Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Studying Nonfiction Literacy with Growing Thinkers

A Warm Shout Out to the Brilliant Educators of Trail Elementary School....Love learning with you!

Nonfiction Mentor Texts

Nonfiction Mentor Texts

Actual Size
Jenkins, Steve
Baby Animals at Home
Frost, Miriam
Brothers in Hope:  The Story of the Lost Boys of the Sudan
Mary Williams
Gentle Giant Octopus
Wallace, Karen
Hottest, Coldest, Deepest
Jenkins, Steve
Life Size Zoo
Earhart, Kristin
One Tiny Turtle
Davies, Nicola
A Walk in the Rainforest
Pratt, Kristin
Walk with A Wolf
Howker, Janni
Nonfiction/Question and Answer Mentor Texts
What Does a Garden Need?
Nayer, Judith
Will We Miss Them?
Wright, Alexandra
What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?
Jenkins, Steve
What’s Under the Log?
Hunter, Anne
What’s In the Pond?
Hunter, Anne
Building a Home
Barton, Byron
Literary Nonfiction Mentor Texts
Bat Loves the Night
Davies, Nicola
Big and Little
Jenkins, Steve
Big Blue Whale
Davies, Nicola
Chameleons Are Cool
Jenkins, Martin
Elephants Swim
Riley, Linda
Exploring the Deep, Dark Sea
Gibbons, Gail
Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll
Branley, Frank
How Big Were the Dinosaurs?
Most, Bernard
If You Were Born A Kitten
Bauer, Marion
Inventing the Truth    *Read passages from this incredible (adult level) mentor text. 
Allende, Isabelle
Life and Times of the Peanut
Micucci, Charles
My Goose Betsy
Braun, Trudi
On The Move
Pluckrose, Henry
Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme
McMillain, Bruce
Snail's Spell
Ryder, Joanne
Sky Tree
Locker, Thomas
Waiting for Wings
Ehlert, Lois
Water
Asch, Frank
Where the River Begins
Locker, Thomas

Mentor Texts to Support Students’ “Describing a Process”/Explanatory Writing
How to Make a Million
Morgan, Rowland
How to Talk to Your Cat
George, Jean Craighead
Picture This: How Pictures Work
Bang, Molly
The Writing of the Star-Spangled Banner
Ingram, Scott


Additional Nonfiction Book Recommendations

 
 
Children often love to write about animals and favorite pets.  Help them know how to craft compelling and well-crafted nonfiction by sharing excellent nonfiction texts with them.  Numerous examples are offered everyday on the Nonfiction Detectives web site http://nonfictiondetectives.blogspot.com/2011/09/labrador-retriever-most-popular-by.html  Here is a recent recommendation from Nonfiction Detectives:

Labrador Retriever: Most Popular by Jessica Rudolph



"Where are the dog books?" That question can be heard in my library many times each day. Kids love to read about pets, especially dogs. I was pleased to learn Bearport Publishing has published a new series, Big Dogs Rule. The series includes nonfiction books about German Shepherds, Great Danes, Rottweilers, and more.

Labrador Retriever: Most Popular begins with the story of Pearl, a Lab that was rescued from an animal shelter and trained to locate people in disasters. Pearl used her training to locate people trapped in the rubble after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Rudolph outlines the history of Labrador retrievers and how they were used as fishing and hunting dogs due to their good sense of smell, ability to swim, strong bodies, and their instinct to retrieve. Other sections are devoted to Labs as guide dogs, competition dogs, and pets.

Colorful photographs of Labrador retrievers in action are placed throughout the book. Young readers will especially enjoy the photos of Lab puppies playing as well as the picture of a litter of pups snuggled up with their mother. Captions, bold print, and fact boxes (printed on dogs' tags) will aid readers as they navigate the text. An extensive glossary, index and bibliography are included in the back of the book. 

In this Reading Today feature, National-Louis University/Lisle professor Sunday Cummins recommends nonfiction books to pique students’ interest and engage them in reading:

·        Adventure Beneath the Sea by Kenneth Mallory, photographs by Brian Skerry (Boyds Mils Press, 2010), age 9 and up – A dramatic and humorous account of how scientists lived for seven days in a special tank 60 feet under the sea investigating a coral reef ecosystem.

