Over the past two weeks, I've been conducting reviews of literature in order to attempt to pinpoint my the specific strategies for informational text that I plan to research.
I examined five very distinct studies regarding strategies for informational text, and found that, although the strategies differed in names, acronyms and specific implementation, there were four major components that each featured. One was some sort of "pre-reading" strategy that helped students activate prior knowledge. The second key compenent was a study of key vocabulary within the informational text. The third compenent involved a purpose for reading that was set by the students themselves. The last, and perhaps most important component, was that students asked questions of themselves and others.
Authors McCown and Thomason conducted research with a heterogeneous grouping of 5th grade students in 2014. They were testing to see if a particular strategy they coined “CSR” or collaborative strategic reading would make a significant difference in student test scores. The strategy they tested is remarkably similar in nature to Susan Szabo's modified KWHHL. It has four components: previewing (brainstorms and predictions), click (information easily understood) and clunk (difficult vocabulary), Get the Gist (summarizing main idea) and Wrap Up (generating questions and reviewing). Like Szabo, who used a gradual release model when teaching students her strategy, McCown and Thomason used direct instruction on the methodology, and then allowed students to work in collaborative groups, especially on “click and clunk” and “wrap up” portions of the model. Furthermore, Brenda Benedict, wrote an article featured by the National Association of Secondary School principals entitled “Strategies for Reading Informational Text” (2012) which discussed a reading strategy by the acronym THIEVES (title, headings, introduction, every first sentence of every paragraph or section, visuals and vocabulary, end of selection questions, and summary). Benedict published the article after the third year of students at Hopkins Middle School had been using the strategy, and cited rising test scores as evidence of its success. Like the KWL charts, THIEVES allows for activation of prior knowledge and encourages students to be active readers by setting a purpose for reading.
Because I am interested in measuring not only the effectiveness of strategies, but also the student choice of strategies, I hope to offer several of those discussed above to my students, breaking them into categories: "before-reading", "during-reading" and "after-reading". Based on the evidence collected in the literature review, I plan to use before-reading strategies that consist of a brainstorming (like the "K" on the KWL chart) and previewing, like that described in THIEVES above. During-reading strategies will consist of text annotations and two-column note-taking to track key vocabulary, main ideas and supporting details. After-reading strategies will consist of asking questions and summation. As Einstein said: "Information is not knowledge". Throughout my action research project, I hope to equip my students with strategies for four main components that were found throughout the literature in order to help them transform the information in text to their own knowledge.
References
Benedict, B. (2012). A strategy for reading informational text. Principal Leadership, 13. Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.nassp.org/tabid/3788/default.aspx?topic=A_Strategy_for_Reading_Informational_Texts
McCown, M. A., & Thomason, G. B. (2014). Informational text comprehension: It's challenges and why collaborative strategic reading can help. Reading Improvement, 237-253. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.lndlibrary.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=a5f7f036-fa0c-419d-908e-1517c11c2c38%40sessionmgr112&hid=103
Szabo, S. (2006). KWHHL: A Student Driven Evolution of the KWL. American Secondary Education, 34(3), 57-67. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezp.lndlibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=213ac544-d217-4f26-84cf-4449c288cab3%40sessionmgr4004&vid=4&hid=4112
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