Literacy Now

by Michelle Schira Hagerman

In 2009-2010, more than 1.8 million students in public K-12 schools took at least one online course (Queen & Lewis, 2011). That year, 200,000 others enrolled in full-time online schools (Watson, Murin, Vashaw, Gemin & Rapp, 2011), and recent estimates suggest these numbers have continued to rise (iNACOL, 2012). As more states fund virtual schools and, like Michigan, Florida and Alabama, make online learning a graduation requirement (Watson et al., 2011) it is clear that as a community of literacy educators, we must think deeply about the design of online learning experiences for all learners.

The most recent Keeping Pace report (Watson et al., 2011) shows that 97,700 U.S. students who were identified as English Language Learners, eligible for free/reduced lunch, and/or needing special education services took online courses in 2011 (p. 36). Although online learning holds potential to support these children, the report cites enduring concerns about accessibility. “As virtual schooling matures,” the authors caution, “we all have a responsibility to make sure nobody gets left out” (p. 36).

As a community of literacy educators who integrate technologies in our regular classrooms, and as teachers who create both online and hybrid learning experiences, the essential question, of course, is how do we do this? How do we create online learning spaces that support all learners?

The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) should anchor our approach. Last year, Peggy Coyne began a conversation at TILE-SIG around the potential of UDL as a design heuristic for our technology-supported literacy classrooms. As more of us create online lessons, units and courses, I think it’s important to consider what UDL in the online classroom might look like.

For two years, I have co-taught an online course called CEP 820: Teaching Students Online in the Master’s of Educational Technology program at Michigan State University. It is an online course about online course design for teachers – something of a play within a play – and as students create online course modules during the 16 weeks of the semester, they iteratively revise to integrate UDL principles.

When designing for multiple means of representation, one of three core UDL principles, many of our students integrate screencasts. Using tools such as Screencast-o-Matic, Jing, Camtasia, Screenchomp, and Educreations, they create short video clips for a range of purposes. Many students create an introductory “tour” of their online module that highlights navigational architecture, and essential course resources. On content pages, students often embed illustrations of mathematical problem solving or scaffold literary analysis with short, annotated think-alouds. Importantly, we encourage students to provide a printed transcript of these videos so that the information is accessible via multiple means.

We also emphasize the importance of creating a cognitively supportive learning environment for all students. Designs that are simple, logically organized, consistent in their use of labels and headings, predictable, and linguistically appropriate for their intended audience to allow more people to construct meaning from the online learning spaces we create (e.g., Nielsen, 1999; W3C, 2012). As literacy educators, these ideas align with our understanding of “considerate texts” (e.g., Armbruster, 1984) – words, structures, and ideas must fit together to scaffold understanding so that all readers have access.

Although I’ve only focused on screencasts, scripts, and cognitively “considerate” spaces, CAST.org and UDLCenter.org offer many more ideas and resources for teacher-designers. With our unique understanding of literacies, technologies, and their interactions, and with a focus on the principles of UDL, I am confident that the TILE-SIG community is uniquely positioned to lead in the design of inclusive, accessible online learning for all K-12 students.

For examples of online courses that integrate UDL principles, check out http://www.msuedtechsandbox.com/CEP820/.

See this YouTube video for an example of a screencast: 

 

References

Armbruster, B. B. (1984). The problem of "inconsiderate text". In G. G. Duffy, L.R. Roehler, J. Mason (Eds.) Comprehension instruction: Perspectives and suggestions (pp. 202-217). New York: Longman.

iNACOL, (2012) Fast facts about online learning. Retrieved from http://www.inacol.org/press/docs/nacol_fast_facts.pdf

Nielsen, J. (1999). Designing web usability: The practice of simplicity. San Francisco, CA: New Riders Publishing.

Queen, B., and Lewis, L. (2011). Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2009–10  (NCES 2012-008). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012008

Watson, J., Murin, A.,  Vashaw, L., Gemin, B. & Rapp, C. (2011) Keeping pace with K-12 online learning: An annual review of policy and practice. Evergreen Education Group. Retrieved from http://kpk12.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/KeepingPace2011.pdf

W3C (2012). W3C web accessibility initiative: Designing for inclusion. Retrieved from http://www.w3.org/WAI/users/Overview.html

Michelle Schira Hagerman is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at Michigan State University.

