Members of the MiddleWeb Discussion List and other interested
teachers are joining together to explore the Writing Workshop
and other ideas about supporting young adolescent writers and
readers. Juli Kendall, a reading-writing teacher/coach in Long
Beach, California, is helping moderate the discussion. Juli also
posts a weekly journal entry from her reading/writing classroom.
This year, Juli will focus on her efforts to integrate subject
matter into her reading and writing workshop approach. In her
first journal of the year, she explains
the rationale behind this move and some of her thinking about
how she hopes to accomplish this goal.
Find out more about our project at our Reading/Writing
Workshop homepage. You'll find Juli's background article here. Links to many of the tools created
by Juli and her colleagues are embedded in these journals. Most
often, when you click on them, a PDF file will begin to download.
You'll find a list of the downloads here.
If you'd like to join the daily discussion that parallels Juli's
Journals, find out how here.
How are you with text structures?
I could use all the help I can get as I begin to teach kids using
informational text.
If I do a lousy job of teaching kids about text structures in
informational text, they might not be able to identify them on
their own. If they don't identify text structures on their own,
they might not understand what they read. And if they don't understand
what they read, they can't become better readers of informational
text.
"It's my responsibility," I say to myself. "I know
that if I don't do a good job of teaching kids about text structures,
I only have myself to blame."
It's a funny thing. I can use authentic assessments and teach
mini-lessons and confer with kids, but I can't seem to feel confident
about teaching text structures. That's why I read everything I
can find about description, sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast,
question/answer, and problem/solution, and why I ask questions
of everyone I know. "Do you use text structures to help understand
what you read? If so, how do you use them?"
Right now we're learning how to read informational text by paying
attention to text structures. But we're also paying attention
to writing. I came upon the idea of reading, writing, and text
structures in Laura Robb's book, Teaching
Reading in Social Studies, Science, and Math; Practical Ways to
Weave Comprehension Strategies Into Your Content Area Teaching.
When you explicitly teach text structures, you offer students models for creating similar organizational patterns in their own writing. As you do this, also teach the words writers use for description, sequence, compare/contrast, show cause and effect, and so on. These help students identify a structure while reading, but they can also support expository writing by providing students with models. (p. 287)
We're also looking at these structures as aspects of a writer's
craft -- part of the way writers do their work. For us, it's reading
like a writer-another reading/writing connection. Last year I
spent time teaching a unit of study on craft during Writing Workshop.
In Writing Workshop Week #10, "Craft
Begins With Learning to Read As a Writer," I explored my
own understanding of reading like a writer.
My understanding of "craft" has grown as I've learned to read like a writer -- an essential part of becoming a better writer. Last year as I started a new writing experience, the Reading Workshop Journal on MiddleWeb, I discovered that what helps me most with my own writing is my reading.
To grow as a journal writer, I regularly read the newspaper, "Newsweek" magazine, other journals/diaries on MiddleWeb, "Sports Illustrated" and "The New Yorker." As never before, I pay close attention to how the writers do their work. I look at leads, at the various organizational structures, how quotations are used and the ways professional writers manage dialogue. And I do this while paying very little attention to the content -- what it is about. I focus on how it is written.
This year we're studying six different structures that writers
use: description, sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast, question/answer,
and problem/solution. As we search for these text structures,
we're using our science textbook, 5th Grade Houghton Mifflin
Science, Discovery Works, California Edition, 2000. We're
also identifying words that writers use to signal the use of these
text structures. It's a very valuable lesson in how to read informational
text. Here's what we find:
Example of Descriptive text structure:
The part of the onion you eat is actually a ball of leaves called a bulb. Onions, like all plants, are made up of basic units called cells. Look at an onion through a microscope to see what plant cells look like. (p. A8)
Words writers use to describe: on, over, beyond, within,
for example, look at, such as, like, as, some characteristics
are, by observing
Example of Sequence in text structure:
Take a section of an onion and snap it in half. A thin piece of skin should separate from the section. Peel this piece off with tweezers, as shown below. Place the onion skin on a microscope slide. Add one drop of iodine solution. Use a toothpick to smooth out the wrinkles. Cover the onion skin with a cover slip. (p. A8)
Words writers use to sequence: first, second, third, etc.,
before, after, finally, then, next, earlier, later, last, until,
on (date), at (time), now
Example of Cause/effect text structure:
Wear goggles during this activity. Be careful when handling glass slides. Iodine will stain clothing and is poisonous if swallowed. (p.A8)
Words writers use to show cause and effect: because, since,
thus, so that, ifthen, therefore, nevertheless, due to, this led
to, as a result, thenso, for this reason, on account of, consequently
Example of Compare/contrast text structure:
Living things are all around you. Every tree, every blade of grass, every insect is alive. Scientists have found life on the highest mountains and in the deepest oceans. The have discovered life on bare rocks and in snow banks. (p. A10)
Words writers use to compare and contrast: while, yet,
but, rather, most, either, like and unlike, same, as opposed to,
as well as, likewise, on the other hand, although, the same, similarly,
opposites
Example of Question/answer text structure:
How do cells work together to form a living thing? Different cells working together form tissues. Muscle cells, for example, work with many other muscle cells to form muscle tissue. (p. A12)
Words writers use for question/answer: how, why, when,
who, what, how many, where it could be that, it's possible to
conclude
Example of Problem/solution text structure:
(Because the science book does not include any solutions,
this as close as we came.)
How do you obtain nutrients? Your body needs food to function. You have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes you munch a snack in between. How does a plant, such as a geranium, get nutrients? You will investigate the parts of a plant and find out which ones help a plant get what it needs. (p. A14)
Words writers use for problem/solution: propose, conclude,
a solution, the problem or the question, research shows, the evidence
is, a reason for, one reason is, issues are, solved by
These examples of text structure from our science book demonstrate
our "best guess" at what these structures look like
in informational text. During the year we'll continue to collect
examples of text structures and observe how we develop a better
sense for understanding text as a result.
For now, forget testing. Forget record keeping. This is pressure.
This is when it counts. It's my job to teach them about text structures
in informational text.
My students are counting on me.
References for Text Structure
I used three books for my research into text structures. They
all contain excellent charts, diagrams, and explanations with
additional examples of text structure, as well as lists of books
to use for each structure.
Exploring Informational Texts, From Theory to Practice
by Hoyt, Mooney, and Parks, pp. 52-58
Guiding Readers and Writers: Grades 3 to 6 by Fontas and
Pinnell, pp. 401-404
Teaching Reading in Social Studies, Science, and Math by
Laura Robb, pp. 285-296
SEE Juli's Curriculum Map for Content Literacy - Unit One
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Read last week's journal
Read Juli's backgrounder about her work
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