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Modeling the Reading of Informational Passage Description: To determine if an author's argument is clear, the teacher models the reading aloud of an informational passage asking pertinent questions of him/herself as the reading progresses. The teacher asks questions such as "What does the author believe about _____?" "How do I know the author believes_____?" or "Why is this detail included in the text?" As the reading continues, the teacher or a student recorder can list both questions and answers. At the conclusion of the reading, both teacher and students look at the recorded answers to make a determination about the clarity of the author's argument and thought processes. To extend this activity, students reread the article focusing on those answers to the question "How do I know the author believes_____?" and review that information for balance to determine if an opposing view is presented and how the presence of that opposing view can create a more reliable resource.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Facts and Opinions in Advertisements Description: Distribute advertisements to students or display them using PowerPoint. Identify opinion words and factual statements. Remind students that advertisements can combine facts and opinions; as they viewers, they are responsible for differentiating between the two. As an extension for this assignment, students can create their own advertisements to include facts and </p><p>46 opinions (bias, too, if you teach it at the same time). To ensure their full understanding, you ask students to identify the facts and opinions before they turn in the assignment. (Identifying facts and opinions in their advertisement might be a good warm-up activity.) </p><p>Lesson Seed: Conflicting Facts in Articles about One Historical Event Description: Place students in small groups. Select an historical event. Read multiple accounts of the event—try to include an eyewitness account from a participant, an onlooker, and another written after some time has elapsed. Each student within the group reads a different account and determines elements within the account that are fact or opinion. Each student presents to the other members of the group. Track the articles to see where conflicts between the accounts exist. Determine if, over time, any opinions have evolved into facts. Each group shares with the entire class the most memorable fact or opinion that was found.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Fact or Opinion Game Description: Play a fact and opinion game. Each student has on his/her desk a single sheet of paper with Fact written on one side and Opinion written on the other. Read an informational passage aloud to the class. When a fact is heard, students raise the paper with the Fact side facing the teacher. When an opinion is heard, students raise the paper with the Opinion side facing the teacher. When the teacher detects a difference about what is fact and what is opinion, a discussion among students will clarify the information.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Identifying Facts and Opinions in Sections of a Text (group) Description: Divide students into small groups. Choose an informational passage from a content unit in a science or social studies text. Students read an assigned text that the teacher has divided into sections. A section of text is assigned to each group of students. Ask each group to 1) identify statements of fact 2) look for words or statements that signal opinions and 3) locate and identify supporting ideas and reasons. As they identify facts and opinions in their sections, have students construct a chart listing statements that are facts and those that are opinions.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Unlocking Wikipedia Description: Since students consult Wikipedia outside of school, they need to be instructed how to “search smart.” This lesson focuses on evaluating the resources at the bottom of a Wikipedia entry as well as the Wikipedia entry itself. For example, if the Wikipedia entry includes footnotes, which are linked to the resources at the bottom of the page, then they may be more fact-based. However, students need to look closely at the resources in order to determine whether or not they provide objective information. Ultimately, students are able to evaluate whether or not the entry is credible because of its representation of facts, opinions, and bias as well as its resources’ representation of facts, opinions, and biases. </p><p>47 Lesson Seed: Graphic Organizer for Author’s Bias Description: The teacher provides students with an informational passage where the author has a clearly defined opinion. Together teacher and students read the assigned text and then complete a chart like the one below. Title and Author's Ideas that Ideas that are Is the author's Author Opinion Support the Against the opinion presented Author's Opinion Author's Opinion fairly?</p><p>For students beginning this process, the teacher provides the author's opinion.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Bias in School Dress Code Arguments Description: Students read the informational text about school dress codes "Dress Rehearsal" by Loretta Grantham in the Palm Beach Post from August 24, 1992. This article is available on the SIRS database. Prior to reading the article the teacher provides each student with two different colored highlighters or pens. As students read, they highlight information that supports school dress codes in one color and highlight information in a second color that opposes school dress codes. After reading is complete, students have an idea of pro and con support. A teacher-led discussion follows where each support piece is evaluated for its effectiveness. Finally, teacher and students determine how fairly the author's opinion of school dress codes is presented.</p><p>48 Summarization of Informational Texts</p><p>When comprehending informational text, paraphrasing or summarizing a text or portion of a text is an essential skill. A reader can better comprehend the important information in a text if he/she can restate complex ideas in a simpler language. When a reader can recount these ideas in a language that makes sense to him/her, that reader is paraphrasing. To summarize an informational text, a reader must determine the most important ideas in that text and state them in his/her own words. As texts grow in complexity, summarizing allows a reader to focus on essential ideas to clarify understanding. </p><p>Terminology Defined:  Summary: o an objective recounting of the important ideas of a text o should not be longer than the text being summarized</p><p> Paraphrase: o restatement of a text in a reader’s own words o typically about the same length as the text being paraphrased o changes words and syntax (not just finding synonyms for a few words)</p><p>Summarizing Informational Text</p><p>1. Determine the main idea.