This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).

photo: Andrea Cipriani Mecchi

About 25 years ago, on a cold January day not too different from today, I handed my completed Tragedy Paper to my high school senior English teacher Mr. Arthur Naething. It was the longest, hardest research paper I had ever completed—we had all been dreading and fretting over it since September. And now it was done—twenty-nine typed pages, plus a seven-page bibliography.

As the paper moved from my young, inexperienced hand to his sturdy, slightly wrinkled one, I wondered, had I defined a literary tragedy properly? Did I use enough examples of Aristotle and Shakespeare? Was my use of secondary sources strong enough? Had I made my point, and backed it up, when I declared that I did not believe tragedy could still be written in our time?

Then the paper was gone, whisked away with the rest of them, and I had to wait weeks to learn my fate.

I knew even then that this paper was slightly different from others I had written. After all, how often was I actually excited to turn in a big school assignment? When, before, had I not minded sitting down with books and notes and ideas, trying to make sense of it all? With all my other assignments, it had been a relief to turn them in and be rid of them. With this one, though, I found myself thinking about it, and wondering what Mr. Naething might think of this or that choice I made. Still, did I even begin to know how much—dare I use the word? —magnitude the paper was going to hold for me?

I definitely did not.

There was a lot going on for me that year. It was my second year at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York. I traveled by bus every morning to get there, across Westchester County from my home in Mamaroneck. Nothing terrible had happened to force my parents to make the change away from the school closer to my house, but it did seem like the last chance for something—the last chance to enjoy high school, the last chance to move from being a mediocre student to a better one, the last chance to figure out that learning could be more than just something I had to do. In the same way that Tim Macbeth, one of the main characters in my new young adult novel, THE TRAGEDY PAPER, finds himself at the Irving School grasping for that last opportunity to squeeze the joy out of high school, I found myself on that quad and in those classrooms in a similar situation.

By the time my senior year and my Tragedy Paper rolled around, I was in the groove. I had friends I loved, I was doing better than ever in school, and, for the first time, I felt like I belonged someplace that I could already see was special. Like the characters in my book, I walked under a stone sign that read, “Enter Here To Be and Find A Friend,” and I was dismissed from my English class each day with the words, “Go forth and spread beauty and light.”

I remember the day the papers were returned to us. They were spread out on a wooden table in the school’s main office. We ran to find our masterpieces. I had to thumb through the pages along with everyone else looking for my grade. And there, written in pencil, was a capital A with the sentence, “Your argument is valid and convincing.”

I had done it, and the strangest part to me at the time was how much I cared! I had completed the assignment and done the best job I could do. I had a huge sense of accomplishment, but no idea that it was really just the beginning of how often that paper would creep back into my thoughts.

Because of it, I was never afraid of a research paper in college; when I studied tragedy in a playwriting class, I was more prepared than anyone else. With some distance, I credit the paper for leading me to my first career as a journalist. That excited feeling I had for the first time when I sat on my yellow-carpeted bedroom floor as a teenager surrounded by books analyzing tragedy, I continued to have every time I returned to the newsroom with a full reporter’s notebook and a blank computer screen. And even now, as I sit down to write fiction.

When my agent suggested I try to write a young adult novel, I loved the idea. As the story formed in my head, the world of the Irving School unfolded and Mr. Naething’s words came back to me. And then there is was—that amazing Tragedy Paper that was going to take Tim and Duncan through their senior years, the Tragedy Paper that had gotten me through mine and so far beyond. It was like a magic gift that surfaced so many years later after having burrowed into my subconscious.

The words came tumbling out—magnitude first, of course, and then hubris, order and chaos, reversal of fortune—all the things that make a story great. It took more than a quarter of a century to finally see the full value of that assignment.

I recently wrote another blog post in which I talked about trying to worry less as an adult, something I was able to do as a teen. But my husband joked last night that I should have warned my teen self to take great care with my Tragedy Paper, knowing now how important it was, and continues to be, to my life. Echoing Tim’s words to Duncan at the beginning of my book, that paper would become the “meat” of my future novel.

Elizabeth LaBan worked at NBC News, taught at a community college, and has written for several magazines and newspapers. THE TRAGEDY PAPER is her first young adult novel. She lives in Philadelphia with her family.



