School Improvement in Maryland

Using the State Curriculum: Reading/ELA, Grade 6

Reading/ELA | Informational | Literary | Writing | Language | Listening | Speaking

Advanced/Gifted and Talented: An advanced/gifted and talented tool is an idea for a complex, multi-step instructional task that requires students to apply knowledge and skills of multiple objectives that support one indicator. Tasks require students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate text at an appropriate level of complexity and embed a variety of differentiation strategies to challenge advanced readers. Many of these strategies and activities can be adapted for use with all students.

Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text

Indicator 2. Analyze text features to facilitate understanding of literary texts

Objective c. Identify and explain how informational aids such as introductions and overviews, materials lists, timelines, captions, glossed words, labels, numbered steps, bulleted lists, footnoted words, pronunciation keys, transition words, end notes, works cited, other information aids encountered in informational texts contribute to meaning

Other Objectives Addressed
a.Identify and explain how organizational aids such as the title of the book, story, poem, or play, titles of chapters, subtitles, subheadings contribute to meaning
b.Identify and explain how graphic aids such as pictures and illustrations, punctuation, print features contribute to meaning

Instructional Task
Students will analyze text features to facilitate the understanding of mythology. Students will assume the roles of book editors and will compile collections of myths from cultures they are studying in Social Studies. The student editors will write introductions to their collections explaining how text features have been used to facilitate understanding the content of the myths. The mythology collections can be shared with Social Studies teachers for use in their classes (authentic product).

Development of Task
  1. The teacher will provide the students with various collections of mythology from around the world. The students will select myths to read from cultures they are studying in Social Studies (interdisciplinary connections).
  2. Using the myths they have selected, students will analyze the use of text features (Objectives a - c). Students will use the following questions:

    Organizational aids (titles, chapter titles, subtitles, or subheadings)

    1. What information does the title give you about the content of the text?
    2. After reading the text, which narrative element is predicted in the title (analysis) ? Compose a subtitle that would give the reader more information about the text.
    3. Does the text use subheadings? What subheadings would you add to enhance understanding of the narrative elements?

    Graphic aids (pictures, illustrations, and punctuation) and print features (bold print, color print, font type, italics, and underlining)

    1. Locate examples of graphic aids and print features that are used in the text. How does each one contribute to understanding the myth (analysis)? Which ones are particularly effective? Which are not effective? Why?
    2. What graphic and print features could be added to contribute to the meaning of the text?

    Informational aids (footnoted words and passages, captions, biographical information about the author, introductions to literary pieces, and photographs)

    1. What information do the footnotes add to the myth? How does each one contribute to understanding the myth? Which ones are particularly effective? Which are not effective? Why? What words or phrases could be footnoted to enhance the understanding of the narrative elements?
    2. What information do captions add to the text? How does each one contribute to understanding the myth (analysis)? Which ones are particularly effective? Which are not effective? Why? What captions might be added to enhance the understanding of the narrative elements?
    3. What background information is provided in the introduction? How does the information contribute to understanding the myth? What background information might be added to better understand the myth?
  3. Based on their analysis of the text features, students may add organizational, graphic and informational aids to the myths in their collections.
  4. Students may use Internet resources to find additional informational aids. Students may use word-processing and design software to enhance organizational or graphic aids and print features (technology integration).
  5. Students will compose introductions to their mythology collections explaining to the student readers how text features have been used to facilitate their understanding of the myths (synthesis).
/instruction/advanced/reading/grade6/xml/3A2c.xml
Resources for Objective 3.A.2.c:
Lesson Seeds | ADVANCED/G-T |