Why Text Matters
Reading to Understand
Provided Text
As teachers we need to fill our classrooms with text of every shape, size, and topic. Children need to be reading engaging, interesting, thought-provoking, text. In order for them to do that, we must provide a variety of materials. These texts must include perspectives, opinions, ideas, issues, and concepts to read, write and talk about.
Book Variety
Easy books = every word is understood.
Challenge books = many words you can't read and many ideas not understood.
Just right books = can read most of the words and understand most of the ideas, but not all.
Why read?
What's the purpose?
When trying to decide if a book is right for you, consider the following:
Read the book back and flap, Length, Level, Read first page or first few,Table of contents, Title, Pictures, Cover, Author, Subject, Series, Genre, Recommendations
How do we engage our students?
Like Goldilocks...
Too Much Information (TMI)
Not Enough Information(NEI),
or Just Enough Information (JEI)
Encourage active reading!
Read sections aloud in class, preview the chapter, pre-teach the new vocabulary, use sticky notes, paraphrase, use the jigsaw method and turn and talk!
Get them interested!
When choosing a text, there are two different types, considerate and inconsiderate texts.
Considerate texts : terms are fully explained and content is organized. There is a relationship between ideas which are clear. Learning is very smooth.
Inconsiderate texts: unwarranted assumptions about the reader. Background knowledge often has an overload of unfamiliar vocab and concepts. Certain ideas are not fully explained.