Teaching
Informational Text: But What About the
Others?
The more I learn at Franciscan University, the more I have become a little bit (or a big bit?) of a pain in the behind to traditional teaching administration and the teachers themselves. Why? Take teaching informational text. Teachers know to concentrate on activating prior knowledge, identifying text structure (description, sequence, problem and solution, cause and effect, compare and contrast – in that order including signal words and use of graphic organizers), learning to read text features like charts and graphs, determining fact from opinion, identifying author’s intent and/or purpose, and naming important details and summarizing. My problem with this is the reliance on textbook/paper and pencil first, and then, they include (maybe) an additional activity. I say, rely on the additional activities, and include a couple textbook/paper and pencil things afterward; in fact, why not just send them home as additional activities?
Depending on the type of
class a teacher has, many students are going to grasp the informational text
pretty quickly with textbook coverage. These
are the mostly well-behaved, fairly intelligent students who give the teacher
no trouble, are a pleasure to have in class, and read and write well.
But
what about the others?
In lower socioeconomic areas, classrooms are full of students that have lost interest in learning a long time ago. There are probably many reasons for this including the trauma of their home life, but many of these students did not learn to read and comprehend adequately at an early age, and once lost to education, remained lost. When I think of teaching something new, the first thing I think about is these kids. What about them? Can you really teach them anything about informational text when their minds are on trying to read (text means “read”) or on filling out paperwork and failing (and yes, they think of failing right away). These kids often spend so much concentration on forming letters and thoughts that the whole lesson you were attempting to convey escapes them. What happens when you have not caught their interest? They will display (or fake) disinterest and become oppositional right off the bat in order to mask their deficiencies. Some kids just plain do not participate.
School or Grade Themes to
make connections are great, but could be difficult to put in place unless you
have a very cooperative school, and many activities that go along with “themes”
are relevant and fun. Sometimes, real world connections have to be
made in the classroom, and quite often, you have to make the activities
different and fun yourself.
Doing activities, particularly activities that involve reading or writing, in a group (with jobs assigned) or pairs is a place to start. If students are not forced to read in front of their peers or forced to write when they have difficulty doing it, they may listen and learn. Perhaps, all graphic organizers can be done this way, and give the difficult students the writing job later in the year. Doing activities other than paper and pencil activities are another place to start. Students love moving around the room and playing any type of game. They love the excuse to use their phones. They love to actually touch something like a newspaper or magazine. The good thing is that anything you might try with these students is going to work with the well-behaved bunch as well (although, granted, if you are a pencil and paper kid, it is a little troubling to be forced out of your safety zone).
Here
are some things to try.
·
Reading
Inventories
Aligning your curriculum
with their interests will create a spark. This needs done at the first of the
year, but it can be done anytime as their interests are going to change as the
year goes on anyway. Some of these kids
will not fill these out. They might do it online. Here is an
“outside the box” idea: allow them to put
down whatever they want and do not penalize them for horrible language or
questionable interests. See what
happens.
· Activate prior knowledge but also, supply the knowledge
It is often surprising
what some students have no knowledge or experience with, and a teacher can try
to figure out who does and who does not, but how many are not going to tell the
truth? Before beginning a “read,” show
them a video or movie, or do an experiment (Raki, 2017), or do something that
they can manipulate regarding your content.
Let them see what they are going to be reading about. Now, they can “visualize.” I believe visualizing is very important in
retaining information, and some kids need to be supplied with these pictures.
Go over the new
vocabulary first before reading a selection (Raki), and make it easy and
comfortable for the students to speak up if they do not know additional words. Word walls are great for any age level. Remember that even some of the seniors (yes,
12th Grade) may not read well.
Do a quick skim together,
look at the headings/sub headings, the graphs, the pictures, and anything else
that can lead to predictions on what the text’s main content is (Raki). Do not put anyone on the spot, but have them
predict on note cards with words and/or pictures. Let them hand them in to you, and see where
your students stand. Do think a-louds as you skim, and let the
students chime in with some means to do it respectively, like holding up a
“flag.
·
Explicit
instruction
All students may need
explicit instruction, but particularly students with learning or reading
problems and this includes modeling. The
problem is will they listen to the instruction or the modeling? You may need to grab their attention first
and go from there. If they are in small
groups or pairs and not listening well, once an activity holds their interest,
you can repeat the explicit instruction as a mini lesson.
·
Extend
your library or reading area
To gain knowledge, they need access to different types of informational text. Leave all types of reading material, including short informational text items, newspapers, and magazines, where the students will have access to them (Oczkus, 2014). This is relevant and real world literature. Be sure you allow time to give them that access, outside of your Read A-Loud time or extended reading time.
· Choice
Any time that difficult students have a choice of what they can work with, the teacher wins. The key is not too many choices. They may read if they can choose what to read. They may read silently if they do not have to read in front of their peers. Try to find trade books to match the lessons. They may read an interesting trade book, too. You never know.
