Scaffolding Learning about

Text Structures

Megan Kratz, 1st Grade Teacher,

mckratz@fcps.edu

Alexa McKenrick, Reading Recovery & LLI Teacher

akmckenrick@fcps.edu

Fairfax County Public Schools 1

Overview of Session

• What is text structure? Why is it important?

• How do different teaching contexts support students’ understanding of text structure?

– Video clips of Interactive Read Aloud (IRA), Shared Reading (SR), and Guided Reading (GR)

– Planning teacher talk

• Other contexts that extend learning about text structures

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As a result of this session, you will:• Understand why text structure is important;

• Develop an awareness of text structure;

• Hear and see how teaching language evolves to teach, prompt, and reinforce for strategic actions;

• Plan your teaching language to support learning about text structures.

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Text Structure is….The way a text “works.”

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“Knowing the overall organizational pattern, as well as underlying structures such as comparison and contrast, provide a scaffold for deriving and

understanding the information”

-Fountas and Pinnell, When Readers Struggle, 319

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Why is Text Structure Important?

Text Structure

Predicting

Make connection

Scaffold for re-telling

Enjoyment

Search for information

Author’s message

Adapted from The Continuum of Literacy Learning, Fountas & Pinnell

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EXAMPLES OF TEXT STRUCTURESAdapted From Revisit, Reflect, and Retell by Linda Hoyt

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DESCRIPTION

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PROBLEM/SOLUTION

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CUMULATIVECAUSE/EFFECT

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TIME/ORDER

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COMPARE/CONTRAST

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DIRECTIONS

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OTHER TEXT STRUCTURES

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Awareness of Text Structure

Sort the books at your table by text structure.

Use the index cards labels or

your own label for the different structures.

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Teaching Contexts

• Allows us to scaffold our teaching to support a Deeper Understanding of Text Structure

• Levels of support in IRA, SR, GR Overview

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Interactive Read Aloud (IRA)

• Watch how a teacher presents text structure during an IRA– Note teacher language and student responses.

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IRA

• Share examples of explicit language to teach structure.

• How did teacher use think alouds or reinforcing language to support her students’ understanding of the structure?

• Consider how the teacher might revisit the same text or text with similar text structure.

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Shared Reading (SR)

• Watch how the teacher invites students to engage in a strategic action that is supported by the text structure.– Note teacher language and student responses

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SR

• Share examples of teacher language and student responses.

• What evidence was there that students used text structure to aid comprehension?

• How did the teacher scaffold so that the students were successful? (visual aid, prompts, think aloud)

• Other examples of using this book to teach other strategic actions….

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Guided Reading

• Watch how the teacher prompts students to use text structure as they discuss the story. – Note teacher and student language

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GR

• Share examples of teacher language and student responses.

• What evidence was there that students used text structure to aid comprehension?

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Other Examples of Scaffolding Learning about Text Structure

• Problem/Solution:

2nd Grade IRA and GR example

• Discuss planning structure.

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Planning Teaching Language across IRA, GR, and SR

• Select a group of books within same structure. Or think about what you are planning to read with your students when you return.

• Plan teacher language, using planning sheet provided or your own method.

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Other Contexts that Extend Learning about Text Structure

• Writing Workshop:

– Pattern books, All about Books

• Literature Discussion/Book Clubs

– Select books by same author or within same series

• Performance Reading

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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION!

Please fill out on-line survey.

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