Transcript Analyze/compare-contrast information within and across texts to

A Voyage into the Known:
Teaching Students to Use Informational Texts
(Standard 2)
“It is critical to support learners
through the learning process and
gradually release responsibility to
them.”
Keene & Zimmerman - Mosaic of Thought
Independent Application
Independent Practice
Guided Practice
Teacher Modeling
The standards use two terms to designate
texts about that which is true:
- Literary Nonfiction
refers to biographies,
some literary essays
(like those by Barbara
Kingsolver), and other
texts the primary
purpose of which is to
entertain.
- Informational Texts
are those whose primary
purpose is to inform.
They include newspaper
articles, workplace
communication,
validated websites, and
other resources.
Students should be able to read informational (expository/
persuasive/ argumentative) texts of the following types:
Grades 6-7
essays, historical documents, informational trade books, textbooks, news and
feature articles, magazine articles, advertisements, encyclopedia entries, reviews
(for example, book, movie, product), journals, and speeches. They also read
directions, maps, time lines, graphs, tables, charts, schedules, recipes, and
photos embedded in informational texts. In addition, they examine commercials,
documentaries, and other forms of nonprint informational texts.
Grade 8 adds…
Research reports, contracts, position papers (for example,
persuasive brochures, campaign literature), editorials,
and letters to the editor
English I – IV adds…
Essays (for example, social, political, scientific, historical,
natural history), business forms, instruction manuals,
product-support materials, and application forms.
STOP AND DISCUSS:
The standards provide a comprehensive list of text types
considered to be informational.
-How are we addressing nonfiction
and informational texts in our
classrooms? Include examples of
direct instruction and practice
(guided, applied, and independent).
-How are we modeling for students
effective approaches to nonfiction
and informational texts in our
classrooms?
-How are we working with our peers
in the content areas to reinforce
reading skills used outside our
classrooms?
When approaching
informational texts, what
should student readers
know and be able to do?
Standard 2 – The student will read and comprehend a variety
of informational texts in print and nonprint formats
- Read independently for extended periods of time to gain information.
- Create responses to informational texts through a variety of
methods (for example, drawings, written works, oral and auditory
presentations, discussions, and media productions).
… what should students know
and be able to do?
- Analyze/compare-contrast/evaluate central ideas/theses within
and across texts.
- Analyze/compare-contrast information within and across texts to draw
conclusions and make inferences.
- Summarize/identify/analyze informational texts for author bias (including word choice, the
exclusion and inclusion of particular information, and unsupported opinion).
- Interpret information/analyze/evaluate the impact that text elements (print styles and
chapter headings) have on the meaning of a given informational text.
- Interpret/analyze/evaluate information from graphic features (illustrations, graphs, charts,
maps, diagrams, and graphic organizers).
-Interpret/analyze/evaluate information from functional text features (e.g. tables of contents and
glossaries).
- Identify/analyze/evaluate propaganda techniques (including testimonials, bandwagon, glittering
generalities, name calling, card stacking, plain folks, and transfer) and rhetorical devices in
informational texts.
Today’s exploration will focus
on two indicators:
- Analyze/compare-contrast information within and
across texts to draw conclusions and make inferences.
- Identify/analyze/evaluate propaganda techniques
(including testimonials, bandwagon, glittering
generalities, name calling, card stacking, plain folks,
and transfer) and rhetorical devices in informational
texts.
2.2 Analyze/Compare-contrast
information within and across texts
to draw conclusions and make
inferences.
The level at which the skill or knowledge will be
assessed can be determined by the description of
the verb from the (Revised Bloom’s) Taxonomy for
Learning, Teaching, and Assessing:
ANALYZE: break material into its constituent parts and determine
how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or
purpose (e.g. differentiating, organizing, attributing).
COMPARE/CONTRAST: detecting correspondences between two
ideas, objects, and the like
So… what skills are specified in this indicator?
