Episode 6: Selecting Texts for Literacy and Content Learning
Text selection is a critical aspect of adolescent literacy that has the potential to maximize, or minimize, adolescents’ literacy growth and knowledge base. This presentation will discuss what we know about selecting texts for literacy instruction as well as selecting texts for learning in content areas.
Text selection is a critical aspect of adolescent literacy that has the potential to maximize, or minimize, adolescents’ literacy growth and knowledge base. This presentation will discuss what we know about selecting texts for literacy instruction as well as selecting texts for learning in content areas. We will discuss how and why to select texts of varying complexity, perspectives, and modalities and how we can maximize students’ learning new knowledge through thoughtful text selection. The presenter will share a framework for selecting texts that embodies these ideas called the quad text set framework that teachers can use to guide their choices to increase students’ literacy skills and content learning. Additionally this presentation will discuss the role of knowledge on reading comprehension and address misconceptions about the “knowledge gap,” and how these notions can negatively impact instructional choices that teachers make, particularly around selecting texts.
Pre-reading resources:
Lupo, Sarah & Strong, John & Lewis, William & Walpole, Sharon & McKenna, Michael. (2017). Building Background Knowledge Through Reading: Rethinking Text Sets. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 61. 433-444. http://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.701
Lupo, Sarah, Strong, John & Smith, Kristin. (2018). Struggle Is Not a Bad Word: Misconceptions and Recommendations About Readers Struggling With Difficult Texts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. https://doi-org/10.1002/jaal.926
Hattan, Courtney & Lupo, Sarah. (2020). Rethinking the Role of Knowledge in the Literacy Classroom. Reading Research Quarterly. [In press]
Resources in PP:
Anticipation Guide
KWL Chart
Facilitate text-based discussion
Text sets examples on Sarah Lupo's blog: https://appliedliteracy.wordpress.com/
Resources in Chat:
Book-text access during COVID-19: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10tE4qEONiq_tVajxhMHP-8ViqPJWjWXD0AJJKQkzozs/edit?usp=sharing
Gholdy Muhammad's framework in Cultivating Genius!
MAX Teaching (Forget) 3-level guides are also a great tool for leading students to post-reading discourse/debate.
Registration form
Associated resources
To increase reading volume and help students access challenging texts, the authors propose a four-dimensional framework for text sets.
Many teachers feel that students should not struggle with text; instead, they should read easier texts in order to learn from them and make adequate growth in reading.
Knowledge plays an inarguably critical role in reading comprehension. When considering the science of reading, it is important to engage with varying theoretical frameworks and empirical research that inform our collective understanding regarding the intersection of knowledge and literacy in K-12 classrooms.
The Ohio Adolescent Literacy Network is a standing committee of regional support specialists who are collectively responsible for supporting literacy initiatives in middle and high schools across the state.
Ohio’s Statewide System of Support: Building State, Regional, and Local Capacity to Improve Instructional Practice and Student Achievement.
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