Analytical Thinking and Writing In All Subject Areas Expository Text Structures

Why should students be doing analytical thinking and writing in all subject areas?

Writing is thinking.

Can you write without thinking? Let’s find out!

Why should our students write across the curriculum?

•Due to the rigor of state testing, our students are required to think at higher levels.

•Writing is thinking without thinking.

! Students cannot write •If students are not writing clearly, they are not thinking clearly.

•Writing is thinking made visible.

•Students need to write (and think!) in all subject areas to explain what they know and how they know it.

Research shows that students in the United States are weak when it comes to reading and writing nonfiction.

This is because it is not taught adequately, not because students cannot do it!

“Understanding the expository text structures gives readers a better shot at determining important information when reading nonfiction…The text in standardized tests and traditional textbooks frequently falls into one or another of these text structures. If students know what to look for in terms of text structure, they grasp the meaning more easily.” from Nonfiction Matters, by Stephanie Harvey

“When students understand how a text is organized, they are more likely to identify the relationship of ideas, comprehend, and retain the information read. Also, students who develop an understanding of text structure are more likely to transfer this knowledge to their writing.”

Expository Text Structures

(how authors organize nonfiction texts) • Compare-Contrast • Cause-Effect • Goal-Action-Outcome (procedure, sequential order) • Problem-Solution • Proposition-Support (persuasive, position) • Concept-Definition (description) Students need to be taught expository text structures so that they can successfully read and write non-fiction

.

2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework

2.a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, evaluate texts. (DOK 2) text structures, and genres to understand, gain information from, respond to, analyze, compare, synthesize, or 3) Text structures - sequential order, description, simple cause and effect, procedure, compare/contrast, order of importance, problem/solution, etc.

2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework

3.d. The student will compose informational text utilizing topic sentences, effective organization, transitions, vivid word choices, and specific supporting details, including but not limited to the following: texts containing chronological order; procedural; cause and effect; comparison and contrast; order of importance; problem and solution. (DOK 3)

How will implementing

Expository Text Structures

impact

student achievement

?

Examples of MCT2 Text Structure Test Items

Which

text structure

controls lines 46-54 of the passage?

F. Description (concept-definition) G. Procedure (goal-action-outcome) H. Cause/effect J. Sequential order (goal-action-outcome)

Based on the passage, which of the following statements is not correct? A. The paragraph in lines 5-12 is developed at least in part using

cause/effect

.

B. The paragraph in lines 13-22 is developed at least in part using

problem/solution

.

C. The paragraph in lines 23-31 is developed at least in part using

sequential order

. D. The paragraph in lines 32-38 is developed at least in part using

comparison/contrast.

The author uses several different text structures to organize this passage. Which of the following text structures does the author not use?

A. description ( concept-definition ) B. sequential order ( goal-action-outcome) C. problem/solution D. order of importance

Based on the passage, which of the following statements is not correct?

A. The paragraph in lines 5 –12 is developed at least in part using cause/effect.

B. The paragraph in lines 13 –22 is developed at least in part using problem/solution.

C. The paragraph in lines 23 –31 is developed at least in part using sequential order .

D. The paragraph in lines 32 –38 is developed at least in part using comparison/contrast .

The poet uses comparison and contrast to present the poem. What comparison is the poet making?

A. Making a friend and following a recipe B. The immediate past and the distant future C. Talking about families and talking about food D. Shopping for groceries and shopping for friends

Compare-Contrast Mitosis is a stage in the cell cycle, the sequence of events cells undergo as they grow and divide. During mitosis, the nucleus of a cell divides to create two new nuclei, each containing an identical copy of DNA. Almost all of the DNA duplication in your body is carried out through mitosis. Meiosis, in contrast, is the process by which sex cells are created. While the other cells in your body contain 46 chromosomes: 23 from your father and 23 from your mother, your egg cells contain only half that number -- a total of 23 chromosomes.

Cause-Effect Scientists are just now realizing how experiences after birth, rather than something innate, determine the actual wiring of the human brain. Early-childhood experiences exert a dramatic and precise impact, physically determining how the intricate neural circuits of the brain are wired. Experience seems to exert its effects by strengthening synapses. Just as a memory will fade if it is not accessed from time to time, so synapses that are not used will also wither away in a process called pruning. The way to reinforce these wispy connections has come to be known as stimulation…

Goal-Action-Outcome/ Concept-Definition Scholars and artists use this Vedic Square to draw a design. A row of numbers and an angle of rotation are selected. Each number in the row gives the length of the line to be drawn.

For example, using an angle of rotation of 90 degrees and the number sequence in row 3 gives: Continuing this sequence of numbers and rotations leads eventually to this design.

Different designs result when a different angle of rotation or a different row from the Vedic Square is chosen.