Grades 6 and 7 2.2
Analyze information within and across texts to draw conclusions
and make inferences.
Grade 8, E1, E2, E3, E4 2.2
Compare/contrast information within and across texts
to draw conclusions and make inferences.
To what other standards and indicators
does 2.2 connect?
How is information presented in an informational text?
1.2 Explain the effect of point of view on a given literary text.
1.3 Interpret devices of figurative language.
1.5 Analyze the effect of the author’s craft (including tone and the use of
imagery, flashback, foreshadowing, symbolism, irony, and allusion)
on the meaning of literary texts.
But… do writers of
informational texts
use the tools
that fiction writers do?
Consider these excerpts from President Obama’s
inaugural speech:
“Forty-four Americans have now taken the
presidential oath. The words have been
spoken during rising tides of prosperity and
the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often
the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and
raging storms.”
“But our time of standing pat, of protecting
narrow interests and putting off unpleasant
decisions – that time has surely passed.
Starting today, we must pick ourselves up,
dust ourselves off, and begin the work of
remaking America.”
To what other standards and indicators
does 2.2 connect, continued?
- All other indicators under Standard 2.
3.1 Use context clues to generate the meanings of unfamiliar and
multiple-meaning words
3.2 Analyze the meaning of words by using Greek and Latin roots
and affixes within texts.
3.3 Interpret the meanings of idioms and euphemisms
encountered in texts.
3.4 Interpret the connotations of words to understand
the meaning of a given text.
- All indicators under Standards 4 and 5 (writing).
- All indicators under Standard 6 (research).
Effective Instructional Strategies
for Indicator 2.2 include…
- Giving students two treatments of the same topic and asking
them to analyze the information in the texts to
determine such significant points as:
-what information was included or excluded,
-ways in which the author used specific language
effects to affect the reader’s opinion, and
- ways in which the author or publisher used text
elements (such as print styles [e.g. fonts,
bolded or italicized words] or headings
and subheadings) to draw attention to
or away from certain issues.
-Students should use information gained
from analysis to infer or draw conclusions
about the writer’s intent.
Grades 6 and 7 2.2 Analyze information within and across
texts to draw conclusions and make inferences.
- Note the
pattern of
colored words
and passages.
What can you
infer about their
placement and
function?
- What kind of
information
does the writer
cite as support?
“Scientists Solve the Mystery of Flu Season”
From Discover Magazine,
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/02/10/
Everyone knows that winter is flu season, but until now scientists didn’t know
why influenza cases spiked during the colder months. They came up with plenty
of hypotheses–for example, they proposed that people are more exposed when
huddled indoors, and that lower melatonin and vitamin-D levels can weaken
immune systems [ScienceNOW Daily News]–but none of the previous
suggestions proved correct. Now, however, researchers say they have the
answer: The influenza virus thrives in the cold, dry air of winter. “The correlations
were surprisingly strong. When absolute humidity is low, influenza virus survival
is prolonged and transmission rates go up” [AP], said lead researcher Jeffrey
Shaman.
- Does the
author’s craft
used in the
article (e.g. word
choice,
presence or
absence of
figurative
language, etc.)
reflect a bias?
Researchers had previously looked for a link between flu rates and relative
humidity, but Shaman says that absolute humidity (which measures the amount
of water in the air, regardless of temperature) is the real key. Relative humidity
varies with air temperature, because more moisture can be present in warm air
than in cold…. What that means is warm air at 30 percent relative humidity and
cold air at 60 percent relative humidity may actually have the same amount of
water in the air. So, while the cold air sounds moist, it might be pretty dry — just
what the flu likes [AP].
You can take the learning further as students take notes and work
in teams to analyze the text.
Take 5 Make 20
While reading make notes in your notebook in the following order:
5 Connections that you made
- between yourself and the text,
- between the text and the world,
- between the text and another text you have seen, read, or heard about.
