More to Know: Intertextual Connections The relation that each text has to the texts surrounding it is often known as intertextuality . Readers build understanding as they draw information from a range of texts. Reading multiple texts across the same theme, topic, genre, or issue automatically fosters close reading and deepens and refines subject knowledge. As noted by literacy researcher Peter Johnston, “To understand a text deeply, we need multiple perspectives. To understand a subject, idea, or concept more deeply, we need multiple texts because each text offers another author’s perspective on the subject” (2009). As readers finish one book in the set, they are better prepared for reading and understanding the next book in the set. Each book builds on the last. Plus, when students read across a set of related books, they inevitably notice the similarities and differences in how texts are crafted. Subtle differences across texts that might have escaped a student’s notice if he or she approached each book as a singular read—including text structure and features, vocabulary, and presentational formats—come into sharp focus as students concentrate on reading and discussing a set of related texts (Fountas and Pinnell, 2006, 2017). What Text Sets Help Students Accomplish Our students thrive when they read a diverse range of classic and contemporary literature, as well as engaging nonfiction on a range of topics. In this way they build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their understanding. Learn Critical Content Extensive nonfiction reading may well be the key to success in later schooling. As students advance in grade level, they more frequently face content-area textbooks as well as informational passages on tests. Including more informational texts in early schooling prepares them for these reading and writing demands. Students who know something about the topics they meet in different academic subjects bring a great advantage to their reading and writing. The more specialized academic knowledge they have, the easier it is to comprehend and convey new information when they read and write (Hampton and Resnick, 2008). Furthermore, “students are expected to learn from increasingly technical expository texts during adolescence, and their knowledge base must continue to grow in order to meet the demands of this text … students who do not keep pace with the increasing demands content area texts place on prior knowledge will fall further and further behind in their ability to construct the meaning of the text” (Torgesen et al., 2007). Text sets, related by theme, provide unique conceptual and linguistic support and enable even challenged readers to access critical content.
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CHAPTER 5: TEACH
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