Problem-Solution Statistics about teenage driving are illuminating: automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. According to a

U.S. News Online report, though teens

account for only 2% of drivers, they are involved in more than 10% of traffic accidents. The problem isn’t one of conventional education so much as it is of teenagers learning the proper degree of caution and attention that driving demands…Caution and attention are not skills that can be taught in a schoolbook; they come with wisdom and are the result of experience.

Analytical thinking and writing is being implemented in all grades and subject areas throughout the RCSD.

RCSD’s Implementation of Expository Text Structures by Grade Kindergarten-Grade 2

(show proficiency before exiting 2 nd grade) : • Conveying complete thought • Paragraph structure (topic sentence, transition words, complete sentences. and conclusions) • Lucy Calkins Book 6 • “All About Book” (concept definition) • “How to” (goal-action-outcome) • Begin summarizing Thinking Maps orally • Model writing hook and conclusion

Expository Text Structure Implementation...

Grades 3-5 (show proficiency before exiting 5 th grade): • Connect to content areas • Begin to develop style and voice • Introduce independent research • Summarize Thinking Maps and begin to create thesis statements • Lucy Calkins Book 3 • By 4 th grade students should be writing multi paragraph essays including thesis and 3 supporting details with sophisticated transitions and a conclusion

Expository Text Structure Implementation… Grades 6-8 (show proficiency before exiting 8 th grade ):

• Focused on content areas • Summarize Thinking Maps to create thesis statements • Continue developing style and voice • Independent research • Using transition words/phrases

Expository Text Structure Implementation… Grades 9-10 (show proficiency before exiting 10 th grade):

• Independent analysis • Independent choice of appropriate text structure • Concise thinking, sophisticated transitional language • Precise sequence vocabulary • Cumulative subject-area vocabulary • Analytical research • Continue to develop style and voice • Independent connections between and among information

Expository Text Structure Implementation…..

Grades 11-12 (show proficiency before exiting 12 th grade: )

• Truly independent writers • Decisions about topic • Thesis and evidence • Style and voice apparent • Insightful connections between and among information • Senior project • Concise thinking

Jigsaw

Break

Let’s Review……..

Goal-action-outcome:

Goose bumps make me shiver. First I get cold. Then I shake all over……..

Concept-Definition:

Goose bumps make me shiver. I get little bumps on my skin. They look like …….

Compare-Contrast:

Some people get goose bumps from fear. Others get goose bumps when they are touched emotionally.

Cause-effect:

Goose bumps make me shiver. When the temperature drops below 45 degrees, my skin crinkles into goose bumps.

Problem-Solution:

Goose bumps make me shiver. But they disappear as soon as I cover up with a jacket or sweater.

Formative Assessment Which text structure is it?

Compare Contrast Check Your Work!

Text Structures Cause Effect Goal Action Outcome (Procedural) Problem Solution Proposition -Support (Persuasive/ Position) Concept Definition (Descriptive) Passage #6 Passage #5 Passage #4 Passage #2 Passage #3 Passage #1

Textbook Scavenger Hunt!

…The text in traditional textbooks frequently falls into one or another of these text structures…

Use Thinking Maps to organize thinking and writing.

How do Thinking Maps relate to Text Structures?

Using Thinking Maps helps organize thinking and writing.

Make a Bridge Map by matching each text structure to the correct Thinking Map.

Relating Factor: is used for

Check your work

Circle Map is used for concept-definition Double Bubble Map compare-contrast Flow Map goal-action outcome Tree Map problem-solution Tree Map proposition support Multi-Flow cause-effect

How do we teach students to produce CLEAR and COHESIVE writing?

Order of Operations for Essay Writing Begin with your topic.

Brainstorm on a Thinking Map, jot list, etc.

Analyze and summarize information on the Thinking Map, etc. to determine your thesis statement.

Use information on Thinking Map, etc. to determine supporting ideas and write topic sentence for each idea.

Find supporting evidence to explain supporting ideas in detail in the body paragraphs.

Incorporate transitions to combine and explain your ideas.

Write your hook (tells why we care, states thesis).

Write your conclusion (rewrite the thesis, revisit main points from body paragraphs and hook).

Teachers of all subject areas are responsible for:

•

thesis statements

•

organization

•

transitional language

•

content

But I’m not an English teacher!

Relax! Content-area teachers are not responsible for GUM (grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling).

But remember………

The ability to write clearly and communicate effectively is critical to students’ classroom and workplace success!

Back to School In the Classroom

During the first days of school, introduce your students to the six text structures.

• Post the six text structures with their transition words in your classroom.

• Show examples of MCT2 and ACT test items.

• Do the Text Structure Jigsaw Activity.

• Have students classify passages on a Tree Map.

• Have students do a Text Structure Scavenger Hunt using their textbooks or other text.