5 Smart things that you noticed about the way the writer expressed ideas.
5 Things you wonder about.
Share your 15 items with a partner and then listen to their 15 items.
Make a list of 5 Take-Aways, which might include:
- Something that you need to research or think about more deeply,
- Something to have a conversation about, or
- Something the writer did that you can do in your writing.
From Myron Foxworth, SCRI Literacy Coach
Grade 8, English I – IV
2.2 Compare-contrast information within and across texts to draw
conclusions and make inferences.
The Central Florida Future
(the student newspaper at the University of Central Florida)
“School uniforms squash individuality”
Issue date: 6/12/08
School uniforms are like a repellent. If there is one surefire way to
discourage students from going to school, it's forcing them to surrender
their individuality for uniformity.
Lake County is considering school uniforms, despite the expressed
disapproval of 84 percent of surveyed students.
In response, the school board offered the pros and cons of adopting
school uniforms. The advantages are textbook, asserting that there will
be no fights or thefts over designer clothing or name-brand shoes, no
gang colors will be displayed, school officials will be able to identify
intruders and uniforms would promote school pride.
However, according to a report completed by Orange County school
officials, "There is no Florida Department of Education evidence that
would indicate that a district-wide uniform policy would increase student
achievement or decrease crime and violence in schools."
-How did the author
use specific
language effects
(e.g. word choice,
figurative language,
etc.) to affect the
reader’s opinion?
-What kind of support
does the writer
provide for his or her
assertion that school
uniforms are not only
unpleasant but also
unsuccessful?
-How did the author
use specific
language effects
(e.g. passive versus
active voice, etc.) to
affect the reader’s
opinion?
- Was any information
present in this article
that was missing from
the previous example
or vice versa?
- What can we infer
about the radical
difference between the
support provided by
this writer and that
provided in the
previous article?
Mississippi State University website
“Opinions split on school uniforms”
By Bonnie Coblentz
MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Several years after their
introduction, school uniforms are performing as expected.
And as expected, many students don't like wearing them.
Their use has been credited with reduced behavioral
problems and better learning environments. The U.S.
Department of Education outlines their usefulness and
regulations in an online manual on the subject.
"In response to growing levels of violence in our schools,
many parents, teachers and school officials have come to
see school uniforms as one positive and creative way to
reduce discipline problems and increase school safety," the
department states.
Louise Davis, Extension associate professor of child and
family development at Mississippi State University, said
wearing uniforms reduces peer pressure students face in
school.
"Uniforms create less distinction between the haves and
the have-nots," Davis said. "They help the students focus
on learning rather than the clothes they wear."
Nonfiction need not be BORING.
When a man is getting sick in an airline seat next to you, you may not want to
embarrass him by calling attention to the problem. You say to yourself that this man
will be all right. Maybe he doesn’t travel well in airplanes. He is airsick, the poor
man, and people do get nosebleeds in airplanes, the air is so dry and thin… and you
ask him, weakly, if there is anything you can do to help. He does not answer, or he
mumbles words you can’t understand, so you try to ignore it, but the flight seems to
go on forever…. But victims of this type of hot virus have changes in behavior that
can render them incapable of responding to an offer of help. They become hostile,
and don’t want to be touched. They don’t want to speak. They answer questions
with grunts or monosyllables. They can’t seem to find words. They can tell you their
name, but they can’t tell you the day of the week or explain w hat has happened to
them….
A minute later, (the plane) lands at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Monet
stirs himself. He is still able to walk. He stands up, dripping. He stumbles down the
gangway onto the tarmac. His shirt is a red mess. He carries no luggage. His only
luggage is internal, and it is a load of amplified virus. Monet has been transformed
into a human virus bomb. He walks slowly into the airport terminal and through the
building and out to a curving road where taxis are always parked. The taxi drivers
surround him – “Taxi? “Taxi?”
“Nairobi… Hospital,” he mumbles.