Putting Yourself in Your Character’s Shoes (Sneakers, Ballet Flats or Boots!)

In Other Words: On a Writer's Journey, Finding a Fellow Traveler

White snow, bright snow! As the winter season settles in, winter stories offer readers opportunities for icy and playful antics or staying warm inside and reading a good book. The International Reading Association's Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group offers winter reading in this week’s column. With a mixture of fiction and nonfiction, educators will find some good reading for those indoor recesses or a table full of beautiful books for browsing. Also, ReadWriteThink offers a sleighful of great teaching ideas with snowy, wintery themes.

K-3

 

Bruchac, James and Joseph. (2012). Rabbit’s snow dance; a traditional Iroquois story. Illustrated by Jeff Newman. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Father and son storytelling team borrow from an old Iroquois tale to present the story of Rabbit and how he lost his tale. It begins in the summer when impatient long-tailed rabbit would like to be munching the luscious leaves at the top of the trees, knowing his snowshoe-like feet would let him do this easily if only the ground were covered with snow. He decides to use his drum and chant the snow song to bring the snow even though it is a hot summer day. The other forest animals are not a bit happy with this decision, but rabbit doesn’t care. He begins his dance with drum in hand and chants and chants, “Azikanapo!” (p.4) After a long time chanting the snow beings to fall and fall and fall. The ground is covered, short trees are covered, and his animal friends are covered, all but the tallest trees are covered. Exhausted from all this chanting, Rabbit takes a nap in the tallest tree. Now that the chanting has stopped and the bright sun is still shining on this summer day, the snow melts rapidly. When rabbit wakes up, he falls out of the tree and bits of his long tail are snagged on branches all the way down to the ground. When he lands at the bottom, he only has his small cottontail left. Read more about this book at the American Indians in Children’s Literature blog, or use some of the author’s videos about animals and storytelling at his website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Calder, C.J. (2013). Snow Truck. Illus. by Ronnie Rooney. Mankato, MN:Stone Arch Books/Capstone Press.

This board book is a perfect introduction to snow and colors for those really early readers. As blue truck starts slipping and sliding down a mountain path a bright red cardinal is watching it happen. When blue truck calls for help, snowplow red truck is there for the rescue. Along comes green truck with his plow and they pile a load of sand to create a barrier for blue truck. “Ka-thunk!” (unp.) He bumps into the pile and lands safely. Working together to solve a problem is the overall theme and young readers will enjoy following the red bird on each page of the story.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

DeGezelle, Terri. (2013). Exploring winter. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Intended for primary grades and our earliest readers, this book takes a look at winter through facts about the science of winter. Text on one side, a photograph on the other, information about winter includes facts about cold, changing seasons and the planets, amount of daylight, freezing water, plants and animals in winter, and differences in hemispheres. A glossary and short bibliography are included at the end with internet sources including projects, games and more at the publisher website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

deMarin, Layne. (2013). Too much snow! Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

From the series Wonder Readers this little volume offers large primary text for early independent readers about snow. A short paragraph with one to three sentences per page that includes a color photograph on each page helps extend the text. Chapters of two to four pages include topics of snowflakes, blizzards, storm stories, weather warnings and a glossary. Additional activities can be found in “Now Try This!” (p. 19) with internet sites included. Further activities can be found at the publisher's website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Edison, Erin. (2013). Snow. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

This introduction to snow could be very useful for teachers to read aloud. It is big enough to share with a class and the photographs are full page so that students can easily see them. Factual information about snow is written in primary enlarged text with contents including: what is snow? Types of snow; snow dangers; glossary. Additional resources and further activities are also included at the end of the book. The photography is the outstanding feature of this book, particularly the close-ups of snowflakes.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Ghigna, Charles. (2012). I see winter. Illus. by Ag Jatkowska. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Beginning with beautiful endpapers of snowflakes in shades of blues and purples, this simple rhymed text by author/poet Charles Ghigna, known as Father Goose, presents an idyllic picture of winter. “I see snowflakes passing by/ I see gray geese in the sky/I see shadows on the hill/ I see frost upon the sill.” (pages 1-4) As the short verse continues, the story ends with the Christmas season, hot chocolate and presents. From the cover to the pictures inside, the multicultural illustrations make this a good choice for all young audiences. Visit the author’s website for poetry writing ideas and watch the video to learn how he earned the moniker, Father Goose.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Special note to get ready for Groundhog Day with nonfiction: 

