Another reading idea I'd like to explore is the area of informational texts. Admittedly, this bleeds into a writing idea as well (the two tend to go hand in hand), but I will discuss the concept as a whole. This idea is important to me due to the new adoption of the Common Core State Standards in Montana. These standards bring to light a new focus on teaching students to read and write informational texts. Students will encounter these texts throughout their lives, and so reading and writing comprehension in this area is important. When I first discovered this focus in the standards, I was hesitant. Other subjects should be responsible for teaching some of the more technical reading and writing. As a literature lover, I would love to focus on creative literature in my class. However, I will be required to teach both, and so I am thankful to have learned more about how to teach informational texts.
I have actually found my philosophy about informational texts changing over the last few weeks. I recently read the book
Get It Done! by James e. Fredricksen, Michael W. Smith, and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. This text discusses theories and practices for reading and writing informational texts. In my mind, the most helpful and influential idea this text had to offer was the concept that informational texts are a way of
thinking, not just a form or style of writing. The text claims "...each informational text type requires a different and very particular kind of thought. That is, each kind of informational text structure embodies a specific way of thinking with and through categories" (11). Most importantly, these thought structures are things we do naturally. Once this is pointed out to students, they can learn to use these processes to develop and comprehend informational texts. The types of structured texts they list are as follows:
·
Structure of information texts: (12-16).
o Listing
and naming
o Summary/précis
o Description
o Process
description
o Definition
o Comparison-contrast
o Classification
o Cause-effect
o Problem-solution
The rest of the book focuses on activities which help students learn these structures. The text itself is somewhat repetitive, but the practical ideas presented are really useful. Once mastered, each structure builds upon the others to develop the process for creating informational texts. This will "help students think like real readers, writers, historians, scientists, and mathematicians," therefore, "we need to teach these patterns and text structures in the context of our subject matter" (4). Students can then apply this knowledge to reading informational texts, analyzing how these texts were created and why they are structured specific ways. This will help students evaluate the texts they encounter for validity and purpose, making them smarter world readers.
In fact, informational texts are crucial to today's society and learning about current events. In reading a fellow future educator's blog, I was reminded how Kelly Gallagher discusses the astonishing lack of knowledge some students have about current events going on around them. During the 2008 presidential primaries, "only one student could identify John McCain, John Edwards, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, or Rudy Giuliani. Perhaps more unbelievable was that only one of my ninth graders could name the sitting vice president of the United States" (Gallagher 28). This fact is downright scary. Students need to be up to date with societal events. Incorporating informational texts and current events would be a wonderful strategy. Students can read informational texts, analyzing their structures, while gaining knowledge about the events going on around them. Bridging these ideas will help kill two birds with one stone, and save teachers time in an already jam-packed curriculum.
Overall, I have realized that teaching informational texts, and that style of thinking, is very important to my students. Perhaps more importantly, I have realized teaching these texts can be fun, rather than dry and boring. I will certainly keep Get It Done! handy throughout my teaching career to utilize the ideas presented and remind myself the real reasons for teaching informational texts.
Since I read Oh, Yeah?! (the argumentative writing book), it was beneficial for me to be a part of your lesson. I had never thought of informational texts as a thinking process, or way of thinking either. As I think about it over, argumentative texts are also a thought process. The students must make claims, while also have in mind the possibly rebuttal from the other side of the claim. With that said, they will also have to provide evidence. I think the writing of each type of essay are more alike that we know. Complex thinking process lead to great writing skills. Argumentative texts and informational texts sort of go hand in hand. One makes the claim and one informs about the claim. It is kind of fun to intertwine these, and see how everything is connected.
ReplyDeleteI agree that these two forms of text go hand-in-hand (most everything we teach relates in some way really). However, it is impossible to deny the relationship between argumentative and informational texts and writing. Both require evidence and counter-arguments. Both require research into such aspects. I think this connection is important to illustrate to students as well. They can use the skills they learn in one form to aid them in learning another. As teachers, we must draw on the knowledge students already have, and a key to good teaching is relating the myriad of concepts students encounter. This is one such place to do so. I am glad you agree!
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