- from The Hot Zone, Richard Preston
Nonfiction need not be BORING.
See also
Connections by James Burke (an entertaining summary of cause and effect relationships
among technology, history, politics, medicine, and the arts)
Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (in which even numbered chapters are nonfiction
accounts of real parasites, entertainingly described)
Great Feuds in History by Colin Evans (which details significant feuds throughout
history, including Elizabeth I versus Mary, Queen of Scots [great to accompany
the study of Shakespeare, perhaps, in English IV]; Stalin versus Trotsky [a great
companion piece to Animal Farm]; and the Hatfields versus the McCoys [a fun
addition to the study of American Lit]) This book is remarkable for its fabulous
incorporation of difficult vocabulary.
The Civil War: A Narrative, by Shelby Foote. (brings the war to life)
The Story of English, by Robert McCrum et al (particularly significant for supporting
Standard 3 in English III and IV)
The Golden Ratio: The Story of PHI, the World’s Most Astonishing Number, by Mario
Livio (an entertaining look at math as it relates to absolutely everything)
Children’s books such as
One Thousand Tracings (about the aftermath of WWII)
Pink and Say (about the Civil War)
Gleam and Glow (about the war in Bosnia)
2.7 Identify/analyze/evaluate propaganda
techniques and rhetorical devices in
informational texts.
The level at which the skill or knowledge will be
assessed can be determined by the description of
the verb from the (Revised Bloom’s) Taxonomy for
Learning, Teaching, and Assessing:
Grades 6-8
Identify
Retrieve relevant knowledge from longterm memory (e.g. recognizing and
recalling)
(propaganda techniques):
English I and II
Analyze
(propaganda
techniques):
English III and IV
Evaluate
(propaganda techniques
and rhetorical devices):
Break material into its constituent parts
and determine how the parts relate to
one another and to an overall structure
or purpose (e.g. differentiating,
organizing, attributing)
Make judgments based on criteria and
standards (e.g. coordinating, detecting,
monitoring, testing, judging)
So… what skills are specified in this indicator?
Grades 6,7, and 8
Identify propaganda techniques (including testimonials, bandwagon, glittering
generalities, name calling, card stacking, plain folks, and transfer) in
informational texts.
English I and II
Analyze propaganda techniques in informational texts.
English III and IV
Evaluate propaganda techniques and rhetorical devices
in informational texts.
Specified Propaganda techniques:
Testimonials - are quotations or endorsements, in or out of context,
which attempt to connect a famous or respectable person with
a product or item.
Bandwagon - an appeal to the subject to follow the crowd, to
join in because others are doing so as well. Bandwagon
propaganda is, essentially, trying to convince the subject that one
side is the winning side, because more people have joined it.
Glittering generalities - are words that have different positive meaning
for individual subjects, but are linked to highly valued concepts. When these
words are used, they demand approval without thinking, simply because such
an important concept is involved. For example, when a person is asked to do
something in "defense of democracy" they are more likely to agree. Words
often used as glittering generalities are honor, glory, love of country, and
especially in the United States, freedom.
Specified Propaganda techniques, continued:
Name calling (also called ad hominem) - is the use of derogatory language
or words that carry a negative connotation when describing an enemy. The propaganda
attempts to arouse prejudice among the public by labeling the target something that
the public dislikes.
Card stacking - or selective omission, involves only presenting
information that is positive to an idea or proposal and omitting
information contrary to it.
Plain folks - is an attempt by the propagandist to convince the public
that his views reflect those of the common person and that they are also
working for the benefit of the common person. The propagandist will
often attempt to use the accent of a specific audience as well as using
specific idioms or jokes. (For example, the “Joe the Plumber” ads)
Transfer - is an attempt to make the subject view a certain item in the same way as they view another
item, to link the two in the subjects mind. Although this technique is often used to transfer negative feelings
for one object to another, it can also be used in positive ways. By linking an item to something the subject
respects or enjoys, positive feelings can be generated for it.