Gillenwater, Chadwick. (2013). Groundhogs. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

The outstanding close-up photography makes this primary book about groundhogs a stand out. Written with young readers in mind, basic information about groundhogs is included. Also known as woodchucks, facts about groundhogs abound detailing their claws and teeth and how they dig to create their underground burrows that sometimes reach 45 feet long. Small maps appear as inserts in the opening pages to give readers a visual as to where these critters live within the North American continent. Photographs of the newborn pups are especially interesting for children.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Hest, Amy. (2012). Charley’s first night. Illus. by Helen Oxenbury. Candlewick Press.

Young Henry Korn has found a puppy in the snow and just knows that it is the right thing to do to take him home. He brings his own blue baby blanket and carries the sweet little puppy home. When his parents see the puppy and agree that Henry can keep him, they set up a few ground rules. Henry has to be the one to feed the new addition as well as walk him everyday. Henry gladly accepts this responsibility and begins to take the newly named Charley around the house to introduce his new home. That evening, when Henry prepares a bed for Charley in the kitchen complete with warm blanket and a clock to click for comfort, Henry goes to bed. That is, he is in bed until he hears Charley crying. Henry lovingly goes back to his new friend and walks him around the house a bit and puts him back in bed. When the crying starts anew, Henry shows Charley his bedroom, which is exactly where Henry’s mother finds them cuddled together the next morning. Oxenbury’s soft pastels are the perfect complement to Hest’s gentle story about a new puppy. This warm and gentle story will make every reader want a puppy.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Hest, Amy. (2012). The reader. Illus. by Lauren Castillo. Las Vegas: Amazon Publishing.

Accompanied by his faithful dog, a boy carrying a brown suitcase ventures outside into cold weather. Wearing a knitted hat, a scarf, a coat, and boots, he’s certainly ready for wintery temperatures. Together, the boy and dog head uphill where they frolic, enjoy a snack, and then best of all, share a read aloud about friendship. Early readers will enjoy trying to guess the contents of the suitcase and relish this unnamed reader’s delight in reading to his furry friend. Some of the vocabulary words are challenging, painting vivid word pictures that are mirrored in the snow-filled ink-and-watercolor illustrations. One of the most delightful illustrations shows circles of paw prints that surround the boy’s own sled tracks, testimony to the dog’s patience and the boy’s persistence in tugging that sled up the hill.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Hutmacher, Kimberly M. (2013). Sled dogs. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

The beautiful dogs of the North are featured in this book; the Alaskan huskies, the Siberian huskies, and the Alaskan malamutes. Describing how these dogs work together as a team to pull the sleds and loads their drivers ask of them is the major content. The famous Iditarod race is featured early on in the book with photographs. The author goes on to give a few facts about how the dogs’ feet are protected with their footpads and how to train young puppies into becoming successful sled dogs. Additional information is included at the end of the book including a glossary. Students might be interested in viewing this video from DragonFly TV about kids and sled dogs.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Meister, Cari. (2013). Winter is wonderful. Illus. by Jim Lingenfelter. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

From the First Graphics series about graphic novels for early readers, author Cari Meister has created a science book about winter in the graphic/comic format. Using factual information about winter, animals in winter, plants and trees and even winter fun readers will learn about freezing temperature, snowflakes, the seasons in relation to the hemisphere, hibernation and migration, and fun sports and activities to do in cold and snowy weather. A glossary and further resource information are included at the end of the book.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Pearson, Carrie A. (2012). A warm winter tail. Illus. by Christina Wald. Mount Pleasant, SC: Sylvan Dell.

Turning the tables on humans and their curiosity about them, baby animals such as red foxes, box turtles, honeybees, and Monarch butterflies ask their mothers how humans cope during winter’s freezing months. All of the babies are sure that humans must have some way to adapt to the cold that is similar to their own adaptations, a conceit that turns out to be somewhat true as illustrated in the sketches of human clothing and shelter. Intriguingly, the illustrator has created sketches of human behavior in a black and white palette and the illustrations of the animals in larger, color illustrations, supporting the animals’ worldview. Back matter includes a matching activity and additional information on animal adaptation. Young readers will enjoy reading this title and finding even more activities on the publisher’s website.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Rule, Rebecca. (2012). The iciest diciest scariest sled ride ever. Illustrated by Jennifer Thermes. Yarmouth, ME: Islandport Press.

