On the road to meaning in nonfiction text, students face many twists and turns. This presentation addresses what we can do to help!

1. Presented by Angela Maiers, 2007 The Road to Meaning: Teaching Students To Successfully Navigate Nonfiction Texts

3. “ Final Destination” Students will have the ability to construct new understandings by interacting across and within texts, summarizing, analyzing, and evaluating them actively. They must be able to use literacy for creative and critical thinking and for advanced problem solving. Proficient and advanced readers know and apply multiple strategies to text in order to construct meanings from multiple perspectives and understand how their meanings may differ from those of others. NAEP, 2002

4. Successful Navigation Requires…

6. Successful Navigation After During Before Reading Driving

8. Effective vs. Ineffective Navigation Before Reading the Selection Don’t necessarily acknowledge the challenges of academic reading and often approach tasks with an unproductive mind set and study environment. Create a productive study environment and mind set to accomplish their task. Do not have a reading purpose other than trying to get through some pages. Understand their reading task and set a clear purpose for reading. Have not assessed the difficulty level or length of the assignment and simply begin reading, attempting to finish one session. Establish a realistic reading plan after examining the assignment length and difficulty through prereading. Start reading without thinking about the subject or looking over the selection. Activate background knowledge on the subject through reflection and prereading.

9. Effective vs. Ineffective Navigation While Reading the Selection Rarely or never takes the initiative to seek clarification from the teacher. Make note of problematic material to later question the teacher and/or other sources. Seldom use and fix-up strategies when they are uncertain or confused. Monitor their reading comprehension and do it so often it becomes automatic. Do not monitor their comprehension. Keep a constant check on their understanding. Are not very “text-wise” and have no clear sense of text organization and therefore have difficulty identifying important information. Are familiar with text structure and know how to identify maid ideas, terms, concepts. Interrupt their reading process regularly with mental or environment distractions. Give their complete attention to the task.

10. Effective vs. Ineffective Strategies After Reading the Selection Simply glance over or reread pages of the assigned reading before a test. Synthesize and organize the main ideas for review and study purposes. Do not identify and organize the main ideas for study purposed. Identify, highlight and annotate main ideas within the text. Do not follow with any form of comprehension self-check. Evaluate comprehension of what was read. Are not entirely certain what they have read. Decide if they have achieved their reading goal.

12. Nonfiction is like an orange… Because nonfiction is about reading and connecting The sections to the writers whole idea about the topic. BIG Topic Section Topic Section Topic

13. Main Idea Web Topic: Oil Spills

18. Are Headings Important: You Decide!?!

20. A newspaper is better than a magazine, and on a seashore is a better place than a street. At first, it is better to run than walk. Also, you may have to try several times. It takes some skill but it is fairly easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful , complications are minimal. Birds seldom get too close. One needs lots of room. Rain soaks fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. If there are no complications, it can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break loose from it, however, you will not get a second chance.

23. Print Size Cutaways Index Glossary It allows me to see the chapters and topics and know exactly what pages they are on so I can get to the information I need in the quickest way. Located in the front of the book to share a list of key topics or chapter in which the book addresses in the order in which they appear in the text Table of Contents It allows the reader to see inside or a smaller part of a large area so we can understand it in a more detailed way A smaller more detailed section of the larger photo or illustration Close-Up Helps the readers take something familiar to show how it relates or compares with something new Show size relationship between two or more objects of ideas Comparison Tells the reader what to focus on in the picture that is important Information directly relating to a photo or illustration Caption How it Helps Purpose Convention

24. Visual Text: Cross Section

26. The Places You Will Go

30. Signal Words Point the Way… Text Structure & Signal Words Description/ Hierarchical List Cause & Effect Compare / Contrast Problem/ Solution Question & Answer Sequence For instance For example Furthermore Such as Also To begin with Most important Also In fact In addition And to illustrate Since Because This led to On account of Due to As a result of For this reason Consequentially Then…so… Therefore thus In like manner Likewise Similar to The difference between As opposed to After all However And yet But Nevertheless On the other hand One reason for the… A solution A problem Where The question is One answer is Recommendations include How When What Next Why Who How many The best estimate It could be that One may conclude Until Before After Finally Lastly First…last… Now…then On (date) At (time) First, second Meanwhile Not long after initially

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45. Whole Group Explicit Instruction : 9 Week Plan NF NF NF F F F NF NF NF WK 9 WK 8 WK 7 WK 6 WK 5 WK 4 WK 3 WK 2 WK 1

46. Journal Plays Description Procedural Compare/Contrast Graphs Tables Visual Layout Maps 3rd Journals Plays Exposure And Discussion Glossary Bold Italics Bullets 2 nd Journals Plays Exposure And Discussion Index Fonts Headings Captions 1 st Journals Plays Exposure And Discussion Labels T of Cont. Arrows/Lines Photo KG TEXT FORMAT TEXT STRUCTURE TEXT FEATURE GRADE LEVEL

47. Editorials Emails Diary Memoirs Chronology Persuasion Problem and Solution Timelines Sidebars Bibliography Footnotes Asteric 6th Editorials Emails Diary Memoirs Chronology Persuasion Problem and Solution Timelines Sidebars Bibliography Footnotes Asteric 5th Editorials Emails Diary Memoirs Cause and Effect Question and Answer Data Analysis Sub Heading Quotations Diagrams 4th TEXT FORMAT TEXT STRUCTURE TEXT FEATURE GRADE LEVEL