A Sampling of Rhetorical Devices
Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive
phrases, clauses, or sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax and with
parallelism. (For example, “Finally, we must consider what pleasantness of teaching there is in
books, how easy, how secret! How safely we lay bare the poverty of human ignorance to books
without feeling any shame! “Richard de Bury)
Apostrophe interrupts the discussion or discourse and addresses directly a person or
personified thing, either present or absent. Its most common purpose in prose is to give
vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back. (For example, “O
sinner, consider the dreadful danger you are in!)
Litotes, a particular form of understatement, is generated by denying the opposite or
contrary of the word which otherwise would be used. Depending on the tone and context
of the usage, litotes either retains the effect of understatement, or becomes an
intensifying expression. (For example, “Heat waves are not uncommon in the summer.”)
Procatalepsis, by anticipating an objection and answering it, permits an argument to
continue moving forward while taking into account points or reasons opposing either the
train of thought or its final conclusions. Often the objections are standard ones:
It is usually argued at this point that if the government gets out of the mail delivery business, small
towns like Podunk will not have any mail service. The answer to this can be found in the history of the
Pony Express . . . .
A Sampling of Rhetorical Devices, continued
Rhetorical Question is a question asked but not answered by the writer because its
answer is obvious or obviously desired, and usually just a yes or no. It is used for effect,
emphasis, or provocation, or for drawing a conclusionary statement from the facts at
hand. (For example, “. . . For if we lose the ability to perceive our faults, what is the good of living
on?” -Marcus Aurelius)
Controlled Rhetorical Question is a question asked by the writer and answered before
the reader or listener has the opportunity to form an answer of his own. (For example,
“Why does my opponent avoid answering questions about his nefarious past? Because he’s guilty,
that’s why.”)
Periodic Sentence is one in which a series of dependent clauses precede and lead up
to the main clause, thus creating suspense. (For example, “If you watch what you eat, if you
exercise regularly, if you control your stress, you may avoid having a heart attack but heredity also
plays an important role.”)
Zeugma includes several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct
linkage (or yoking together) of two or more parts of speech by another part of speech.
Thus examples of zeugmatic usage would include one subject with two (or more) verbs,
a verb with two (or more) direct objects, two (or more) subjects with one verb, and so
forth. The main benefit of the linking is that it shows relationships between ideas and
actions more clearly. (For example, “Josh excels at sports; Ryan at music; Adam with girls.)
Effective Instructional Strategies
for Indicator 2.7 include…
Giving students print texts (advertisements, editorials, or articles
from periodicals with obvious biases) and…
Identifying Propaganda Techniques:
-asking them to determine what technique was used to affect the reader’s
perception (See examples on previous slides).
Analyzing Propaganda Techniques:
-asking them to tell how the technique worked.
Evaluating Propaganda Techniques
and Rhetorical Devices:
- asking them to determine whether
techniques were used successfully.
What visual and verbal
elements in these
advertisements are meant
to affect the reader?
Do they work? Why? What prior
knowledge or impressions do
readers need to have to ‘get’ the
message?
Some resources are ALREADY in your hands:
http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm (an exhaustive list of
rhetorical devices)
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/proptech.htm (a complete list
of propaganda techniques identified by the Institute for Propaganda
Analysis of 1938)
http://www.foothilltech.org/rgeib/english/media_literacy/advertising_t
echniques.htm (offers information about propaganda techniques and
their connections to advertising)
http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/propaganda.examples.html (provides
wonderful examples of each type of propaganda technique)
What might Test Items based
on these indicators look like?
As each question appears, discuss how it asks students to
use the skills named in the indicator.
PASS Sample:
(Nonfiction passage: “Lou Gehrig”)
Read Lou Gehrig’s statement. “Yet today I consider myself
the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
- Why did he most likely feel lucky?
