Text Sets in Action: Pathways Through Content Area Literacy

by Mary Ann Cappiello, Erika Thulin Dawes

Overview

Finding ways to organize your classroom instruction for knowledge building and literacy learning can be challenging. How can you incorporate more nonfiction and informational text in your content area curriculum while expanding and deepening representation with diverse texts? What can motivate student learning while providing equity and access for different learning styles and needs? Text sets are the answer!In Text Sets in Action: Pathways Through Content Area Literacy, authors Erika Thulin Dawes and Mary Ann Cappiello demonstrate how text sets offer students the opportunity to build critical thinking skills and informational literacy while generating interest and engagement across the content areas. Put your students in the center of the meaning-making in your classroom with multimodal multi-genre text sets in action. In Text Sets in Action, the authors:

• Model how text sets build foundational skills and metacognitive strategies as students experience a carefully scaffolded and sequenced exploration of ideas, academic, and content vocabulary
• Explain how text sets encourage classroom discussion by having students ask questions about what they read, debate different perspectives, and relate the texts to their own personal experiences and the changes they would like to see in the world
• Show how children's literature and multimodal, multi-genre texts can serve as mentor texts for student writing and inspire creativity and advocacy
• Demonstrate how to curate text sets that can introduce diverse and underrepresented voices into the classroom, fostering appreciation for different points of view and generate deeper critical thinking
• Provide resources and suggestions for designing text sets a multimodal, multi-genre text set can include children's literature of all genres, as well as digital texts, YouTube videos, news articles, podcasts, and more

Text Sets in Action will help you create a collection of text sets that can be added to or edited over the years to align with your lesson plan goals. Teachers who have adopted this approach saw greater student reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. By introducing a multitude of text, teachers will ignite a spirit of inquiry and engagement for lifelong learning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625312976
Publisher:	Stenhouse Publishers
Publication date:	05/10/2021
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	6 - 11 Years

About the Author

Mary Ann Cappiello and Erika Thulin Dawes are Professors of Language and Literacy in the Graduate School of Education at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xvii

Part I Defining and Designing Text Sets Introduction: Why Teach with Text Sets? 1

Text Sets and Our Classrooms 1

Mary Ann's Story 1

Erika's Story 4

Teaching with Text Sets Is Both Practical and Aspirational 6

It's Practical 6

Standards and Beyond 6

Reading Comprehension 7

Disciplinary Literacies 7

Critical Thinking 7

Taking Time Saves Time! 8

It's Aspirational 8

Considering Multiple Perspectives 8

Co-constructing Understanding 9

Engagement 9

Authors, Artists, Makers 9

Chapter 1 Text Sets as Tools to Dig Deeper and to Consider Content 11

Texts as Multiple Voices in the Classroom 12

What Is a Multimodal, Multigenre Text Set? 14

Designing a Text Set 16

Establish Goals: What do you want for your students? 17

Find Texts: What are the best texts to help you meet your goals? 19

Trade Books 19

Digital Texts 21

Identify Roles: Is a text a scaffold, an immersion, or an extension of learning? 22

Scaffolds 23

Immersions 23

Extensions 24

What are our instructional models? 24

Duet 25

Sunburst 25

Tree Ring 26

Solar System 26

Mountain 27

Create New Texts: What are the new texts created by students? 28

Taking Notes 28

Creating New Texts 31

Conclusion 32

Chapter 2 How Do Text Sets Cultivate Disciplinary Literacy and Critical Thinking? 33

Disciplinary Literacy 34

Genre, Voice, and Theme in Language Arts 35

Disciplinary Literacies in Language Arts 36

Building Curriculum in Language Arts 36

Selecting Texts for Text Sets in Language Arts 38

Perspective and Representation in Social Studies 41

Disciplinary Literacies in Social Studies 42

Building Curriculum in Social Studies 42

Selecting Texts for Text Sets in Social Studies 44

Evidence and Inquiry in Science 47

Disciplinary Literacy in Science 47

Building Curriculum in Science 48

Selecting Texts for Text Sets in Science 50

Problem Solving and Visualizing Data in Mathematics 53

Disciplinary Literacy in Mathematics 53

Building Curriculum in Mathematics 54

Selecting Texts for Text Sets in Mathematics 56

Critical Thinking Within the Disciplines 58

Part II Examples How To Read Part Two 61

Chapter 3 Genre and Theme in Language Arts: Examining Life Story Through Picture Book Biography 63

