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Amanda Cordova, EngEd275, Ch. 9 Promoting

Comprehension- Text Factors

 amandacordova1  Uncategorized  April

st
12, 2019 7 Minutes
Source:  Tompkins, Gail (2017). Literacy for the 21 Century: A Balanced Approach

Text Factors: 

Genres:  The three broad categories of literature are stories, informational books or nonfiction, and
poetry, and there are subgenres within each category. For example, science fiction, folktales, and
historical fiction are subgenres of stories (p. 294)
Text Structures: Authors use text structures to organize texts and emphasize the most important
ideas. Sequence, comparison, and cause and effect, for example, are three internal patterns used to
organize nonfiction texts (p. 294) 
Text Features:  Authors use text features to achieve a particular effect in their writing. Literary
devices and conventions include symbolism and tone in stories, headings and indexes in
nonfiction books, and page layout for poems (p. 294)

Stories:  Narratives about characters trying to overcome problems or deal with difficulties.

Formats:  Picture books, chapter books, novels

Narratives Genres: How books are categorized. Folklore are stories that began hundreds of years ago
and passed down from generation to generation.  Fantasies are imaginative stories.  Authors create
new worlds for the characters but the worlds are based on reality so readers believe they
exist.  Realistic fiction are stories that are lifelike and believable. The outcome is reasonable and the
story is a representation of actions that seem truthful.  These books help students discover that their
problems are not unique and they are not alone in experiencing them.  Below is a great chart of
Narrative Genres:
Elements Of Story Structure (pp. 299-304): 

Plot:  the sequence of events involving characters in conflict situations.  It is based on the goals of
one or more characters and the process they go through to attain them.  Conflict occurs between
characters and nature, between characters and society, between characters, and within characters.
Characters:  Characters are the people or personified animals in the story.  They are the key
structural element when stories are centered on characters. Characters are developed in four
ways:
Appearance
Action
Dialog
 Monologue
Setting:  The location of where a story takes place.  There are four dimensions to settings:  location,
weather, time period, and time. 
Point Of View:  The viewpoint or perspective that a story is written in:
First person:  Perspective from the eyes if a character using the first-person pronoun I
Omniscient:  Telling readers about the thought process of each character. (Omniscient,
omnipotent- god like).
Limited Omniscient: Thoughts of one character, told in third person.  Typically focused on
main character.
Objective:  Readers are eyewitnesses to the story and are confined to the immediate scene.
Theme:  The underlying meaning of a story.  It usually deals with character emotions and values.

Narrative Devices (p. 304):  Authors use narrative devices to make their writing more vivid and
memorable. Imagery is probably the most common.

Text Factors Of Nonfiction Books (pp.306-308): Nonfiction provides real information and knowledge
about topics students may be interested in.  

Nonfiction Genres:  nonfiction provides information for any topic you can think of.  Some types
include: 

Alphabet books
Biographies
Reference books

Expository Text Structures: The way nonfiction books are organized (p.308).

Description. The author describes a topic by listing characteristics, features, and examples.
Phrases such as for example and characteristics are cue this structure. When students delineate
any topic, such as the Mississippi River, eagles, or Alaska, they use description. 
Sequence. The author lists or explains items or events in numerical, chronological, or alphabetical
order. Cue words for sequence include first, second, third, next, then, and finally. Students use this
pattern to write directions for completing a math problem or the stages in an animal’s life cycle.
The events in a biography are often written in the sequence pattern, too. 
Comparison. The author compares two or more things. Different, in contrast, alike, and on the
other hand are cue words and phrases that signal this structure. When students compare and
contrast book and movie versions of a story, reptiles and amphibians, or life in ancient Greece
with life in ancient Egypt, they use this organizational pattern. 
Cause and Effect. The author explains one or more causes and the resulting effect or effects.
Reasons why, if… then, as a result, therefore, and because are words and phrases that cue this
structure. Explanations of why dinosaurs became extinct, the effects of pollution, or the causes of
the Civil War use this pattern. 
Problem and Solution. The author states a problem and offers one or more solutions. A variation
is the question-and-answer format, in which the writer poses a question and then answers it. Cue
words and phrases include the problem is, the puzzle is, solve, and question… answer. Students
use this structure when they write about why money was invented, why endangered animals
should be saved, or why dams are needed to ensure a permanent water supply.
Formats Of Poetry:  Three types of poetry books for children include:  picture-book poems for one
poem, poetry collections related to a single theme, and comprehensive anthologies where poems are
arranged by category.  

Verse novels:  novels told through poems rather than prose.   