</p><p>2. Determine the purpose of the text.</p><p>3. Locate facts or details that the author uses to make his/her point.</p><p>4. Look for key words and phrases.</p><p>5. Determine the writer’s opinion or attitude concerning the subject.</p><p>Remember that a summary should not be longer that the text being summarized.</p><p>49 Strategies for Teaching Summarization Strategy: Selective Underlining or Highlighting Description: While the students are actively reading any selection of text, they underline or highlight key words that are relevant to the main idea of the text. To begin the summarizing process, the teacher presents a portion of the text to be summarized and discusses with the class the words or phrases that should be underlined or highlighted. Then, using the underlined or highlighted portions of the text, the teacher orally summarizes that portion of text. As students become more proficient, they may independently complete the process. To help students become more independent, the teacher models and limits the number of words highlighted in a particular text so that the students do not resort to highlighting everything. Reason: By underlining the key words of a text, the students are able to visually see what key concepts, vocabulary words, and ideas are integral to understanding the text and can begin to understand the main idea to write a summary. </p><p>Strategy: Rephrasing Informational Text Description: First, the students locate the main ideas. This strategy can be done by using the selective underlining or highlighting strategy mentioned above. Then, the students restate the main ideas in their own words. Students can locate key passages that support the main idea and then restate those key passages in their own words. Reason: Rephrasing informational text will help students unlock meaning. A reader can better comprehend the important information in a text if he/she can restate complex ideas in simpler language. </p><p>Strategy: Graphic Organizer (organizer on following page) Description: The students use a graphic organizer as they read a nonfiction text that help them focus specifically on the author’s viewpoint as well as purpose for writing the text. Reason: This graphic organizer assists the student in thinking about the main ideas of the text and assists in his/her summary of the text.</p><p>50 Summarizing Nonfiction</p><p>The Author’s Topic: The Author’s Purpose for Writing:</p><p>The Author’s Viewpoint Concerning the Topic:</p><p>Significant Points Made to Support the Author’s Purpose:</p><p>SUMMARY</p><p>51 Summarization Lesson Seeds A lesson seed is found at the objective level and is an idea for a lesson. Lesson seeds are not necessarily meant to take an entire class period. The seed is directly aligned with an objective and ranges in cognitive demand. The sequential development of the lesson idea may begin at a lower level of cognitive demand and then evolve into a higher level of cognitive demand. Teachers may use the entire seed or only a portion of a seed based upon the capability of their classes.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Anticipation Guide Description: In using an anticipation guide, a teacher can help focus his/her students on key words that will appear in a text to set the tone for the passage. For example, to introduce the unit on tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, a teacher could pass out a paper with the following sentence, “Tobacco, alcohol and other drugs are unhealthy” and the following vocabulary words: addiction, depressants, hallucinogens, narcotics, normative expectations, overmedication, and withdrawal. Students then need to react to the following statement by using any prior knowledge and/or opinions they have about the topic and the vocabulary words. These statements may be informational (some true and some false), or they may express opinions about the topic. Student responses provide information for both teacher and students about the level and accuracy of their prior knowledge. The guide can be revisited after teaching for students to correct any misunderstandings or to express changed opinions and attitudes. The comprehension gained from this activity is the general understanding of the main idea of the unit and or text that will be presented to further explain the statement.</p><p>Lesson Seed: “Relay Race” Summary Description: After reading a text or an excerpt of a text, have the students engage in a “relay race” to write a summary. The students will have underlined or highlighted the text as it was read to them or as they read the text to highlight key words and phrases. In teams, the “relay race” will begin by one student writing one sentence and then passing it on until the summary is finished. The students may not change a previous sentence once written, but they can speak to the teammate about why the sentence was written. At the end of the race, all summaries can be collected as exit tickets, or the summaries can be shared and critiqued with a winner being chosen.</p><p>Lesson Seed: Summarize a Historical Figure’s Life (in an obituary) Description: After reading a text about a person in history, have the students write a summary in the form of an obituary about that person. For example, in a music class students could write an obituary for Bach, Beethoven, Brahms or Mozart after reading selected texts about the famous composers. In writing an obituary, the students will have to identify the main ideas from the text and key ideas in the composer’s life. It cannot be opinion-based, but rather a summary of what was in the text that they read and based on facts alone. The obituaries can help to facilitate a discussion about what was important from the text and what </p><p>52 events and accomplishments defined the composer’s life and made him/her a notable figure in history. </p><p>53 Writing a Summary</p><p>What makes a good summary? Read the following passage about the life of an atom, and then read the sample summary and reflection. </p><p>~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Sample Passage</p><p>The birth began in a young star. A young star is a mass of hydrogen nuclei. Because the star is hot (about thirteen million degrees at the center), the nuclei cannot hold on to their electrons. The electrons wander around. The nuclei of hydrogen—that is, the protons—are moving about very fast too. From time to time one proton runs headlong into another. When this happens, one of the protons loses its electric charge and changes into a neutron. The pair then cling together as a single nucleus of heavy hydrogen. This nucleus will in time capture another proton. Now there is a nucleus with two protons and one neutron, called light helium. When two of these nuclei smash into each other, two protons are expelled in the process. This creates a nucleus of helium with two protons and two neutrons.