40 Strategies for Guiding Readers through Informational Texts

Gaining the skills to critically read a wide variety of informational texts is more important than ever for today's K-12 students. This carefully crafted book offers 40 standards-based instructional activities that teachers can immediately put to use in the classroom. Clear rationales and step-by-step instructions are provided for implementing each strategy, together with helpful classroom examples and suggested texts for different grade levels. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 44 reproducible worksheets. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

New to This Edition

• Now features more strategies, including 16 that are completely new.
• Explicit links throughout to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and other current standards.
• Two additional strands of activities: Reading Closely and Discussion.
• Numerous new and revised reproducible tools—all downloadable.

This book is ideal for teachers in grades K–12; reading specialists and coaches.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I. Getting Started Strategies

1. Planning a Lesson with Informational Text
2. Understanding and Evaluating Informational Texts
3. Assessing Text Complexity
4. Shared Reading and Text Feature Search

II. Building Background Strategies

5. Anticipation Guide
6. KWHL: K = (What I Know), W = (What I Want to Know). H = (How I Will Find Out), L = (What I Learned)
7. KLEW: K = (What I Know), L = (What I Learned), E = (What Evidence Do I Have for My Learning?), W = (What Additional Questions or Wonderings Do I Have?)
8. Table of Contents Prediction
9. Imagine, Elaborate, Predict, and Confirm

III. Vocabulary Strategies

10. Word Map
11. SLAP: S = (Say the word and write it here.), L = (Look for context clues. List them here.), A = (Ask myself what it means and write it here.), P = (Put the synonym in the sentence and write it here. Does it make sense? If not, start over with steps 3 and 4.)
12. Root Wheel
13. List–Group–Label
14. Word Sort
15. Semantic Feature Analysis

IV. Reading Closely Strategies

16. Close Reading
17. Close Thinking
18. Text Annotation
19. Text Dependent Questions
20. Thinking Aloud
21. Sticky Notes Bookmark

V. Comprehension Strategies

22. Study Guide
23. Four Box Comment Card
24. I Chart
25. CAATS: Creator, Assumptions, Audience/User, Time and Place, Significance
26. Text Structures
27. Interactive Notebook

VI. Discussion Strategies

28. Discussion Web
29. 4–3–2–1 Discussion
30. Intra Act
31. Talking Points
32. Three Step Interview
33. 3 Minute Pause

VII. Writing Strategies

34. Readers' Theatre
35. Paragraph Writing Frames
36. I Used to Think . . . but Now I Know . . .
37. Summary Writing
38. CLIQUES: CL, Claim; I, Introduction of Quotation; QU, Quotation; E, Explanation of Quotation; S, So What?
39. EPIC: E, Evidence; P, Patterns; I, Inquiry; C, Claims
40. Two Column Journal

Appendix. Recommended Materials

"I already use the prior edition of this book to plan my weekly informational text lessons efficiently, but the new edition is even better. It is opening my eyes to even more possibilities to better serve the needs of my students. The strategies are presented in a clear format that can be easily adapted to any curriculum, and are up to date with the CCSS. Classroom teachers, resource teachers, and intervention specialists can use the strategies in whole-class or small-group instruction. When these strategies are implemented, students of all levels are engaged in meaningful discussions and writing activities."
- Arlene Rodriguez Sanchez, MEd, third-grade teacher and reading specialist, San Diego Unified School District

"Teachers will find this book a treasure trove of practical, research-based best-practice strategies. 40 Strategies for Guiding Readers through Informational Texts builds on the previous edition with additional strategies that utilize close reading, citing text evidence, synthesizing information across sources, and text-dependent questions. This is definitely the right book at the right time. It will be useful for staff development and as a supplemental textbook in literacy methods classes."
- Terrell A. Young, EdD, Department of Teacher Education, Brigham Young University

"This is one of the best books I have seen for supporting the explicit instruction of informational texts. The authors provide an easy-to-use guide for teachers at any grade level, including classroom examples and authentic text recommendations. Each research-based strategy is presented alongside corresponding Common Core standards. This professional resource is the one I will recommend to my colleagues and teacher candidates, no matter what curricular materials they currently use."
- Julie Barkley, MA, academic coach, St. Cloud School District, Minnesota