Close Reading of Informational Sources, Second Edition: Assessment-Driven Instruction in Grades 3-8 - Softcover

Cummins, Sunday (PhD, Independent Literacy Consultant, Chico, CA)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1462539459 ISBN 13: 9781462539451

Verlag: Guilford Publications, 2019

Inhaltsangabe

This widely used teacher resource and course text--now significantly revised with 75% new content--provides a flexible approach to fostering high-level understanding of a wide variety of informational sources in grades 3–8. Through the lens of a new three-phase lesson plan, the author explains how to teach students to think critically about sources, monitor for meaning, identify main ideas, explain key details, and make sense of unfamiliar vocabulary. Now in a convenient large-size format, the second edition is packed with practical features, including a detailed study guide and links to recommended online videos. The companion website allows readers to download and print a reproducible lesson planning template and quick-reference tools, as well as additional resources referenced in the book. Prior edition title: Close Reading of Informational Texts.
 
New to This Edition
*Substantially revised and updated to reflect the ongoing development of the author's approach; lessons now comprise three clearly defined phases. 
*Expanded to cover close "reading” of video, audio, and infographics, as well as traditional texts.
*Chapters on new topics: selecting sources and teaching the use of context clues to learn new vocabulary.
*Additional practical features: sidebars with clear explanations of comprehension strategies, sample lessons, examples of students’ written responses, suggestions for assessment, tips for follow-up instruction, companion website, and more.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Sunday Cummins, PhD, is a literacy consultant and author of professional books on assessment-driven instruction with informational sources. Formerly, she was Assistant Professor in the Reading and Language Department at National Louis University, before which she worked in public schools for 10 years as a middle school and third-grade teacher and as a literacy coach. Dr. Cummins teaches and learns alongside educators and students as a consultant and researcher with a focus on the power of informational sources to transform students’ thinking. She shares her experiences by presenting at state and national conferences, writing articles for numerous publications, and blogging regularly. Her website is www.sunday-cummins.com.
 
 

Sunday Cummins, PhD, is a literacy consultant and author of professional books on assessment-driven instruction with informational sources. Formerly, she was Assistant Professor in the Reading and Language Department at National Louis University, before which she worked in public schools for 10 years as a middle school and third-grade teacher and as a literacy coach. Dr. Cummins teaches and learns alongside educators and students as a consultant and researcher with a focus on the power of informational sources to transform students’ thinking. She shares her experiences by presenting at state and national conferences, writing articles for numerous publications, and blogging regularly. Her website is www.sunday-cummins.com.
 
 

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Close Reading of Informational Sources

Assessment-Driven Instruction in Grades 3-8

By Sunday Cummins

The Guilford Press

Copyright © 2019 The Guilford Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4625-3945-1

Contents

Introduction, 1, 
CHAPTER ONE Strategic Close Reading of Informational Sources, 7, 
CHAPTER TWO A Repertoire of Strategies Needed, 16, 
CHAPTER THREE An Assessment-Driven, Three-Phase Plan for Learning, 31, 
CHAPTER FOUR Selecting Sources, 47, 
CHAPTER FIVE Introducing Sources and Teaching Students to Make Informed Predictions, 61, 
CHAPTER SIX Synthesis and Identifying Main Ideas, 82, 
CHAPTER SEVEN Monitoring for Meaning, 108, 
CHAPTER EIGHT Identifying and Explaining Key Details, 132, 
CHAPTER NINE Learning from a Source's Visual Images and Other Features, 162, 
CHAPTER TEN Using Context Clues to Make Sense of Unfamiliar Vocabulary, 190, 
CHAPTER ELEVEN Synthesis of Information from Multiple Sources, 207, 
APPENDIX A Lessons for Phase 2— Meet the Strategies, 227, 
APPENDIX B Study Guide, 239, 
References, 247, 
Index, 253, 

CHAPTER 1

Strategic Close Reading of Informational Sources

I remember a lesson with a group of intermediate grade students reading an article that describes the similarities and differences between life on Earth and life on the International Space Station. As the students began to read, they seemed excited about what they might learn. When I leaned in to confer with individuals, though, I noticed they were only comprehending the content at a superficial level. One student told me she had learned that astronauts use "liquid salt and pepper" on their food (May, 2015). When I asked her to tell me more about that, she was not able to tell me why they used liquid salt — an important point the author addresses. Another student told me he learned that toilets on the space station are different. When I asked him to tell me more, he was not able to explain how they are different — another important point the author includes. These conversations revealed to me that while the students were making some sense of simple details in the source, they were not grappling with the more difficult information. This gap in understanding would hinder their ability to think about the bigger ideas in the article.