Grandpa Bud has charmed his granddaughter, Lizzie, with tales of his adventurous slides down the hill on Old Mountain Road, so when an winter day comes along that freezes the snow on the hill into ice, Lizzie has a plan. She and several of her friends drag out Grandpa’s old travois sled, complete with runners and room for all on the bench, and start their trek up the hill. This is no easy task slipping and sliding just trying to get UP the hill. Once atop this “hill”, it looks mountainous! Thermes has done an outstanding job of painting the fear onto the kids’ faces that will bring a chuckle to readers. Now for the moment to begin … the push off … and down they go! Several pages of speed and slipping and sliding but pure frivolity and fun (though parents may not agree!) This delightful story has a touch of nostalgia and a huge dose of humor great for a winter day. Introduce this book with the book trailer or learn more about the author and illustrator at Islandport Press website. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Grades 3-6

Frederick, Shane. (2013). The technology of hockey. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

The introduction of this book explains how hockey has been an evolving game from 150 years ago when “the origins of the game of hockey go back that far with skaters playing a game on frozen ponds and rivers with wooden sticks. By the late 1800’s, the first rules were written down and clubs began to form.”(p. 4) Now, all the equipment and uniforms and created ice and caretaking of the ice, and the organization of the NHL and The Stanley Cup have transformed the sport of hockey. Much of this transformation has come in the design of the new equipment and care of the ice. Even the puck, once just a chunk of wood or coal or whatever substance was handy, is now made of vulcanized rubber mixed with sulfur and frozen to keep them from bouncing too much. Hockey sticks are made of graphite, Kevlar, fiberglass and titanium. This is just the beginning. Information on skates, protective headgear, leg pads, ice temperatures, ice rinks and stadiums, the Zamboni machine, the boards and glass around the rinks, are included. This book is packed full of facts and information about the sport of hockey. Intermediate readers might enjoy the information found at the NHL website for kids.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Hurley, Michael. (2013). Ice hockey (Read Me! Fantastic Sports Facts). Chicago: Heinemann/Raintree.

From the Read Me! Fantastic Sports Facts series, this volume is full of factoids rather than a narrative about the sport. Using single paragraphs, framed boxes, diagrams or circles of facts, this book will appeal to the reluctant reader. Plentiful colorful facts and frames fill this book with all sorts of information about players, statistics, equipment, famous moments in the game and more. Readers will enjoy the Quiz and Fanometer at the end along with the glossary and other resources for further reading. Enjoy this YouTube video entitled "Hockey Kids."

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Obed, Ellen Bryan. (2012). Twelve kinds of ice. Illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Houghton Mifflin.

Written in poetic prose and illustrated with McClintock’s beautiful pen-and-ink drawings this small book reflects the memories of waiting for the ice. In the first of twenty short chapters, the Bryan family and their neighbors enjoy the coming of winter as they watch the stages of ice begin to form. The ice starts as a thin sheet on a bucket of water, the next ice is like glass, but when the third stage of ice comes it doesn’t break – a sign it is just about right for skating. Field ice, stream ice and the scary black ice are next to follow. The Bryans are ready to create their garden skating rink by packing down the snow and running the garden hose over the top to create the smooth ice needed for skating and hockey. The winter fun really begins now and a skating party is a must. The end of the story has the ice melting and all the lost mittens and hockey pucks reappear from the winter. Words and pictures work so well together in this heartfelt book. Read more about the author at her website and the illustrator’s work at her award-winning website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Omoth, Tyler. (2013). Ice fishing for kids. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Opening with a photograph of a fisherman sitting on the ice with fishing pole in hand as it pokes through the ice awaiting a fish, the book starts with “Frozen Fun.” (p. 4) Beginning with the history of ice fishing, the author continues with the gear that is needed and how to find or create shelter during this frozen fun. He explains about ice fishing rods, ice augers to cut the hole in the ice, fish finding gadgets, tip-ups that “allow you to set your bait in the water and walk away.” (p.13), and fishing contests. Chapter 3 deals with Tips and Techniques for the amateur ice fisherman while Chapter 4 goes on to discuss safety issues. The book concludes with aspects of conservation and working with the environment. Small fact boxes are inserted throughout the box in addition to framed paragraphs for different historical or interesting stories about this sport. A glossary, index and further resources can be found at the end.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Polydorios, Lori. (2013.) Snowboarding greats. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Snowboarding is a popular winter sport and has made headlines through recent Olympic games. This little volume gives a double page spread to 12 famous snowboarders. Starting with Lindsey Jacobellis, who competed in Winter Games X, other noted snowboarders include Stevie Bell, Danny Kass, Andreas Wiig, Kevin Pearce, Gigi Rüf, Shaun Palmer, Nicolas Muller, Terje Haakonsen, Shaun White, Travis Rice, and John Jackson. Each double page spread contains fact boxes; some labeled Tricked Out that point out a special trick unique to that snowboarder or other colored fact boxes that define a snowboarding term. A glossary and extra resources are included in the back of the book.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Spinelli, Eileen (2012). Cold snap. Illus. by Majorie Priceman. New York: Random House/Alfred A. Knopf.