Establish Goals: What do you want for your students? 64

Find Texts: What are the best texts to help you meet your goals? 64

Books 64

Digital Texts 66

Organize Texts for Instruction: How can we arrange the texts for critical thinking? 67

Scaffold: Identify Biography 69

Immersion: Exploring the Genre of Picture Book Biography 69

Characterization 71

Context 74

Theme 75

Back Matter 76

Extension: The Processes of Biographers 78

Create New Texts: What are the new texts created by students? 78

Becoming Biographers 82

Mentor Processes 90

Notes for Next Year 91

Voices from the Classroom 92

Comprehensive Text Sets 93

Chapter 4 Perspectives and Representations in Social Studies: Stories of the American Revolution 95

Establish Goals: What do you want for your students? 95

Find Texts: What are the best texts to help you meet your goals? 99

Books 100

Digital Texts 100

Synthesizing Our Consideration of Texts 101

Organize Texts for Instruction: How can we arrange the texts for critical thinking? 102

Scaffold: Introducing the Critical Thinking 103

Immersion: Exploring Multiple Perspectives 105

Core Text 105

Text Sets on Perspectives 105

Note Taking 110

Historical Fiction Literature Circles 113

Extension: Conducting Independent Research 114

Create New Texts: What are the new texts created by students? 114

Building a Collective Timeline 114

Crafting an Interview 115

Writing Colonial Newspapers 117

Notes for Next Year 122

Voices from the Classroom 124

Comprehensive Text Sets 125

Chapter 5 Evidence and Inquiry in Science: Adaptations and Biological Evolution 129

Establish Goals: What do you want for your students? 130

Find Texts: What are the best texts to help you meet your goals? 132

A Balance of Experiences and Texts 132

Books 133

Digital Texts 133

Mentor Texts for Writing 134

Organize Texts for Instruction: How can we arrange the texts for critical thinking? 134

Scaffold: Comparing Plant and Animal Life Cycles 134

Plant Life Cycles 136

Animal Life Cycles 139

Immersion: Survival and Heredity-Traits and Adaptations 142

Parent-Offspring Relationships 143

Characteristics to Help Some Living Things Survive Better Than Others in an Environment 144

Bird Adaptations 144

Extension: Survival over Time-Investigating Biological Evolution 149

Change over Time in the Same Geological Place 150

The Dinosaur-Bird Connection 151

Create New Texts: What are the new texts created by students? 154

Student Research 155

Composing New Texts: Organizers, Models, and Mentor Texts 157

Notes for Next Year 162

Voices from the Classroom 163

Comprehensive Text Sets 165

Chapter 6 Problem Solving and Visualizing Data in Mathematics: Representation in Multiplication and Nonfiction 170

Establish Goals: What do you want for your students? 171

Find Texts: What are the best texts to help you meet your goals? 174

Books 174

Digital Texts 174

Organize Texts for Instruction: How can we arrange the texts for critical thinking? 175

Exploring Nonfiction in Language Arts 175

Scaffold: Big Ideas About Nonfiction 176

Immersion: Exploring Survey Books, Concept Books, and Life Stories 180

Extension: Researching Topics Using Nonfiction 185

Exploring the Function and Application of Multiplication in Mathematics 185

Scaffold: Word Problems Based on Information in Popular Nonfiction Picture Books 186

Immersion: Representations of Multiplication in Infographics 189

Extension: Using Infographics to Apply Student Understanding of Research and Multiplication 190