</p><p>This is the fundamental process of fusion by which the primitive hydrogen of the universe is built up into a new basic material, helium. In this process, energy is given off in the form of heat and light that make the stars shine. It is the first stage in the birth of the heavier atoms.</p><p>Bronowski, Jacob, and Millicent Selsam. Biography of an Atom. New York: Harper, 1965. (1965) as found in the Common Core State Standards English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects Appendix B: Text Exemplars for 9-10 grades</p><p>Sample Summary</p><p>The process of fusion by which the primitive hydrogen of the universe is transformed into a new basic material, helium, is explained in Bronowski and Selsam’s Biography of an Atom. The authors describe the process from the beginning with a young star as a mass of hydrogen to the formation of light helium. The energy that is released as a result of this process makes the stars shine.</p><p>Reflection</p><p>The summary above is an objective recounting of the important ideas in the text. It is shorter than the original text, determines the main idea, and locates important facts and details that the author used to make his/her point. </p><p>54 Summarization Lesson </p><p>Strategy: Summarizing and Note-taking Description: Summarizing and note taking requires the ability to synthesize information. Details help tell you about the main idea (Marzano, Pickering, Pollock, 2001). Remind students to not confuse a text detail with the main idea. 1. During the oral reading, think-aloud multiple times including statements such as: “This detail tells me….” “The text is mostly about….” “This is a very important detail…” “This passage talks about…” 2. Post at least 4 sentences for all students to see. Think-aloud with the students and explain why the central ideas are central and why the others are details. Students need to hear your thinking. 3. Explain that finding the central idea is an important skill that we must learn to be good readers. Demonstrate how to record the main idea/details in a graphic organizer. 4. Model and practice with partners numerous times before students try it independently. 5. A variety of graphic organizers for this skill may be used depending on the length of the text.</p><p>Upon completion of a note-taking activity and/or graphic organizer, students create a visual display summarizing and analyzing the central ideas of the text. Careful attention is placed upon keeping the text central to the activity and remaining true to specific language the author used.</p><p>Read an entire selection (chapter, article, handout, primary source, etc.) and, as you read, list the main idea words on the “Sum It Up” sheet. Write a summary of the selection using as many of the main idea words as possible. Put one word in each blank. Imagine you have only $2.00 and that each word you use is worth ten cents. You’ll “sum it up” in 20 words! </p><p>Students read and annotate a PDF version of the text by highlighting main ideas and supporting details according to color. To do this within Adobe Reader, students select the “highlighting tool” and then press CTRL+E. This tool will display “highlighter tool properties” allowing students to quickly change highlighter colors. Begin the assessment by having students highlight the main ideas according to a particular color code. Once the highlighting is complete, students return to each main idea and use a similar shade of the main idea color to highlight the details in support of that main idea. They repeat the process until the entire text has been annotated and all main ideas have been supported by details that outline their development over the course of a text. At predetermined intervals, students provide peer-to-peer feedback by posting objective comments on one another’s annotated text. The teacher listens intently and uses data from informal assessment to provide targeted learning opportunities.</p><p>55 Progression Note. A key progression in the writing standards is the need for students to show competency in applying grade 7 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g. “Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims”) (W.7.9b).</p><p>References: Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D.J., & Pollock, J.E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development</p><p>56 Resources</p><p>57 Resources</p><p>The following resources provide support when teaching text dependent questions. </p><p>This hyperlink will take you to The Great Fire, which is a document for 6th grade students to practice close reading of complex text: http://www.achievethecore.org/search/great%20fire</p><p>~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *</p><p>This hyperlink will take you to Twain’s Tom Sawyer, which is a document for 7th grade students to practice close reading of complex text: http://www.achievethecore.org/search/tom%20sawyer</p><p>~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *</p><p>This hyperlink will take you to Words We live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution which is a document for 8th grade students to practice close reading of complex text: http://www.achievethecore.org/search/linda%20monk</p><p>~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *</p><p>This hyperlink will take you to A Close Reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which is a document for 9-10th grade students to practice close reading of complex text: http://www.achievethecore.org/search/text-dependent+questions+lesson+plan/1</p><p>~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *</p><p>This hyperlink will take you to Living Like Weasels, which is a document for 11-12th grade students to practice close reading of complex text: http://www.achievethecore.org/search/gettysburg%20address</p><p>58</p>