·        The Buzz on Bees: Why Are They Disappearing? by Shelley Rotner and Anne Woodhull, photographs by Shelly Rotner (Holiday House, 2010), age 4 and up – The importance of bees to plant pollination and various products, and the mysterious disappearance of one-third of the honeybees in the U.S.

·        Seed Soil Sun: Earth’s Recipe for Food by Cris Peterson, photographs by David Lundquist (Boyds Mills Press, 2010), ages 4 and up – A handful of dirt has more living organisms than there are human beings on Earth! This book explores how soil, sunlight, water, and air produce plants that keep the planet alive.

·        Bones by Steve Jenkins (Scholastic, 2010) ages 9 and up – Many of the cut-paper bones in this book are actual size, others are scaled, accompanied by interesting information about bones and skeletons.

·        Survival at 40 Below by Debbie Miller, illustrations by Jon Van Zyle (Walker & Company, 2010), age 9 and up – Information about how animals survive icy winters in the Gates of Arctic National Park in Alaska, and how climate change threatens this habitat.

·        About Raptors: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill, illustrations by Jon Sill (Peachtree Publishers, 2010), age 4 and up – Information and illustrations on how birds of prey hunt and live, from the bald eagle to the northern goshawk.

·        How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page (Houghton Mifflin, 2010), age 4 and up – Examples in cut-paper art of symbiotic relationships between animals, including the Nile crocodile and birds that clean its teeth.

·        Disasters: Natural and Man-Made Catastrophes Through the Centuries by Brenda Guiberson (Christy Ottaviano Books, 2010), young adult – Each chapter describes a disaster, including 19 million Native Americans dying of smallpox and 300,000 people fleeing New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

·        Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Michael Wandelmaier (Kids Can Press, 2010), young adult – How modern forensic science is solving disappearances that were mysteries for centuries.

*Source:  “‘Hey, Teacher! Did You Know?’” by Sunday Cummins in Reading Today, April/May 2011 (Vol. 28, #6, p. 24-25).

African American History Text Set


Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom – Walter Dean Myers

Cornrows – Camille Yarbrough

From Slave Ship to Freedom Road – Rod Brown

Follow the Drinking Gourd – Jeanete Winter

Harlem – Walter Dean Myers

Smoky Night – Eve Bunting

The Sound that Jazz Makes – Carole Boston Weatherford

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt – Deborah Hopkinson

Tar Beach – Faith Ringgold

Through My Eyes – Ruby Bridges

Ancient Civilizations Text Set


Hieroglyphs from A to Z – Peter Der Manuelian

Look at the Moon – May Garelick

Then and Now – Heather Amery

Then and Now – Stefania Perring

Asian American History Text Set


Grandfather’s Journey – Allen Say

Stranger in the Mirror – Allen Say

Biography Text Set


Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride – Pam Munoz Ryan

Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare – Diane Stanley

Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations – Diane Stanley

Cleopatra – Diane Stanley

Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes – Floyd Cooper

Duke Ellington – Andrea Davis Pikney

Eleanor – Barbara Cooney

Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England – Diane Stanley

Joan of Arc – Diane Stanley

Leonardo Da Vinci – Diane Stanley

Michelangelo- Diane Stanley

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman – Alan Schroeder

My Dream of Martin Luther King – Faith Ringgold

Peter the Great – Diane Stanley

Civil Rights Movement Text Set


Freedom School, Yes! – Amy Littlesugar                                                               

I Have a Dream – Martin Luther King, Jr.