A. because he played baseball for seventeen years
B. because he had received the best medical attention
C. because he was surrounded by so many caring
people
D. because he set many records during his baseball
career
PASS Sample:
(Nonfiction passage: “The National Museum of American History”)
- What type of propaganda technique is used in the last
paragraph?
A. testimonial
B. bandwagon
C. name calling
D. glittering generalities
EOC Sample:
(Nonfiction passage: “Canned Goods, Cattle, or Coin”
-Which statement best describes the main problem with using the
coin as currency in ancient times?
A. the design of the coin
B. the value of the coin
C. the material used to make the coin
D. the pictures printed on the coin
HSAP Sample:
(Nonfiction passage: “In Favor of Curfews”)
- Which statement implies that curfews help parents guide their
teens?
A. “They say that enforcing curfews is making criminals out of
innocent teens.”
B. “Opponents also argue that statistics indicate that curfews do
not decrease juvenile crime rates.”
C. “In fact, a curfew enforced by local law enforcement
can serve as reinforcement of parental
authority.”
D. “A curfew is necessary for the protection of
innocent minors.”
HSAP Sample:
-Based on the information in the selection, what inference can you make
about ancient civilizations?
A. Art was the most important thing in ancient times.
B. Several ancient civilizations developed the art of growing miniature
trees.
C. Growing trees was considered to be the highest form
of art in ancient civilizations.
C. People in ancient times developed new art forms.
HSAP Sample:
- Which best describes how the propaganda technique is
used in this selection?
A. The writer convinces the reader that he will be
unpopular unless he ‘jumps on the bandwagon’ and
buys the brand of jeans described.
B. The writer uses a celebrity testimonial to convince the
reader that, if he buys that brand of jeans, he, too, will
be athletic.
C. The writer omits information about how much the
jeans cost, using card stacking to persuade the
reader to buy.
D. The writer describes an everyday, working man
who depends on the jeans, using plain folks to
get the reader to see himself in those jeans.
ACT Sample:
- The reader can infer that the Chinese influence on
Japanese furniture-making is reflected in which of the
following characteristics of some Japanese furniture?
I. The use of space
II. The black and gold lacquer
III. The use of paulownia wood
A.II only
B.III only
C.I and II only
D.I, II, and III
ACT Sample:
-It can reasonably be deduced from the first paragraph
that the number of degrees in the Earth's sky taken up by
our Moon is roughly:
A.0.5 degree.
B.1.0 degree.
C.4.0 degrees.
D.8.0 degrees.
SAT Sample:
-It can be inferred that Hou Xianguang's "hands began to shake" (line
11) because he was
(A) afraid that he might lose the fossil
(B) worried about the implications of his finding
(C) concerned that he might not get credit for hiswork
(D) uncertain about the authenticity of the fossil
(E) excited about the magnitude of his discovery
SAT Sample:
-Which of the following best describes the difference between Passages 1
and 2?
(A) Passage 1 remembers an event with fondness, while
Passage 2 recalls a similar event with bitter detachment.
(B) Passage 1 considers why the author responded to the visit as
he did, while Passage 2 supplies the author's reactions without
further analysis.
(C) Passage 1 relates a story from a number of different
perspectives, while Passage 2 maintains a
single point of view.
(D) Passage 1 treats the visit to the theater as a
disturbing episode in the author's life, while
Passage 2 describes the author's visit as joyful.
(E) Passage 1 recounts a childhood experience,
while Passage 2 examines how a similar
experience changed over time.
-The EOC blueprint indicates that up to 3 out of 10 passages
might be informational text. Of the 4 possible literary texts,
some may be literary nonfiction.
-3 out of 4 sample passages on the ACT test prep website
were informational texts.
-2 out of 3 sample passages provided by the College Board
were informational texts.
to the Standard 2 Team:
Tricia Gimpert, SSM
Myron Foxworth, Literacy Coach
Laura Garner, ELA Coordinator