Or The Yellow Brick Road to Comprehension and Critical

Thinking?

Patterns of Organization

Patterns of Organization, Text Structure, Rhetorical Modes, Oh,

My!

Relax, Dorothy!

These Are Synonyms for Our Old Favorites:

Compare/contrast Cause/effect Process Problem/solution Narrative

Argument Classification /

division Example Descriptive

Why Explicitly Teach Patterns of Organization?

Writing and reading are two very different cognitive functions

Essential in note-taking across the curriculum

Reading vs. Writing process Formats in which claims and evidence are

presented

Why Explicitly Teach Patterns of Organization?

Establishes, the relationship between the claims and the evidence

When the relationship is clear, evaluation of the text can occur

We cannot expect automaticity in critical reading without explicitly teaching patterns of organization

What Do You Mean by automaticity?

What the reader recognizes automatically

Facilitates anticipation

Anticipation facilitates comprehension

Ahh, so this is a visual of what reading looks like! What happens if a gear gets stuck?

So How do I get my students to the Emerald City of Reading

Comprehension?

Know What They Need to Know!

According to The National Education Association:

Teachers may assume a proficient reader of literature will, in turn, be a proficient reader of expository texts. That is not necessarily so.

Many good readers of literature tend to have trouble comprehending expository texts partly due to

Text structure: how the text is organized. For example1. A cause and then its effects, an effect and the

causes,2. A text might present a main idea and then details,3. Two different views of a topic, etc.

Know What They Need to Know!

According to The National Education Association:

“While most pieces of fiction follow the same or similar general organizational patterns, different Expository texts can have very different text structures. Therefore, it is important to teach students to recognize common text structures found in expository texts.” National educational association, “using text

structure”

Expectations of Readers

As early as third grade, students are expected torecognize expository text structures such as thefollowing: sequence, description, compare-contrast,cause-effect, and problem-solution. The ability toidentify and analyze these text structures in readinghelps make expository text easier to understandKristi Orcutt, reading consultant, Essdack.Org

Expectations of Readers

While the understanding of text structure is important at the lower grades for reading and writing proficiency, it is crucial for our students to understand the complicated and varied demands of high school and college reading.

While we may label expository texts as “C/C” or “C/E”, the truth is that writers vary text structure, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph or even sentence to sentence!

So How Do I Get Them to See What the Author Is Doing???

By Teaching Patterns of Organization, You Can Pull Back the Curtain to Show Your Students What

the Author Is Doing!

You go, You go, Toto!Toto!

The Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates of the California Community and State University, & the University of California Reports:

81% of faculty say that the lack of analytical reading skills contributes to students’ lack of success in a course

Faculty respondents concur with CERT standards, which call for students’ comprehension of “academic and workplace texts”

Reading instruction ends early in students’ K-12 education (research indicates direct instruction in reading ends in the 4th grade. After that, students are expected to move from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” without explicit instruction)

The Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates of the California Community and State University, & the University of California Reports:

Teachers in all disciplines must help students develop effective critical reading strategies

We must teach our students to be active makers of meaning and teach them the strategies all good readers employ: to think critically, to argue, to compare, to own an idea, and to remember. Reading is a process that requires time and reflection, and stimulates imagination, analysis, and inquiry.

O.K. but how does this fit in with everything else we’ve been doing this week? Is this just “one more thing” on an overflowing plate?

Sadly, the discipline of reading is recursive – why couldn’t I teach something linear??? However, the good news is teaching the rhetorical modes or patterns fits in perfectly with:

O.K. but how does this fit in with everything else we’ve been doing this week? Is this just “one more thing” on an overflowing plate?

Reading with and/or against the grain

Everyone’s favorite . . . CHARTING!!! As a matter of fact, try to do the “doing” part of the chart without the patterns! It’s impossible!

And lastly . . .

Evaluation!!! Fun stuff Micah and Cali can teach you!

E.g., Comparison:1. "Why is the author

comparing these items? What is the author trying to prove by this comparison?"

2. "Does the author make any claims based on this comparison?

Evaluation!!! Fun stuff Micah and Cali can teach you!

3. Does the comparison support the claims made?"

4. “Does the author provide other evidence to support this claim?”

5.“Would the intended audience believe this evidence?”

Reading Comprehension doesn’t have to be somewhere over the

rainbow! With a little direct instruction, your students can get

here too!

Scaffolding for “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples

Example Description Narration Contrasting Process Comparison Note: main claim is

cause and effect! Scaffolding is used to extend reach, is task specific, and is temporary!

Patterns of Organization by Paragraph:

Paragraph 1: Example Paragraph 2: Narration Paragraph 5: Contrast Paragraph 6: Description & Example Paragraph 7: Example & Narration Paragraph 9: Process

Patterns of Organization by Paragraph:

Paragraph 10: Example, Classification & Division

Paragraph 11: series of Examples Paragraph 12: Narration continues series of

example began in paragraph 11 Paragraph 14-15: Process Paragraph 15: Comparison

Main Claim

Because they are often unfairly perceived as

violent, black men often change their behavior

in public to appear less threatening to avoidbecoming victims of violence themselves.