If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks – Faith Ringgold

Civil War Text Set


Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky – Faith Ringgold

Civil War Battlefields – Then and Now – James Campi

Colonial America Text Set


The First Thanksgiving – Jean Craighead George

On the Mayflower – Kate Waters

Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy – Kate Waters

Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl – Kate Waters

The Thanksgiving Story – Alice Dalgliesh

Immigration Text Set


A Day’s Work – Eve Bunting

How Many Days to America? – Eve Bunting

Immigrant Kids – Russell Freedman

My Grandmother’s Journey – John Cech

Watch the Stars Come Out – Riki Levinson

When I First Came to This Land – Harriet Ziefert

Native American History Text Set


Abuelita’s Heart – Amy Cordova

Children of the Earth and Sky – Stephen Krensky

Hiawatha – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush – Tomie dePaola

Love Flute – Paul Goble

Revolutionary War Text Set


Boston Tea Party – Pamela Edwards

Paul Revere’s Ride – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Vietnam Text Set


Grandfather’s Dream – Holly Keller

Journey Home – Lawrence McKay

Sweet Dried Apples: A Vietnamese Wartime Childhood – Rosemary Breckler

The Wall – Eve Bunting

War/Conflict Text Set


Baseball Saved Us – Ken Mochizuki                                                                       

The Bracelet – Yoshiko Uchida

The Butterfly – Patricia Polacco

The Faithful Elephants – Yukio Tsuchiya

Hiding from the Nazis – David Adler

Let the Celebrations Begin – Margaret Wild

The Lily Cupboard: A Story of the Holocaust – Shulamith Oppenheim

One Yellow Daffodil – David Adler

Pearl Harbor Child – Dorinda Nicholson

Rose Blanche – Roberto Innocetti

Star of Fear, Star of Hope – Jo Hoestlandt

Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust – Eve Bunting


Nonfiction Mentors/Possible Author Studies:

Aliki
Melvin Berger
Franklyn Branley
Joanna Cole
Allan Fowler
Rita Golden Gelman
Linda Glasser
Ruth Heller
Steve Jenkins
Barnabas and Annabel Kindersley
Patricia Lauber
Milton Meltzer
Charles Micucci
Ann Morris
Ifeoma Onyefulu
Jerry Pallotta
Laurence Pringle
Seymour Simon
 
*See www.guysread.com for connections to many of these authors.
 


Social Studies Mentor Texts


BIORGRAPHIES & HISTORICAL FICTION

v  Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Sharon Robinson

v  John’s Secret Dreams by Doreen Rappaport

v  Rosa by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier

v  Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson

“Living a Social Scientist” Life


Filopovic, Zlata                               Zlata’s Diary:  A Child’s Life in Sarajevo
Hunter, Latoya                                The Diary of Latoya Hunter:  My First Year in Jr. High

Schim Schimmel                             Dear Children of Earth: A Letter from Home

Talbott, Hudson                             Safari Journal

Miller, William                                          Richard Wright and the Library Card

 

Social Studies PICTURE BOOKS

v  Am I a Color Too? by Heidi Cole & Nancy Vogl

v  Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams

v  The Golden Rule by Ilene Cooper

v  Is There a Human Race? by Jamie Lee Curtis

v  How Much? Visiting Markets Around the World by Ted Lewin

v  Keep Climbing, Girls by Beah Richards

v  The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter

v  The Milestone Project by Richard Steckel and Michele Steckel

v  My Librarian Is a Camel by Margriet Ruurs

v  Tsunami: Helping Each Other by Ann Morris and Heidi Larson

v  What a Family by Rachel Isadora

v  Why War is Never a Good Idea by Alice Walker

African American History


Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom – Walter Dean Myers

Cornrows – Camille Yarbrough

From Slave Ship to Freedom Road – Rod Brown

Follow the Drinking Gourd – Jeanete Winter

Harlem – Walter Dean Myers

Smoky Night – Eve Bunting

The Sound that Jazz Makes – Carole Boston Weatherford

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt – Deborah Hopkinson

Tar Beach – Faith Ringgold

Through My Eyes – Ruby Bridges

Ancient Civilizations


Hieroglyphs from A to Z – Peter Der Manuelian

Look at the Moon – May Garelick

Asian American History


Grandfather’s Journey – Allen Say

Stranger in the Mirror – Allen Say

Biographies


Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride – Pam Munoz Ryan

Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare – Diane Stanley

Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations – Diane Stanley

Cleopatra – Diane Stanley

Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes – Floyd Cooper

Duke Ellington – Andrea Davis Pikney

Eleanor – Barbara Cooney

Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England – Diane Stanley

Joan of Arc – Diane Stanley

Leonardo Da Vinci – Diane Stanley

Michelangelo- Diane Stanley

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman – Alan Schroeder

My Dream of Martin Luther King – Faith Ringgold

Peter the Great – Diane Stanley

Civil Rights Movement


Freedom School, Yes! – Amy Littlesugar                                                              

I Have a Dream – Martin Luther King, Jr.

