dramas, and poems) and can use this knowledge to help them see how each progressive part builds on previous sections. In stories, they have a concept of beginning, middle, and end; they have a sense of chapters; and they are familiar with the function of stanzas in poetry and scenes in drama.
They consider:
What type of text is this?
What is the story about?
If I were to recount the story, which parts or chapters would I point to in describing the beginning, the middle, and the end?
What happens in the first scene (drama)? How does each scene build on the one(s) before it?
How do the scenes move the action in the drama forward?
In poetry what is the main idea of the first stanza? How do the stanzas build on another to create meaning in the text?
4 Gist: Students break down the structure of a text and explain the major differences between poems, drama, and prose. Students use specific terms to differentiate (poetry-verse, rhythm, meter; drama-casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) between texts.
They consider:
What type of text is this? (poetry, drama, or prose)?
When I work to understand poetry, can I apply concepts like stanza, rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration to help me?
When I read a play, how can I use my understanding of casts of characters, settings, dialogue, and stage directions to help me comprehend each scene?
When I read prose, how can I use my understanding of introductions, flow of paragraphs, conclusions, word choice, and voice to enhance my understanding?
Can I explain how poetry is different from drama or from prose using these terms? Can I explain how drama is different from the others?
5 Gist: Students break down the structure of a text to explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas are organized and contribute to the development of the text.
They consider:
What type of text is this (poetry, drama, or prose)?
How does the author build her story in each chapter to help me understand?
What happens in the beginning chapters? How do they set up what happens in the next chapters and how do these develop the story for the chapters at the end?
If this is drama, how do the scenes build on one another? What happens in the first scenes to set up the drama? How are the following scenes sequenced?
If this is poetry, what is the main idea of the first stanza? How do the following stanzas help to develop the text? Why do I think they’re written in that particular sequence?
Informational Text
3 Gist: Students locate information on a specific topic by using text features and search tools—key words, sidebars, hyperlinks—in an efficient manner.
They consider:
What specific information do I need to determine (purpose)?
What key words are important for me to know in order to locate that information?
What are captions? How do they help me understand the pictures and words on this page?
How can I use words in bold, headings, and other features in the text to find information quickly?
How can I use the glossary to help me locate information?
How can I use the indices to help me get information?
How can I use electronic menus, hyperlinks, sidebars, and icons to get information?
What other search tools can I use?
4 Gist: Students break down the structure of a text to explain events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text; noting patterns such as chronology, cause/effect, or problem/solution.
They consider:
How are the main sections of the text organized?
What organizational pattern does the author use?
How does this pattern help me understand the meaning of the text?
How does this pattern help me explain events, ideas, or information in the text?
How can I identify and use key words to help me explain the organization and structure of the text?
Is the text organized chronologically?
Do I notice cause/effect in the text?
Is the text organized by problem/solution?
5 Gist: Students break down the structure of a text to compare and contrast events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts, noting patterns such as chronology, cause/effect, or problem/solution.
They consider:
What is the main idea of the texts?
Can I find the important events, ideas, or information in each text?
Can I identify key words that help me find patterns such as chronology, cause/effect, or problem/solution in each text?
How are the texts and the information similar?
How are the texts and the information different? Can I contrast the structure and the information?
How does the structure of these texts affect their meaning and style?
Common Core Reading Standard 5: What the Teacher Does
To teach students to refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems and to describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections:
Read aloud, read aloud, read aloud—students’ minds are in a sense freed up to see the beauty of the structure, and how structure builds meaning, when they can hear the author’s language.
Explicitly teach elements of stories (beginning, middle, and end; chapters); dramas (scene, casts of characters, setting, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions); and poetry (stanza, verse, rhythm, meter).
