Rossaura De La Cruz

Week 8 – CPA – Reading & Writing

1. The author describes two accounts of the whale’s entrapment. Compare the two accounts for:

a. STRUCTURE of the two texts

- The structure of the two texts were very different from each other. In one case, it was a
picture book called “Trapped!” and the structure of the text was a poetry style sense, it could
be understood by a child that its. On the other hand, the other text was a news article, the
structure of this is as expected from a news article, it gives more information so readers can
know the whole story.

b. PURPOSE of the texts

- In both texts, the purpose of it is to inform what happened to the whale. The pur;ose was to
tell the reader a story of why this whale was entangled in ropes and what followed after. In
“Trapped!” The purpose was to tell a story rather than really inform, to contrast with the
news article where its whole purpose was to inform the reader.

c. DETAILS of the texts

- The details of both texts are different as well, for example in the picture book it uses
powerful language to describe and reveal the whales struggle, but with this it feels like we
have missed a major chunk of detail that may not necessarily go with the theme of the story.
To contrast, the news article reveals all the details of the whale encounter, we learn more
about the ropes and with that we can see what the problem was.

d. Readability of the text

- Both texts have a different readability level, the first text is meant to be an easier read as it is
from a picture book, while the second text is from a news article so it has more academic
language and concise information to make the point clear.

2. Consider the topic you chose for your 7th grade class. Find two texts (as described in the
article) and cite them here.

First article:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-seventh-grade-math/cc-7th-geometry/cc-7th-area-circumf
erence/a/radius-diameter-circumference

Second article: https://www.datagenetics.com/blog/march42014/index.html

3. Compare the two texts for the same aspects listed above:

a. STRUCTURE of the two texts

- The structure of the two texts vary in different things, in the first text it is structured so
each component of a circle is broken down and there are multiple choice questions asked
throughout the text so students are active. In the second article it includes pictures of
roller coasters and bases on the fact that students should understand what a circle is from
the first article to understand the second article.

b. PURPOSE of the texts

- The purpose of the first article is to showcase and explain what a circle and its
components are, this includes the radius, diameter and circumference. Its purpose is to
first explain the circle and all its parts and throughout the article students answer
questions and interact with the circle. In the second article, students read about why a
rollercoaster is not considered a circle when it does a loop, the purpose of this article is to
include mathematical knowledge on an everyday event students may do and argue the
fact of whether it is a circle using mathematical reasoning.

c. DETAILS of the texts

- The details of the first text include a circle and explaining all its components such as a
radius, diameter and circumference. The details explain what a circle is and why it is so
important in math. The second article's details include a circle of a rollercoaster hoop and
its radius, an extra detail in this text that contrasts from the first on is that it includes
vectors and height, both real life forces that deal with movement.

d. Readability of the text

- The readability of both texts are different. The readability of the first text is much easier
because it is meant to teach the reader about circle and simplify the explanations as much
as possible, the second article however is much more difficult to read because students
will need prior knowledge from not only the first article but also will need to know what
a rollercoaster loop looks and and how vectors in math work.

4. Create a guiding question for each text that will help your students “read” the text

First text guiding question: What are the three main parts of a circle and their importance?

Second text guiding question: Why are roller coasters loops not a circle/not considered
circular?
5. Why was MODELING how to discuss the texts (Section 4) helpful for students?

- Modeling how to discuss the texts was helpful for students because it showed them the
process and steps on how to do things correctly. This includes modeling our thinking
process to students. Models enable students to follow along and maybe add their own
spin on how they would solve something. This helps with student engagement as they are
actively following along.

6. Of the DISCUSSION STRATEGIES you examined in the Brookfield reading, which

strategy would you use to have your students discuss your two chosen texts. How would you
teach them the strategy?

- A strategy that I would teach my students would be having a class discussion and seeing
the big picture together. Teachers can view the state of their class and determine where to
go from there, using polls to determine class discussion on topics and also the teacher
asking a question and starting the discussion there. Combined with close reading, this can
help any students understand a reading but it can especially help those who may not
always understand what they are reading and what is the main goal of what they are
reading. Students can be taught this strategy by the teacher modeling them to it and
students follow along.

7. How does close reading and students’ own writing support the reading/writing connection?
What are at least three ideas you can use from these texts?

- Close reading and students' own writing support the reading/writing connection by
strengthening the skills of being able to connect what they read to what they write. Often
students struggle with either two, they either understand the reading but don't know how
to write it down or their writing skills may be good but may struggle with the reading
aspect. Close reading can help with students who struggle with understanding a passage
or article, it also helps when a teacher adds a guiding question so students know what
they are reading and what they are looking for. Three ideas that teachers can use from
these texts are modeling to make connections between texts, helping students discuss and
giving feedback. These three things can help teachers better aid their students so they can
have stronger reading and literacy skills.