In some ways, this beautiful book could function as a sequel to the book Heat Wave (2007) by the same author. Told from the perspective of the citizens of small town Toby Mills, the narrative describes a wintertime celebration during one very cold week. On Saturday, the temperature falls, growing so cold that an icicle forms on the nose of General Toby’s statue. The cold weather and growing icicle cannot keep people from attending church on Sunday. On Monday the dedicated teachers head off to work; on Tuesday Mille scatters seeds for the birds braving the chilly air, and on Wednesday, bitter cold wind tosses things around. Conditions worsen on Thursday when the temperature plummets to zero. On Friday, General Toby’s icicle stretches to the ground. Despite the cold weather, the town’s mayor holds a feast on top of a snowy hill, with a roaring bonfire, snow candy, hot cider and doughnuts, all in celebration of winter. The next morning, the bright sun has shattered the icicle on General Toby’s nose. Lively illustrations and a recipe for making sugar-on-snow candy add to the book’s charm.

- Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

Grades 5-8

Frederick, Shane. (2013). The ultimate collection of pro hockey records. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

True hockey fans will delight in this book as it contains a plethora of information and tidbits about hockey’s greatest moments and its best players. Part of the Sports Illustrated for Kids series, the design of this book is a collage of information that uses charts, diagrams, photographs, factoid boxes, and short narrative paragraphs to draw readers into the game of hockey. The contents include: Records on the ice; Skater records; Goaltending records; Team records; Stanley cup playoffs; Around the ice. The book ends with a detailed index, related reading and suggested internet sites for further research.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Grades 9-12

Northrop, Michael. (2011). Trapped. New York: Scholastic. 

Students (yes, and secretly, teachers) often are delighted when snow causes schools to close, and they have an unplanned day of freedom. At first that’s exactly the reaction of seven students trapped unexpectedly in their high school by an extreme blizzard. But things go wrong quickly. Not only must they figure out how to survive, but the students must also deal with boredom and group dynamics. The author effectively describes the relentless falling of the snow, considered at first an inconvenience since the students' cell phones don't work, and then later, much more than that, as it rises higher and higher. While different factions form during their time inside the school building as they manage to scrounge up food from the cafeteria and find a way to heat the building temporarily, things tip toward disaster since there are no adults to be found. Since the story is told from the point of basketball player Scotty Weems, readers know that he survives, but the fate of the others isn't clear especially since there are hints throughout the narrative that everyone won't make it. As factions form and romantic possibilities bud, Scotty realizes that he has misjudged some of the others, school bad boy Les in particular. Unfortunately, readers never get to know much about Krista and Julie, the two girls trapped in the building, seemingly included more for sexual tension than character development. Readers will race to the book’s conclusion to see which of the characters survive and head off to warm houses amid a winter wonderland. It’s hard not to imagine the impact of the weight of more than eight feet of snow on the roof of a building and on the world outside that building. The author’s description of the effect of the relentless weather, at first an inconvenience and eventually life-threatening, on ordinary teens is a perfect read during this time of year. Just be sure to put a couple of logs on the fire or turn up the heat first.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online. The International Reading Association partners with the National Council of Teachers of English and Verizon Thinkfinity to produce ReadWriteThink.org, a website devoted to providing literacy instruction and interactive resources for grades K–12.

