LESSON ONE: Analyzing Nonfiction Text Features - Graphs
LESSON DESCRIPTION
Using nonfiction text, the student identifies, analyzes and evalutes the author’s use of text features using primary and secondary sources.
GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
o R3A Using nonfiction text, the student will identify, analyze and evalute the author’s use of text features using primary and secondary sources.
LESSON MATERIALS
Sources of Literature
o None
Supplies
o Magazine or newspaper article using text features
o Computer lab with internet access
o Overhead
o Scoring guide for formative assessment
Handouts provided
o Article from magazine demonstrating text features
Words to know
o nonfiction
o text features
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Student evaluates the effectiveness of text features by finding either a magazine or newspaper article that contains information that could be better illustrated using a diagram, graph, or other text feature and recreates the article utilizing at least one of these features. Scoring guide provided.
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Idea |
If there is concern about students working together to earn the same grade, ask them to work individually, but dialogue is often easiest written when each student assumes a different character’s persona, speech, etc. |
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Point out that often some of the most important information found in magazines and newspaper articles is not within the text itself but in the accompanying graphs, inserts, lists, etc.
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Questions for Students |
How many of you often skin information in text features such as diagrams, inserts, graphs, lists, etc? How many of you skip the text when an article provides you with text features? What types of information would you typically find on a graph? In what types of literature would you not/never find (a) graph? What are advantages and disadvantages of information being displayed on a graph? |
2. Put a magazine article utilizing inserts, graphs, diagrams, and lists on an overhead. Point out and discuss how the information contained in these would take several pages of text if it were in a different form
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Questions for Students |
Is there anything more that can be done with this graph to make it more appealing? |
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Suggestions |
Students could confuse text elements and text features. Reinforce the concepts by creating a chart, diagram or listing on the board to be displayed for student reference. Make sure the article used to model can be understood, and has a variety of text features. |
3. After students form cooperative groups supply them with articles containing text features similar to the examples. Each group analyzes the graph, inserts, lists, etc., and writes out the information contained within as text in order to illustrate the concise nature of these visual text features. This activity could be performed individually as well as in groups.
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Questions for Students |
Which text features are more appealing than the others? Why? If you were developing a list of effective text features, which features would you include on that list? In what order? |
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Suggestion |
For a more hands-on activity give each student a copy of the article to mark information discussed. |
4. Students evaluate the effectiveness of text features by finding either a magazine or newspaper article containing information that could be better illustrated using a diagram, graph, or other text feature and will recreate the article using at least one of these features.
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Suggestion |
Students may search for articles on the internet. |