Create New Texts: What are the new texts created by students? 191

Creating Texts in Language Arts 191

Note Taking 191

Writing and Illustrating Nonfiction Books 191

Creating Texts in Math 203

Infographics 204

Notes for Next Year 208

Voices from the Classroom 209

Comprehensive Text Sets 210

Part III Invitations How To Read Part Three 213

Chapter 7 Language Arts Invitations: How Does Figurative Language Shape Our Reading and Writing? 215

Introduction 215

Scaffold: Introducing Figurative Language 216

Duet Model: Figurative Language in Fiction and Nonfiction 216

Duet Model: Figurative Language in Fiction and Nonfiction About the Natural World 217

Immersion: Going Deeper with Figurative Language 218

Solar System Model: Figurative Language in Multiple Genres and Modalities 218

Figurative Language Detectives: Creating a New Text Set 220

Create New Texts: Advertising Directors, Writers, and Designers 221

Solar System Model: Figurative Language Author Study 222

Extension: Exploring a Mentor Text and Mentor Processes 224

Tree Ring Model: Composing Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold 224

Middle Ring: Joyce Sidman's Mentor Processes 225

Outer Ring: Rick Allen's Mentor Processes 225

Conclusion 226

Comprehensive Text Set 226

Chapter 8 Social Studies Invitations: How Does Activism Lead Us to a "More Perfect Union" in Our Democracy? 228

Introduction 228

Essential Questions 229

Scaffold: Introducing Activists from History and Contemporary Life 230

Immersion: Exploring the Stories of Individual Activists 231

Sunburst Models of Individual Activitists 231

Sunburst Model: Hiawatha, Member of the Mohawk Nation, Before the Fourteenth Century 232

Sunburst Model: Elizabeth Freeman, Self-Emancipated Woman, 1780-1783 233

Sunburst Model: Sarah Roberts, African American Student, 1847-1855 234

Sunburst Model: Sylvia Mendez, Mexican American Student, 1945-1947 234

Sunburst Model: Anna May Wong, Chinese American Actress, 1940s 235

Sunburst Model: Ella Baker, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair, Civil Rights Activists, 1960 236

Sunburst Model: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Women's Rights Activist and Supreme Court Justice, 1970s-2020 237

Sunburst Model: Dolores Huerta, 1962-Present and César Chávez, 1962-1993, Labor Rights Activists 237

Sunburst Model: Gloria Steinem, Women's Rights Activist, 1960s-Present 238

Extension: Exploring Malala Yousafzai, Contemporary Activist for Girls' Global Education 240

Solar System Model: Primary and Secondary Sources About Malala's work 240

Create New Texts: Student-Created Texts-Becoming Activists 241

Taking Notes 242

Taking a Stand: Multigenre, Multimodal Texts 243

Conclusion 243

Comprehensive Text Sets 244

Chapter 9 Science Invitations: Ocean Interdependencies-How Does the Health of the Ocean Relate to the Health of the Planet? 248

Introduction 248

Scaffold: Ocean Habitats 250

Duet Model: The Importance of Our Oceans-A Pairing of TED Talks 250

Immersion: Life in the Ocean 250

Solar System Model: Endangered Ocean Animals 253

Solar System Model: Ocean Explorers and Activists 254

Create New Texts 256

Extension: A Deeper Exploration-Becoming an Expert on an Ocean Animal 256

Conclusion 259

Comprehensive Text Sets 259

Chapter 10 Mathematics Invitations: Geometry and Design-How Is an Architect an Artist? 262

Introduction 262

Scaffold: Introducing Architecture as Worldview 264

Duet Model: Shaping Our World 264

Immersion: Architects-Their Stories, Their Processes, and Their Creations 266

Solar System Model: Picture Book Biographies of Architects 267

Duet Model: Artists Who Shape Landscapes 269

Solar System Model: Structures, Design Processes, and Construction 269

Solar System Model: Fictional Books Featuring Kid Designers 273

Create New Texts 273

Extension: Designing for Your Community 273

Conclusion 274

Comprehensive Text Sets 274

References 277

Children's Books 290

Figure Credits 299

Index 302

Editorial Reviews

"Text Sets in Action unites pragmatism with philosophy and creativity to demonstrate how the most effective instruction is deeply grounded in quality children's literature, while also allowing for skills-based pedagogy. Replete with concrete examples, testimonials from teachers, and research-based literacy theory, Cappiello and Dawes' approach to building and using text sets is timeless. This book is ideal for preservice teachers, veteran teachers, and everyone in between."
--Amina Chaudhri, author of Multiracial Identity in Children's Literature.

