Is this true?

1. Is this true? “Nonfiction authors sometimes condescend to children by oversimplifying, thinking of the readers as dear little things, or guarding their ears from the whole truth.” Lukens, R.J.( 2003).A critical handbook of children's literature (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

2. Tips for content area literacy in the middle school classroom:Helpful reading strategies for expository texts Katie Salzman EDRD 634 April 29, 2010

3. WorkshopPreview Purpose: The goal of this workshop is to arm content area teachers with resources for using clever reading strategies to teach expository content. Overview: Participants will familiarize themselves with a few sample teaching strategies. Teachers will participate in brainstorming activities to fully understand why these strategies work across the curriculum in dealing with expository texts and will have time to discuss ways to implement these strategies in their classrooms. Audience: Teachers of all content areas for students in the secondary grades.

4. Workshop Agenda Anticipation Survey (5 min) The trouble with expository text (5 min) PLAN (20 min) Nonfiction Writing (10 min) Textmasters (20 min) Anticipation Survey/Changes? (5 min) Questions/Dialogue (5-10 min)

5. Anticipation Survey/On your index card answer the following: • What do you do to instill good reading strategies? What best practices do you use? • Whose job is it to teach reading? • How is reading expository text different than reading fiction? • Personally, what do you do to help yourself understand expository text?

6. Could this work in your class? The Crazy Professor Reading Game (4 min) Why? Why not?

7. Expository: (adj): Informational, nonfiction, explanatory, factual

8. Expository Issues… “reading nonfiction can be really difficult. Readers are called on to comprehend ideas that may be very challenging, and also to extrapolate and remember the main ideas in order to integrate them with prior knowledge. And nonfiction also requires readers to uncover organizational patterns in order to comprehend the relationship of ideas. It's no surprise, then, that the idea of teaching these abstract thought processes can often be intimidating.” Blevins, W. & Boyton, A. (2004). 5 Keys to Reading Nonfiction. Instructor, 114. 4-6.

9. Expository Issues… For years there have been calls for an increased emphasis on content literacy (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004; Draper, 2008; Kamil, 2003; Richardson, 2008). This is the result of a recognition that students would benefit from having content area classes that are infused with reading instruction (Fisher & Ivey, 2005; Moore, Readence, & Rickelman, 1983; O'Brien, Stewart, & Moje, 1995). However, many secondary school teachers perceive literacy to be the responsibility of English teachers (Lester, 2000), or they have difficulty balancing literacy and content instruction. Wilson, N.S., & Grisham, D.L. (2009).Investigating content area teachers‘ understanding of a content literacy framework: A yearlong professional development initiative. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52, 708- 718.

10. Solution? • In a Rally Robin, take turns addressing attack methods for teaching expository text (2 min) • What strategies work? • What do kids like? • How can we address the problem of comprehension of nonfiction texts? Kagan, S. and Kagan, M. (1998). Multiple intelligences: The complete MI book. San Clemente, CA: Kagan.

11. Strategy 1/The PLAN method Radcliffe, R., Caverly, D., Hand, J., & Franke, D. (2008). Improving reading in a middle school science classroom. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51, 398-408.

12. Research Radcliffe, R., Caverly, D., Hand, J., & Franke, D. (2008). Improving reading in a middle school science classroom. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51, 398-408. “A quasi-experimental research design revealed that students who used the PLAN strategy for reading their science textbook demonstrated higher scores for reading comprehension and reading strategy use than students who used a silent reading approach.” “the students in the current study benefited from the use of PLAN, as documented by gains in their comprehension test scores when compared to a control group.”

13. Brainstorm/Practice With your group, try out the PLAN strategy to conquer the provided reading (Ch. 8: Energy Molecules).

14. Think-Pair-Share/Implementation • Think: • How could this be used? • Pair: • Adapted? • Share: • What ideas do YOU have?

15. Strategy 2/Nonfiction Writing Research Note-taking Outlining/Pre-writing Writing Revision Structural Components Editing Publication

16. Research Carnes, E.J. (1988). Teaching Content Area Reading through Nonfiction Book Writing . Journal of Reading, 31, 354-360. Students can understand how to read nonfiction if they know how to write nonfiction Student choice in topic leads to interest and time commitment Writing for a real audience (peers) encourages pride in work and understanding of practical nature of nonfiction in the real world

17. Written Samples of Nonfiction Books/Student Created

18. Brainstorm/Listing • On your chart paper, brainstorm a way each of the following subjects could use this idea: • Spanish • Earth science • Algebra • Civics • Health

19. Strategy 3/Textmasters Literature circles for expository texts Each student receives a role Students read text independently Students engage in conversation to explain, clarify, and understand various content area subjects.

20. Textmasters Practice: Take turns reading your roles aloud as a group Wilfong, L.G. (2009). Textmasters: Bringing literature circles to textbook reading across the curriculum. Journalof Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53 (2), 164-171.

21. Research Wilfong, L.G. (2009). Textmasters: Bringing literature circles to textbook reading across the curriculum. Journalof Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53 (2), 164-171. In traditional literature circles, discourse is “often purposeful and critically minded” Empowers students who “thrive in small-group settings, allowing for marginalized voices to be heard.” “Students often feel an increased sense of responsibility toward their group and their own learning through the use of various roles and discussion.”

22. Textmasters on your own • At your table, pick a role from the provided role sheet. • Have any questions about your role? • Read the provided science text to yourself while completing your assigned role. • When all are finished, share your findings in this order: summarizer, discussion director, webmaster, connector, and vocabulary enricher. • Come up with a clever way to present the main ideas of your reading to the group. • A billboard • A picture • A skit • A talk show • A pantomime • The possibilities are endless!

23. Could Textmasters work?

24. Look again at your index card. Any changes? • What do you do to instill good reading strategies? What best practices do you use? • Whose job is it to teach reading? • How is reading expository different than reading fiction? • Personally, what do you do to help yourself understand expository text?

25. Questions?

26. Evaluation

27. Resources Carnes, E.J. (1988). Teaching content area reading through nonfiction book writing . Journal of Reading, 31, 354-360. Blevins, W. & Boyton, A. (2004). 5 keys to reading nonfiction. Instructor, 114. 4-6. Kagan, S. and Kagan, M. (1998). Multiple intelligences: The complete MI book. San Clemente, CA: Kagan. Lukens, R.J.( 2003).A critical handbook of children's literature (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Radcliffe, R., Caverly, D., Hand, J., & Franke, D. (2008). Improving reading in a middle school science classroom. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51, 398- 408. Wilfong, L.G. (2009). Textmasters: Bringing literature circles to textbook reading across the curriculum. Journalof Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53 (2), 164-171. Wilson, N.S., & Grisham, D.L. (2009).Investigating content area teachers‘ understanding of a content literacy framework: A yearlong professional development initiative. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52, 708-718.