Try accessing David Middlebrook's textmapping site.... My way of thinking is that if you understand the genre in terms of its literal structure (story map for nonfiction, conventions of non-fiction) and you understand the purpose the author has in mind for writing a nonfiction piece ...the inferences about that text become very visible.... Textmapping , noticing the lay of the textural land, in fact makes all the strategies easier to access ...and you can depend on finding those strategies often in the very same place in the text depending on the genre. Try it.... its fun and its revealing. For example, in fiction, you can get visual images and inferences and connections about the setting usually in the beginning of a fiction story .That's the make-up of a fiction text... to acquaint the reader quickly with the plot... and often leads are built around introducing character and setting.... way before any real event occurs. In nonfiction, you can start to develop your inferences as Lori says right in the table of contents ... even before you read the piece. That's because the convention an author employs in nonfiction is a table of contents so you can read where your interest lies... not necessarily the whole piece. If you keep driving the point home that readers think before, during, and after the text..... and they know what to expect in terms of literary structure.... the kids automatically start applying these comprehension strategies with a nudge from you. Finally, what really drives the point home is when the kids themselves become the authors and have to set up their text according to genre layout.... that's when you see them get fluid with the strategies... at least in my opinion. By the by.... I teach first and by the end of the year, I feel many first graders can examine text in terms of comprehension strategies with both views.... from a reader's lens and from a writer's lens..... only difference is that we use guided level texts that are easier to access..Are we perfect... no way... we are only six and seven.... but most observers say... I can't believe they are only six and seven. Of course, our real work is based on so many resources including the wonderful insights I have gleaned from this listserv ...and a big portion of my understanding also came from textmapping... I guess it is because I am a visual learner and I can "see" how textmapping works... Thanks all! Pam In a message dated 12/9/2008 7:40:47 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Here is one activity I love.
Using the table of contents (or headings and sub-headings), convert the titles into questions. Then, using your prior knowledge in combination with available print, infer what sections may be about. Read to confirm or to modify your inferences. Lori On 12/9/08 11:26 AM, "elisa kifer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Does anyone have any suggestions about teaching inferencing using > nonfiction? resources? websites? I'm stuck. Thanks! -- Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach & Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 57555 http:www.tcsdk12.org ph. 605.856.2211 Literacies for All Summer Institute July 17-20. 2008 Tucson, Arizona _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. **************Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. Try it now. (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010) _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
