Reading

Our Current Reading Unit: Informational Reading

In our next reading unit, we will return to informational, or nonfiction, reading.  Earlier in the year we worked on the differences between informational and fiction reading.  We also learned about some of the ways informational writers organize their text and the text features (headings, captions, diagrams, glossaries, etc.) they use.  There will be 3 main bends in this unit.

The first bend will take us deeper into comprehension strategies readers’ use when reading informational text.  We’ll not only notice the text features authors use, but students will study how using these features can help them predict what a text will be about or add to the knowledge they gain from the words.  Students will learn to identify the author’s purpose and answer “the 5Ws” of informational text: who, what, when, where, and why.  In addition, students will build an awareness of the structure of informational text by determining the main idea and supporting details of a multi-paragraph piece.

The second bend of the unit will focus on vocabulary strategies.  Students will learn to read “around the word”, reading the sentences before and after the word, to gain information about the possible meaning of a word.  They will also learn to look for parts of the word they already know (for example, bio means life).

All of these skills will come together in the third bend of the unit.  During this bend, students will choose an organism to research.  They will be reading a variety of texts about the same topic.  As they read, they will be comparing the information found in different texts.  Students will also work on summarizing what they have learned about their topic.

Essential Questions:

·         How can I monitor my understanding of a text?

·         How can understanding the author’s purpose help me to better understand the text?

·         What strategies can I use to determine the meaning of a new word?

·         How can I combine information from more than one text to learn even more about a topic?

Sample Learning Targets:

·         I can use headings to predict what a text will be about.

·         I can discuss the author’s purpose in writing a text.

·         I can identify the main idea of a text.

·         I can use the sentences before and after a new word to determine the meaning of that word.

·         I can compare two texts about the same topic.

Things You can Do at Home

·         Be sure that your at-home reading includes opportunities to read informational text.

·         When reading with your child, discuss the author’s purpose (“Why do you think the author wrote this?”).

·         Help your child slow down and notice new vocabulary words.  Young readers will sometimes breeze right through a new word without pausing to think about its meaning.  You can show your child how to use the sentences surrounding the new word to help discover its meaning.  You can also remind him/her to use the glossary if one is included.

·         Encourage your child to read multiple texts about the same topic.  You can have conversations about what is the same and different between the texts.  For example, you might notice the same information appears in more than one text.  Or, you might notice that two authors have different views about the same topic.