"In Text Sets in Action, Mary Ann Cappiello and Erika Dawes present a powerful teaching strategy for integrating language arts with science, social studies, and math to make every precious minute of instructional time count. After a lucid explanation of the rationale for building rich, innovative learning experiences around carefully curated groupings of fiction and nonfiction children's books, digital resources, primary source materials, and artifacts, the authors share a variety of real-world classroom experiences and then offer a range of easy-to-implement sample text sets designed to meet the standards and engage young minds."
--Melissa Stewart, author of more than 180 nonfiction books for children and coauthor of 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children's Books

"Sometimes you don't know what you want until you see it. Such was the case when I first read Text Sets in Action. It is the perfect resource for preservice and practicing classroom teachers. Cappiello and Dawes are experienced educators who understand the nuances of using nonfiction children's literature across the content areas of the curriculum. Their pragmatic and insightful perspectives on selecting books, teaching with text sets, and engaging students in productive literature-based learning experiences merit our attention and appreciation. I will be sharing this book in all of my children's literature courses for educators."
--Denise Davila, Assistant Professor of Literacy and Children's Literature, University of Texas at Austin.

"Text sets present an unmatched opportunity to deepen our students' understandings of the complex world in which we live." Whether readers are seasoned veterans or new to text sets, they will never look at text sets as just a stack of books again. With invitations for text set design practice and crucial tools throughout, Text Sets in Action will help teachers create their own rich curricular text set journeys with and for their students."
--Julie Waugh, former committee member of NCTE's Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children

"This book is the essential guide for teaching with text sets: informative, inspiring, and amazingly thorough and practical. Mary Ann Cappiello and Erika Thulin Dawes have made a groundbreaking contribution by showing educators how to use text sets to promote student inquiries that incorporate disciplinary literacy, outstanding literature, and a wide range of multimodal texts. Their use of supportive questions to use when planning, suggested models of instruction, and invitations to explore really got me thinking."
--Myra Zarnowski, Queens College, City University of New York

"This book is a treasure trove of pedagogical possibilities and multimodal resources that offers a rich instructional portrait of how to help children comprehend, think critically about, and compose contemporary, multimodal texts within an interdisciplinary curriculum. Grounded in and guided by the classroom practices of teachers and students in elementary intermediate grades, Mary Ann Cappiello and Erika Dawes serve as instructional coaches for how to design and use text sets for interdisciplinary learning. Through detailed lesson plans, text set and graphic organizer possibilities, teacher reflections, and student artifacts, Cappiello and Dawes offer real-world instructional guideposts while also providing an optimum degree of autonomy and flexibility. They model what they are advocating: an empowering form of student-centered, inquiry-based learning using multimodal texts for interdisciplinary connections and creations."
--Jennifer Graff, Associate Professor, Literacies and Children's Literature, University of Georgia

"We know that knowledge building is essential for student success in school and in life. We also know that the best way to make knowledge-driven learning memorable and joyful is through rich, authentic texts, especially when texts are bundled in text sets. But where do we begin? With a resource that is first of its kind, Mary Ann and Erika are here to help. Not only do they share text sets that will spark new energy and excitement for content learning in your classroom, they support you with innovative ways of how to use these texts to best suit your students' needs. Through their signature approach of scaffolds, immersion, extensions, and student-created texts, you will feel supported to add text sets to your teaching right now in language arts, social studies, science, and math. Whether you have a curriculum in place or are building your own, Text Sets in Action is essential reading to give all children greater knowledge of the natural world, our complex history, and how we can create a more sustainable, equitable world."
--Katie Egan Cunningham, author of Start with Joy: Designing Literacy Learning for Student Happiness

From the Publisher