SMALL GROUP #2: Use a Text’s Features to Orient Yourself You’ll ask students to bring their research bins to search for text features. You’ll need a copy of Plants and Their Parts to display, as well as the “Don’t forget to orient yourself to the structure and text features” chart. RALLY
Channel partners to name the text features they find in their books. “Readers, your books are filled with text features. Right now, with your partner, pull a nonfiction text out of your research bin. Take a book tour together, and see how many different text features you can spot. Can you find a table of contents? Headings? Pictures with captions? Find as many features as you can, and name each one.” TRY IT #1 Engage students in guided practice, using text features to orient to a teeny-tiny text. “Sometimes, we get excited about a text and just pick it up and start going! We don’t actually slow down to look at all those parts we found— and those text features can really help us orient ourselves, get ourselves ready to read.” Display a chart titled “Don’t forget to orient yourself to the structure and text features.”
“Let’s do this together with a teeny-tiny text: Plants and Their Parts . Do you spot some text features? Me too! Study the title, and the diagram and all the labels. What do you expect to learn about in this text? How will this text probably go? Tell your partner.” “Yes, you might learn about the parts different plants have—like the leaves, flowers, stems, and roots. Some of you said you’ll probably learn what the parts are and what they do. Great!” TRY IT #2 /LINK Set partners up to practice orienting themselves to texts, using their own text sets. “With your partner, choose a book from your text set.
Coaching to Support Previewing Texts • “Ooooh, you skipped right past the table of contents! There’s a lot in there!” • “Remember to ask your- self what you expect to learn!” • “Ask yourselves, ‘What will this text probably teach? How will this text probably go?’”
Before you read, do what we just did together. Orient yourself to the book by looking at all the parts, always asking yourself ‘What do I expect to learn in this book? How will this book probably go?’ I’ll coach you as you orient yourselves, and then send you off to read together.”
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Bend I • SKILL PROGRESSION
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