Poetic Forms:  Forms include acrostic, apology, bilingual, color, concrete, found, limericks, list, odes,
and poems for two voices.

Rhymed Verse:  most common for K-8.  

Narrative Poems:  poems that tell a story and have illustrations.
Haiku: A Japanese poetic form that contains 17 syllables arranged in lines of 5,7, and 5
syllables. They normally deal with nature.
 Free Verse:  Contemporary form.  Writers don’t use traditional poetic techniques.   Writers choose
words to express ideas precisely and create powerful images.  
Odes:  Poems that celebrate every-day objects.  It is unrhymed, written directly to that object
about why it is valued.   
Concrete Poems:  Words and lines are arranged on the page to convey meaning.  They may take
on the shape of an object being written about.  

Poetic devices include (p. 316):

Assonance: the type of alliteration where vowel sounds are repeated in nearby words. 
Consonance: the type of alliteration where consonant sounds are repeated in nearby words. 
Imagery: words and phrases that appeal to the senses and evoke mental pictures. Metaphor: a
comparison between two unlikely things, without using like or as. 
Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sounds. 
Repetition: words, phrases, or lines that are repeated for special effect. 
Rhyme: words that end with similar sounds used at the end of the lines. 
Rhythm: the internal beat in a poem that’s felt when poetry is read aloud. 
Simile: a comparison incorporating the word like or as.

Comprehension Strategies:

“Text Factors Teach students how to recognize and analyze text factors using these strategies so they
can increase their comprehension of complex texts: Consider genre; Recognize text structure; And
attend to literary devices. Introduce these strategies in minilessons and have students practice using
them as they read books and listen to books read aloud. If students struggle, reteach the strategies,
model their use, and think aloud about their application” (p.319).

Assessing Knowledge Of Text Factors (p. 320) 

Although there aren’t formal tests to assess students’ knowledge of text factors, students demonstrate
what they’re learning as they participate in reading and writing activities and develop oral and
written projects. Teachers use this instruction– assessment cycle: 

Step 1: Planning. As they plan for instruction, teachers determine which text factors they’ll teach
and how they’ll monitor students’ progress and assess students’ learning. 
Step 2: Monitoring. Teachers monitor students’ progress as they observe and conference with
them about their reading and writing activities. For example, they notice whether students choose
sentences containing literary devices when asked to share favorite sentences with the class from a
book they’re reading or whether they mention text factors during grand conversations. They also
take note of students’ understanding of text structures as they make graphic organizers and their
awareness of structural elements and literary devices in their reading log entries. 
Step 3: Evaluating. Teachers encourage students to apply their knowledge of genres, structural
elements, and literary devices as they respond to literature, develop projects, and write stories and
other compositions. One way to do this is to include items on rubrics and checklists that pertain to
text factors. 
Step 4: Reflecting. Teachers ask students during conferences to reflect on how they’re growing in
their ability to use text factors to comprehend complex texts, and students also write reading log
entries, letters, and essays to reflect on their learning. Teachers also consider the effectiveness of
their instruction and think about ways they can adapt instruction to emphasize text factors to
enhance students’ comprehension abilities.

Classroom Application:  
It is important to know that realistic fiction helps students understand they are not unique in their
problems, therefore they are not alone.  This will help students during their own book
selections.  They can be helped and encouraged to read realistic fiction to explore solutions in their
own lives.

Plot identification:  I liked the idea on page 300, where students create a story map to identify the
plot. The map identifies the beginning, middle, and end of the story using words and pictures.  

Setting: It was interesting to learn that setting is not only about location.  I did not realize that
weather can also make up the setting.

Understanding and knowing narrative devices will also help me in the classroom.  By referencing
Figure 9-4, I will be able to help students understand the authors goals.  

Figure 9-5 provides excellent examples of expository text structures and correlating graphic
organizers that can be used for each structure.  This will be very useful for classroom activities
relating to nonfiction material.  Additionally, the book list provided on page 310 will be useful for
identifying books that relate to the structure I am presenting to the class.  I, personally, would be
interested in Boy, We Were Wrong about Dinosaursby Kudlinski, K. V.

As noted above, comprehension strategies are also important to recognize.  The strategy listed on
page 319 will be helpful:  “Text Factors Teach students how to recognize and analyze text factors
using these strategies so they can increase their comprehension of complex texts: Consider genre;
Recognize text structure; And attend to literary devices. Introduce these strategies in minilessons and
have students practice using them as they read books and listen to books read aloud. If students
struggle, reteach the strategies, model their use, and think aloud about their application” (p.319).

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