If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks – Faith Ringgold

Civil War


Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky – Faith Ringgold

Colonial America


The First Thanksgiving – Jean Craighead George

On the Mayflower – Kate Waters

Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy – Kate Waters

Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl – Kate Waters

The Thanksgiving Story – Alice Dalgliesh

Immigration


A Day’s Work – Eve Bunting

How Many Days to America? – Eve Bunting

Immigrant Kids – Russell Freedman

My Grandmother’s Journey – John Cech

Watch the Stars Come Out – Riki Levinson

When I First Came to This Land – Harriet Ziefert

Native American History


Abuelita’s Heart – Amy Cordova

Children of the Earth and Sky – Stephen Krensky

Hiawatha – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush – Tomie dePaola

Love Flute – Paul Goble

Revolutionary War


Boston Tea Party – Pamela Edwards

Paul Revere’s Ride – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Vietnam


Grandfather’s Dream – Holly Keller

Journey Home – Lawrence McKay

Sweet Dried Apples: A Vietnamese Wartime Childhood – Rosemary Breckler

The Wall – Eve Bunting

War/Conflict


Baseball Saved Us – Ken Mochizuki                                                                        

The Bracelet – Yoshiko Uchida

The Butterfly – Patricia Polacco

The Faithful Elephants – Yukio Tsuchiya

Hiding from the Nazis – David Adler

Let the Celebrations Begin – Margaret Wild

The Lily Cupboard: A Story of the Holocaust – Shulamith Oppenheim

One Yellow Daffodil – David Adler

Pearl Harbor Child – Dorinda Nicholson

Rose Blanche – Roberto Innocetti

Star of Fear, Star of Hope – Jo Hoestlandt

Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust – Eve Bunting




Supportive Web Resources
Content Area Learning Resources
National Council of Social Studies  Publications: publications@ncs.org
Making Sense in Social Studies (and other content areas, too)   www.readingquest.org
Montgomery County Schools   www.mciu.org                            
Harvard University’s Expository Writing Project  expos@fas.harvard.edu
Janet Allen  www.janetallen.org/
National Writing Project  http://nwp.edgateway.net
INK/Interesting Nonfiction for Kids  http://inkrethink.blogspot.com/
Recent article highlight “Nonfiction as a Laughing Matters”
http://inkrethink.blogspot.com/2012/10/nonfiction-as-laughing matter.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FZiJh+%28I.N.K.%29
Hands-On Books:  Nonfiction for Kids with Fun Activities  http://hands-on-books.blogspot.com/



Carol Wilcox     http://carolwscorner.blogspot.com/

Choice Literacy     www.choiceliteracy.com

Harvard University’s Expository Writing Project     expos@fas.harvard.edu


Janet Allen     www.janetallen.org/


Leadership and Learning Center (research about nonfiction writing)     www.leadandlearn.com

Literacy Specialist - Researching for nonfiction writing and persuasive writing

http://www.literacyspecialists.com/content/publish/nonfiction.shtml

Making Sense in Social Studies (and other content areas, too)     www.readingquest.org

Mark Overmeyer      http://markovermeyer.wordpress.com/

Montgomery County Schools     www.mciu.org                                                                                               

National Council of Social Studies      publications@ncs.org

National Council of Teachers of English/NCTE     www.ncte.org

National Writing Project     http://nwp.edgateway.net

New York Times     www.newyorktimes.com/learning

Nonfiction Detectives   http://nonfictiondetectives.blogspot.com/


Six Traits      http://www.thetraits.org/index.php 

Trevor Cairney     http://trevorcairney.blogspot.com/

Two Writing Teachers     http://two.writingteachers.com         http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com 

Wonderopolis  http://wonderopolis.org/   (great source for nonfiction)

Write Brained Teacher     http://writebrainedteacher.blogspot.com/

Writing Fix     http://writingfix.com  

Internet Resources on Nonfiction Writing


Read, Write, and Think Resources:  www.readwritethink.org/standards/index.html



 

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD):  http://shop.ascd.org/search_results.cfm

 

The Leadership & Learning Center:












Mentor Texts for Us!  ~ Professional Resources

Angellio, Janet. (2003).  Writing About Reading:  From Book Talk to Literacy Essays, Grades 3 -8. 