We’ve been engaged in analyzing texts for complexity and teaching students to read them closely for almost two years now. We’ve seen students progress in their reading ability such that they begin to independently annotate texts, re-read, and dig deeply for meaning. We’ve had countless teachers tell us that they now realize that they have under-expected their students’ performance. Just last week, a kindergarten teacher said that she had never witnessed young children engage in the types of conversations they are this year, using evidence from the text in their discussions. She attributed it to her careful analysis of text complexity, the development of teaching points from that analysis, and her students’ close reading of the text.

Our own experience with adolescents is the same. The students at our high school enjoy close reading. We don’t do it every day, and when we do they know that they are going to read something that won’t give up the meaning easily or quickly, and that it’s going to be worth it when they finally get to that level of deep understanding.

For example, tenth grade teacher Marisol Thayre was close reading “Experiences in a Concentration Camp” by Viktor Frankl (1946). Her students were engaged in this complex piece of text, working hard to figure out how this fit with their understanding of the Holocaust and what they had learned from reading NIGHT (Weisel, 1982). Consistent with a close reading approach, the students in Ms. Thayre’s class annotate as they read, discuss their ideas with peers and the whole class using evidence from the text, and respond to a series of text dependent questions. (You can watch a part of Ms. Thayre’s class on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFRClI2q18Y.)

Similarly, the students in Mr. Vaca’s and Ms. Schaefer’s history classes are engaged in close reading of the poem “In Flanders Field” by John McCrae (1915) as part of their studies of World War I. Again, the students annotated the text, discussed the text with their peers and the whole class using evidence from the text, and responded to a series of text dependent questions, such as:

• How does the author’s use of metaphor help convey the message?
• Who is the audience for this poem?
• Can you identify the passage of time in each stanza? How does it impact the meaning of the poem?
• Who is the author and what is his message?
• What is the author’s belief about war?

An example of a student’s annotation and her first quick write and then final evaluation of the message can be found here.

As we have noted, the use of close reading has been beneficial for students as they engage in complex text. But that’s really not our point in writing this blog. Having been working on this for some time, we’re thinking more carefully about an appropriate scope and sequence for the teaching points in a close reading. We have identified a number of factors that contribute to text complexity (Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2012) including:

• Density and complexity
• Figurative language
• Purpose
• Genre
• Organization
• Narration
• Text features and graphics
• Standard English and variations
• Register
• Background knowledge
• Prior knowledge
• Cultural knowledge
• Vocabulary

When texts are complex in any of these areas, they can become a teaching point during the close reading. For example, standard English is one of the factors that contribute to complexity in the poem “In Flanders Field.” In addition, lack of prior knowledge about World War I could contribute to the complexity, as could the density and complexity of the ideas, or the levels of meaning. In knowing this, Mr. Vaca and Ms. Schaefer integrate modeling and explanations in their close reading lessons.

photo: Enokson via photopin cc

By doing so, Mr. Vaca and Ms. Schaefer will build their students’ understanding of these specific aspects of text complexity. Over time, these factors will contribute less to the complexity as students master the knowledge and skills expected of them. Importantly, these factors can be assessed, and might just be with the new Common Core State Standards assessments (PARRC and SBAC). We’re fairly confident that integrating teaching points into the close reading through an analysis of the text’s complexity will result in increased prowess of students. We’re already seeing evidence of this after just a short time.

What we are concerned about is the scope and sequence that do not yet exist. What if the texts that are selected over a three-month period never are complex based on narration or figurative language, just to name two? Then students would not receive specific and targeted instruction on those two factors of text complexity and would be ill-prepared for texts that include these factors. It seems that we need to start making a list of the factors that contribute to text complexity, and there may be more than we have identified (for example, White, 2012 says that there are 34 text features that can obstruct text comprehension). We can begin to map texts that we have used to monitor our teaching points. For example, Mr. Vaca and Ms. Schaefer might start a grid like the one in figure 1 to ensure that their students experience a range of instructional topics appropriate for text complexity and close reading.

We’re wondering if anyone else is thinking about this. Do you have ideas about how to keep track of the teaching points related to close readings? Do you think that this is a worthy concern? We look forward to hearing from you.

