Text characteristics affect comprehension…

Be explicit as you teach students about genre and

text structure

Today’s Objectives

1. Review narrative genres & text structures2. Examine several versions of Cinderella for key elements of fairy tales 3. Reflect on the Prove It Process and connect to key ideas in Bearse’s The Fairy Tale Connection

What kinds of narrative texts should be in your classroom

library?

Brainstorm as many “narrative genres” as you can in two minutes.

Genres of Narrative Texts

Traditional Stories: Folktales, Fairytales, Fables, Myths, Trickster Tales, Legends, Tall Tales

Fantasy: animal, toy, science fiction, time fantasy, horror

Realistic Fiction: contemporary (sports, survival, school, family), historical, mystery

Poetry: couplet, free verse, haiku, shape poems,

Multicultural/International: intersecting, but representing specific cultures

IF YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE, WHAT’S STILL MISSING IN YOUR CLASSROOM??

EXPOSITORY TEXTS!!

Nonfiction: – Informational– Biographies– Autobiographies– Expository (textbooks)

Boys love them! Fosters personal inquiry!

Explicitly teach “reading to learn” rather than assume natural transition from learning to read to avoid “fourth grade slump”

Elements of Narrative Text Structures

Setting: realistic (specific or anytown USA), fictional, or fantasy

Character: revealed through words, actions, and descriptions

Plot: Beginning/Middle/End > Conflict and Resolution

Theme: unifying truth, universal message (big idea statements)

Stylistic Elements (structure, figurative language, mood, irony, humor)

Point of view: who’s telling the story?

Comprehension & Response Structures (During & After Reading Narrative Texts)

RETELLING…

B/M/E – 3 sentences/paragraphs

Somebody/Wanted/But/So

Sequence Events>Details

Problem/Feelings and Solution/Feelings

Traditional Tales: Can You Prove It’s

A Fairy Tale? and Multicultural Literature

(reflect differences in cultural beliefs and what’s important in life)

Is this effective for teaching elements of a particular

genre? Benefits of this activity?

Benefits of the intervention in

the Bearse article for reading & writing?

The Fairy Tale Connection (Bearse, 1992) – Purpose?

What “intervention” took place? Key elements?– 1. word splash– 2. read lots of different stories (exposed) – 3. compare/contrast in mini-lessons – 4. wrote (process writing, key components)

What was the purpose of the study? – A. connections to other fairy tales (intertextuality) – B. conscious? Unconscious? Connections…– C. language

The Fairy Tale Connection (Bearse, 1992) – Key findings

61% (11/18 students) made conscious connections to stories they had read previously (naming characters, borrowed plot details; synthesized several fairy tales into their writing) Synthesis was often unconscious, whether the connections were to fairy tales or certain fairy tale elements (e.g., the lead, magical elements)All children, to some extent, internalized sophisticated sentence structure, rhythms, and poetic language of fairy tale language How did that happen??

Key Practices to Foster Reading/Writing ConnectionsFostering reading/writing connections– Immerse students in genre study– Provide explicit instruction in language and

structure of each genre – Provide lots of exposure to multiple texts and

models before you expect students to write in that genre

Q: Why do you think that high-ability students tended to make conscious connections while low-ability students seemed to make unconscious connections?

Homework

For Tuesday, October 25– Finish Book Activity 3 Reflection – Finish Book Activity 4: Magic Treehouse

(read and create five minute strategy script to present in class)

– Chapter 5: (p. 142) and skim handouts on Expository Text Structures (in Text Difficulty handouts)

• (keep in mind with Magic Treehouse book – which mixes fiction, nonfiction, and fantasy)