Benson, Laura.  (2004).  Deep Thinking:  Sustaining Students’ Strategy Learning to Cultivate Their Independence.  The Colorado Communicator, (27), 72 – 87.

Benson, Laura.  (2003).  Drawing From Our Well:  Creating Writing Lessons from Our Reading

Benson, Laura.  (1996).  Intellectual Invitations:  Helping Readers Grow with Grouping Practices.  Colorado Reading Council Journal.  (7), 18 – 41.

Benson, Laura.  (2002).  The Long and Short of It:  Short and Spirited Texts.  The Colorado Communicator.

Boyles, Nancy. (2001). (Second Edition). Teaching Written Response to Text: Constructing Quality Answers to Open-Ended Comprehension Questions. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House.

Brozo, W.G. & Simpson, M.L.  (2003).  Writing as a tool for active learning.  In Readers, teachers, learners: Expanding literacy across the content areas (4th ed.; p. 253-302).  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Pearson Education.

 Fisher, Douglas and Frey, Nancy.  (2004).  Improving adolescent literacy:  Strategies at work.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Pearson Education.

Fountas, Irene and Pinnell Gay Sue. (1998). Guided Reading in Guides 3 – 6.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann. 

Harvey, Stephanie and Goudvis, Anne.  (2000).  Strategies That Work:  Teaching comprehension to enhance comprehension.  Portland, ME:  Stenhouse.

Harwayne, Shelley.  (1999).  Going public:  Priorities and practice at Manhattan New School.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

Hattie, John.  (2009).  Visible Learning:  A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement.  London:  Routledge. 

Gallagher, Kelly.  (2004).  Deeper reading:  Comprehending challenging texts, 4 -12.  Portland, ME:  Stenhouse.

Irvin, Judith, Meltzer, Julie, and Dukes, Melinda.  (2007).  Taking Action on Adolescent Literacy: An Implementation Guide for School Leaders. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Kamm, Connie. (2010).  Reflective Instruction.  Lead + Lead Press.

Kneeshaw, K. (1992).  KISSing in the history classroom:  Simple writing activities that work.  The Social Studies, 83(4), 176-179.

Knipper, Kathy and Duggan, Timothy.  (2006).  Writing to learn across the curriculum:  Tools for comprehension in content area classes.  The Reading Teacher (59.5.5), p. 462-470.

Quate, Stevi and McDermott, John.  (2009).   Clockwatchers:  Six Steps to Motivating and Engaging Disengaged Students Across Content Areas.  Portsmouth, ME:  Heinemann. 

Sinatra, R. C. (2000).  Teaching learners to think, read, and write more effectively in content subject.  The Clearing House, (73(5), 266-273.

Zweirs, Jeff.  Building Understanding, Grades 6 – 12.  International Reading Association. 

Foundational Teacher Resources:

·        Atwell, Nancy. (2007). Lessons That Change Writers. New Hampshire: Firsthand/Heinemann.

·        Culham, Ruth. (2003). 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide Grades 3 and Up. 2003. New

York: Scholastic Professional Books.

·        Culham, Ruth. (1998).  Picture Books: An Annotated Bibliography with Activities for Teaching Writing. Oregon: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

·        Fletcher, Ralph. (1999). Live Writing. New York: Avon.

·        Fletcher, Ralph. (1993).  What A Writer Needs. New Hampshire: Heinemann.

·        Fletcher, Ralph and Joann Portalupi. (1998).  Craft Lessons: Teaching Writing K-8. 1998. Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

·        Graves, Donald H. (1994).  A Fresh Look at Writing. New Hampshire: Heinemann.