WANT MORE? See Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey at IRA's 58th Annual Convention in San Antonio, where they will present "ACT NOW: Accessing Complex Texts" as part of the Teaching Edge series. For more information, go to www.iraconvention.org.

References

Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2012). Text complexity: Raising rigor in reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Frankl, V. (1946/2006). Man’s search for meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

White, S. (2012). Mining the text: 34 text features that can ease or obstruct text comprehension and use. Literacy Research & Instruction, 51, 143-164.

Wiesel, E. (1982). Night. New York: Bantam.

Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey are professors in the College of Education at San Diego State University and teacher leaders at Health Sciences High and Middle College. They are interested in quality instruction for diverse learners and are coauthors with Diane Lapp of TEXT COMPLEXITY: RAISING RIGOR IN READING (International Reading Association, 2012).



TEXT COMPLEXITY: RAISING RIGOR IN READING (member-login required)

by Amber Walraven

You've all read them: articles, blogs, and tweets about how important it is for teachers to pay attention to so-called 21st century skills, digital literacy, it-skills, media literacy, and so on. I've authored some of these articles, blogs, and tweets myself. A common reaction from teachers is: I'm too busy getting "the old stuff" done, don't have time for new things. Or: it's not my task—I'm not a language/reading/writing teacher.

Reactions from others in the educational field often go like this: you can't expect a teacher to teach what he hasn’t been taught. Teachers first need to be educated in anything digital before they can teach it. My answer to comments of both groups is simple: teacher design teams. In this post I'd like to share my experience with this form of professional development.

In a teacher design team, teachers create new materials or adapt existing curriculum materials in collaboration with each other, and often with experts such as educational design experts, educational researchers, and domain experts. The process of (re-)design provides opportunities for teachers to reflect on the curriculum starting from their personal knowledge and beliefs, their practice, and their goals for student learning. The interaction with other teachers and experts may deepen and challenge their reflections. Because (re-)designing curriculum results in concrete artifacts—
curriculum materials—teachers are not only exposed to the new practice, but they actively shape their own practice. Participation in well-scaffolded collaborative curriculum design processes therefore has the potential to contribute to the professional development of the teachers involved and to the production of materials which are valid and feasible in view of both teaching practice and the intended curriculum.

In my research, I have been working with both primary teachers and secondary teachers. All the projects aimed at integrating ICT, or instruction in information/media skills, into the core curriculum. We aimed at (re)designing a course, or a lesson series by keeping the course content, adding content on media literacy/information skills and (slightly) changing the mode of instruction. In primary education, this resulted in the integration of media literacy in the common curriculum. For instance while teaching pupils about summarizing texts, teachers used (and let pupils use) Twitter to share summaries. And besides the actual learning to tweet, pupils were also taught about social media, privacy, and online behavior. An example from secondary education: instead of letting students read a textbook and instructing them about historical figures like Julius Caesar, teachers asked students to make a Facebook fan page about the historical figure of their choice. They had to post a biography, share some updates ("Today I conquered Germany"), find friends from the same time period and so on. Extra attention was paid to the sources students used for their page and learning to evaluate websites was an extra learning goal in this period. In this way, students learned history as well as information skills.

After working with 11 design teams, I come to the following conclusions:

• It is possible to integrate "new skills" in the common curriculum.
• Fear of students learning less when taught in this way is unnecessary.  They score higher on a knowledge test on subject matter, and even gain extra skills.
• Teachers need to be given enough time and support for this form of PD. 
• While designing these lessons, teachers develop knowledge and skills themselves.
• Working in a design team is not a suitable PD form for all teachers.
• Teachers are motivated when they can share ideas about their work with colleagues.
• Teachers become even more passionate about their job.
• Personal differences need to be solved before embarking on the design and PD journey.
• A design team needs to have a strong leader, and motivated members.
• Forcing teachers in a team, and having a team without a personal drive, is a recipe for disaster.
• Being in a design team is contagious; after going through the motions once, teachers tend to collaborate in this way more often. 

I think this way of PD is the best and fastest way of getting all the important skills that are currently not in our curricula in our schools. We can’t afford to wait!

Amber Walraven is a senior researcher at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences (ITS), Radboud University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Her research includes information, media and digital literacy, educational innovation and teacher professional development.