What do we do when we notice this lack of critical thinking? Teaching for strategic close reading may be helpful. Strategic close reading involves reading a source or part of a source multiple times to develop a deeper understanding of the content. The goal of the first read is to gain a basic understanding of the source. Then strategic close reading occurs when a reader carefully analyzes the entire source or a part of it as she reads the source again (Brummett, 2010). The reader looks closely at the pieces (e.g., words, phrases, an image), thinking about the value of these pieces and how they relate or connect to one another. As the reader engages in this process, she may employ the use of multiple strategies, or deliberate actions, that help her make sense of the source. Examples of these strategies include asking specific types of questions or tapping background knowledge about how sources are structured. As a result, the reader can begin to think critically about different aspects of the source like the author's central ideas, writing craft, or point of view.

Strategic close reading is driven by a clear purpose. The purpose, or goal, is a reason, intention, or motivation for engaging in this experience (Almasi & Fullerton, 2012). The purpose acts as a guide. There are a wide variety of purposes a reader might have. The purpose, stated as a question, might simply be "What is important to learn from this source?" or "What is the author's message?" The purpose might be related to the craft of writing like "How does the author's word choice reveal his or her point of view?" The purpose may be related to the content in the source like "How did the social activists exhibit courage during this period?" or "How are chemical and physical reactions a part of our everyday lives?" In school settings some purposes for close reading may be set by the students and some may be set by the teacher.

In today's world, there are so many informational sources that our students need to learn to engage with mindfully. Strategic close reading can be done with any type of source, including traditional texts that consist primarily of written words as well as videos, audio clips, and infographics. For the purposes of this book, then, the term strategic close reading means strategic close reading–viewing– listening.

Before we get into how to teach students strategic close reading, let's take a moment to think about what strategic close reading looks like with three types of sources: an excerpt from a traditional text, a short video, and an infographic. In this case, our purpose for analysis will be to identify some of the main ideas in each source. I've provided the text or a link for each. I encourage you to give yourself a moment to engage in reading or watching these sources multiple times. As you do, begin to notice what you do — the strategies you use, as a proficient reader–viewer– listener — to make sense of these sources and to identify main ideas in each.

WHAT DOES STRATEGIC CLOSE READING OF A TRADITIONAL TEXT LOOK LIKE?

As you read the following excerpt from the children's book Frogs (Bishop, 2008), begin to consider this question: What is one of the author's main ideas?

Some frogs seek out their food. A toad hops around after dark, snapping up moths, beetles, and crickets. It may eat more than 5,000 insects during a single summer. Other frogs ambush their prey. A horned frog hides among leaves on the rain forest floor in South America. It stays absolutely still, day after day. When an animal comes by, the frog watches attentively, waiting until it moves closer. Then it seizes the prey with a loud snap of its huge mouth. The horned frog is not a fussy eater. It gulps down cockroaches, lizards, mice, and even other horned frogs. (p. 17)

After a first read, you might simply say, "This paragraph is about how frogs like the toad and horned frog seek out their food." But let's consider how our understanding of content in this paragraph might deepen if we read this excerpt again, pausing at the end of each sentence or so to consider what the author is trying to say? We might begin to realize that the author has used a variety of details to create a much richer picture.

Let's closely review the paragraph, sentence by sentence. The first sentence introduces the primary topic — how "frogs seek out their food." The second and third sentences describe how the toad finds its food —"hops around"— and even state how many insects it can eat in just one summer —"5,000." The fourth sentence begins with "Other frogs," which signals to the reader that a contrast is about to be made. The fifth sentence introduces the "horned frog" and proceeds into a four-sentence descriptive sequence of the horned frog's ambush of its prey. This is followed by a sentence that describes the horned frog as "not a fussy eater." In the last sentence, the author gives examples of what it eats. This list of examples is different from the foods for the toad listed earlier, so it can be inferred that the toad and frog eat different things. Students engaging in the act of close reading to identify the author's main idea might...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Guilford Publications
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2019
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1462539459
• ISBN 13: 9781462539451
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 2
• Anzahl der Seiten: 258
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Logos Europe; contact@logoseurope.eu; ; 9 Rue Nicolas Possin; La Rochelle; 17000; Frankreich