·        Heard, Georgia. (2002). The Revision Toolbox: Teaching Techniques That Work. 2002. New Hampshire: Heinemann.

·        Lane, Barry. (1993). after THE END: Teaching and Learning Creative Revision. New Hampshire:

Heinemann.

·        Portalupi, Joann and Ralph Fletcher. (2001).  Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8. Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

·        Spandel, Vicki.  (2001).  Creating Writers: Through 6-Trait Writing Assessment and Instruction.  New York: Addison Wesley Longman.

·        Spandel, Vicki.  (2001).  Books, Lessons, Ideas for Teaching the Six Traits: Writing in the Elementary and Middle Grades.  Maine: Great Source Education Group.

Supportive Professional Resources:

·        Anderson, Carl.  (2005). Assessing Writers.  Heinemann.

·        Anderson, Carl.  (2000).  How’s It Going? A Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers.  Heinemann.

·        Anderson, Carl.  (2009).  Strategic Writing Conferences: Smart Conversations That Move Young Writers Forward (text and DVD’s). Heinemann. 

·        Angelillo, Janet.  (2008).  Whole-Class Teaching:  Minilessons and More.  Heinemann.

·        Bennett-Armistead, Susan, Duke, Nell, and Moses, Annie.  (2005).  Nonfiction Literacy and the Youngest Learner. 

·        Davis, Judy and Hill, Sharon. (2003). The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing: Strategies, Structures, and Solutions.  Heinemann.


·        Dorfman, Lynne. (2006).   Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature, K-6.  Stenhouse.


·        Fletcher, Ralph.  (2011). Mentor Author, Mentor Texts: Short Texts, Craft Notes, and Practical Classroom Uses.


·        Fletcher, Ralph.  (2010). Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing.  Stenhouse. 


·        Fountas, Irene and Pinnell, Gay Su.  (2001).  Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3-6): Teaching, Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy.  Heinemann.

·        Harvey, Stephanie.  (1998).  Nonfiction Matters.  Stenhouse.

·        Heard, Georgia.  (2002).  The Revision Toolbox.  Heinemann.

·        Laminack, Lester and Wadsworth, Reba. (2006). Reading Aloud Across the Curriculum. Heinemann.

·        Lane, Barry.  (2008).  But How Do You Teach Writing? A Simple Guide for All Teachers. Scholastic. 

·        McMackin, Mary & Siegel, Barbara.  Knowing How. 

·        Overmeyer, Mark.  (2005). When Writing Workshop Isn't Working: Answers to Ten Tough Questions, Grades 2-5.  Stenhouse.

·        Overmeyer, Mark. (2009). What Student Writing Teaches Us: Formative Assessment in the Writing Workshop.  Stenhouse.

·        Reif, Linda.  Vision & Voice. 

·        Rothstein, Andy and Rothstein, Evelyn.  Writing to Learn/Writing as Understanding.

·        Routman, Regie (2004). Writing Essentials. Heinemann.

 


 

 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cultivating the Disposition to Understand: MONITORING FOR MEANING, CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

Being Cluefull About Being Cluefull, Being Cluefull About Being Clueless...and Knowing What to Do in Either Case!
The purpose of metacognitive strategy instruction is to increase students’ awareness of themselves as learners and place students in control of their own learning activity (Palinscar & Ransom, 1988).
Metacognition refers to knowledge of the factors that affect learning activity, including reading, as well as control of these factors (Baker and Brown, 1984). Three sets of factors that act and interact in reading are knowledge of oneself as a reader, the demands of reading tasks, and the strategies one can employ in reading activity (Garner, 1987).

“STop Signing” to support students’ Metacognition © Laura Benson
Stop sign reading reflects a reader’s habit and dispositions to create understanding before, during, and after reading with self-talk.  As proficient readers, listeners, and thinkers, you and I are in the habit of taking in a bit of information and then stopping - if even for the briefest of moments or as quick as the speed of light - and talking to ourselves to understand what we just read, saw, heard, etc.  Monitoring one’s understanding, a reader’s self-awareness of his knowledge and understanding – or lack of understanding – is voiced with self-talk such as “I’m thinking…”  or “I know that I know” or “I know that I need to know” as well as “I bet…” and “I wonder…” and “I learned…” to name just a few here.