·
Now
those OTHER activities:
o Pillowcase Lesson
This activity came from the
International Literacy Association. Fill
up a pillowcase with different types of text that you personally have at home,
anything from recipes and restaurant menus to magazines to newspapers to
advertisements/junk mail. In small
groups or pairs, let them name the type of text, the purpose for you reading
it, and the strategy you used to read it (Oczkus). Do it together on the white board several
times first – explicit instruction and
modeling is important – and see
if their strategy is the same as yours).
Some of the students may not do the writing, but they will be listening. These text items can be used in other types
of activities (identifying text structure, author’s intent, or fact versus
opinion, highlighting key words and phrases or main points). “Pull quotes,” for example, are used in
magazine articles and on the internet to highlight important information. Have the students work in groups to read a
piece of informational text and “cut out” their own pull quotes (Domingo,
n.d.). Have the “pull quotes” already
pulled out from similar text items and have the students “match” them.
o
“Marking
up” the text (Annotating)
This
may be enjoyed by students, especially if they can use symbols or pictures or
drawings instead of words. Again, this
is where they have a choice in how to do it.
Do one or two together and model
how you do it yourself (like how you highlight or “box in” steps or headings,
and add thoughts). It is “sort of” like destroying something
(like writing in books that are not yours) which some kids (particularly boys)
find very fulfilling. Students can
“draw” sequences, compare/contrast or describe with pictures, and anything
else. If this is how they learn
information, let them do it and skip the graphic organizer.
o
Teacher
prepared “guides”
Students
just fill in blanks. It is less writing
and less intimidating.
o Post-It notes
Retrieved from Creative Commons (2020, December 6).
I personally love to use them, especially in multiple colors, and others may as well. Colors are helpful with post-it notes just like using markers or highlighters can be helpful.
o
Treasure/Scavenger hunts
Using
your personal samples of informational text (Strategies, 2020), lay them around
the room, and let students find the item that matches a given text structure or
graph. It may work better for some
students if they work in pairs. Another
fun thing would be taping the articles to students’ backs!
o
Gallery walks
They
can look for various text features or text structure and mark off items on a sheet
on a clipboard. You can also hang up
butcher paper and they can write on that with colored markers. They can comment on pictures from
informational text. Walking around the
room gets the shakes and wiggles out.
o Bingo or other games
This can be created to show text features, for example, or information from charts, graphs, or diagrams. Bingo can be done in pairs. You can also create some sort of Match type game or do vocabulary on Bingo. Although you can do this online, manipulating something like counters may be something to try on occasion. Students LOVE to use the buzzers (like Family Feud), so you can ask questions concerning what you want them to know and have teams. They can ask their team mates for help, somewhat like what they do on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Remember, kids love to win prizes! You can do a type of “Four Corners” game where students go to the corner of the room that has their answer to some multiple choice question (or choice of text structure or author’s purpose) or do “Two Sides of the Room” and have them identify fact versus opinion.
o
White
board paddles/Kahoot
Seems
a little ridiculous, but kids love to hold up paddles. They also love their phones and there are
apps for yes and no or to vote. With
Kahoot, they can actually use their phones, or they can use the paddles. You could also just have yay/nay stand up (or
sit down) to get them moving around. You
may have to put up with a little extra “decorating” of the paddles.
o Speaking of phones
You
can only try it. Texting is “in,” so
have them text you a main idea. Have
them come up with a summary and work it into a text message. They could text you a “pull quote.” They can also text you answers to questions.
o
Internet
responses and games
How
about commenting or sharing their thoughts on something like Padlet? It is even pretty anonymous. You can also create questions or flashcards
on a platform like Quizlet (although, unfortunately, Quizlet is no longer free). Kids love these games. They are learning with no grade and no
grief.
o
Flipgrid
Many students are camera shy, but they can get used to it. You could have them find some sort of informational text at home and film themselves explaining a text feature you want them to know how to identify. Remember that informational text includes junk mail, so I am willing to bet that most homes, even the economically disadvantaged, get junk mail. They can keep their video private until they are ready to share, but you can see it.
· Summary
Your difficult kids are
not going to learn the old-fashioned way.
Use graphic organizers if you get no pushback, but if so, try something
else. The interest in knowledge you
cultivate may finally “kick in” one future day!
How can YOU work outside the box and give these “other kids” a chance to
succeed?
References
Domingo, Alana (n.d.).
Prestwick House. 5 quick activities for teaching informational
text. https://www.prestwickhouse.com/blog/post/2020/07/5-quick-activities-for-teaching-informational-texts
Oczkus, Lori (2014, May 6). International
Literacy Association. Unlocking the
power of informational text with five creative ideas. https://literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-now/2014/05/06/unlocking-the-power-of-informational-text-with-five-creative-ideas
Oczkus, Lori (2014, August 5). International
Literacy Association. Best ever
literacy tips for teaching informational text structures. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-now/2014/08/05/best-ever-literacy-tips-for-teaching-informational-text-structures-
Pathway
2 Success (2019, October 1).
Strategies for Oppositional Kids. https://www.thepathway2success.com/strategies-for-oppositional-kids/
Raki, Heidi
(2017, July 21). Rakis Rad Resources Blog.
Five strategies for teaching informational texts to students with little
background knowledge. http://www.rakisradresources.com/blog/five-strategies-for-teaching-informational-texts-to-students-with-little-background-knowledge
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