As profiled in earlier posts, a key way of becoming more aware of your own "stop sign reading" or metacognition is to pay attention and listen to how you talk to yourself as you work to understand the texts you read.  By drawing from your literacy wells, you will hear and harvest vivid words in describing the how's of your thinking to and with your students. 

For example, reading in bed at night when I am way too tired to read, I often find myself needing to reread a part.  Becoming aware of when and how I reread, I heard myself reread just a bit of information - kind of like rewinding a movie when I miss a key line.  So, now I bring in the remote control from our television during my focus lessons to talk to students about when, why, and how I work to understand by rewinding my reading.  I share my own self-talk and metacognitive maneuvers with students by saying "Last night I was watching a really great Swedish mystery movie.  I was so excited because the detective was about to solve the crime...Well, wouldn't you know it but at the exact time the detective was revealing the criminal, my dog Buddy and cat Scout ran into the room chasing each over and, in their chase-race, they bumped our dining room table which was filled with books and boxes.  Boom! Bang!  Crash! All the books dropped to the floor and all the boxes skidded across the top of the table, too.  Not hearing the "who-did-it" line of the movie, what do you think I did?"  Of course, the kids know exactly what I did and shout out "You pressed the rewind button, Mrs. B!" (sometime with a kind of "Well, duh!" expression which I just love).  Moving my metaphor further, I say, 'That's right!  I said to myself, "What did he say?  Who did it?  Ut, oh, I don't get that part.  I better rewind that part of the movie - I just have to know who did it!  When I don't understand what I read, it's a lot like watching that movie last night - I just press the rewind button in my brain and reread a sentence or maybe even a paragraph to get myself back on track of what the text is saying...How about trying metacogntion and rewinding with me as we read this poem together?'

Knowing when we know and knowing when we don't know, being aware of when we are understanding and knowing what to do when we are not understanding, these are out habits of mind as understanding readers.  We have ways of nurturing understanding and sustaining it as we read longer texts.  We have ways of repairing not understanding.  Too many of our students do not yet have enough metacognitive tools on their reading tool belts.  And, for some students, not understanding becomes the norm.  Be your students reading tour guide by voicing how you are work to understand as a reader, listener, thinker, writer, scientist, artistic, historian, etc. Even our oldest students are not done getting better at learning more ways to fuel and guide their understanding.  Job security for us, right? :)
Helping students know when they know, know when they don't know, and know what to do to respond to either understanding scenario, kids gain Jan Chappuis' (2009) internal barometer to assess and guide their own thinking.  While the "grown-up" Chappuis version is offered below, over time with our modeling, collaborative practice, and feedback, we can help students learn to talk to themselves with three key compass questions:

Where am I going?
- Provide students with a clear and understandable vision of the learning target.
- Use examples and models of strong and weak work.
Where am I now?
- Offer regular descriptive feedback.
- Teach students to self-assess and set goals.
How can I close the gap?
- Design lessons to focus on one learning target or aspect of quality at a time.
- Teach students focused revision.
- Engage students in self-reflection and let them keep track of and share their learning.
Source:  Seven Strategies of Assessment FOR Learning by Jan Chappuis (Educational Testing Service/Assessment Training Institute, 2009) with warmest thanks and respect to Kim Marshall for profiling these critical ideas in his Marshall Memo e-magazine.

 
For more ideas about supporting students' metacognition, the following scholars can light your path:
  • Stef Harvey and Anne Goudvis' cornerstone text Strategies That Work
  • Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmermann's foundational Mosaic of Thought
  • All of Sharon Taberski's impeccable professional books!
  • Debbie Miller's integrity-based Reading for Meaning
  • Cris Tovani's lighthouse texts such as I Read It But I Don't Get It and Talk to Me
  • Michelle Kelly and Nicki Clausen-Grace's brilliant Comprehension Shouldn't Be Silent