English Language Arts and Reading.4.7.B

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The student is expected to

write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing and contrasting ideas across a variety of sources;

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Knowledge and Skills Statement

Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.

A teacher may wish to pair SE 4.2.B.iv with SE 4.7.B and assess both SEs at the same time. With SE 4.2.B.iv, students spell words using advanced knowledge of syllable division patterns. After students read two different texts, task them with writing a response explaining how the ideas in the texts are similar and different. Encourage students to include multisyllabic words with a variety of syllable division patterns. Have students pair up to edit each other's writing and to pay special attention to the spelling of multisyllabic words.

Notes:

  • This SE can pair with numerous SEs. A teacher may also consider pairing it with SEs 4.12.A, 4.12.B, 4.12.C, and 4.12.D.
  • The use of a graphic organizer or an anchor chart will support student understanding. 
    Students have their own copy of the graphic organizer in a notebook to use independently while they write.
     

Further Explanation

This assessment example requires students to compare and contrast ideas, topics, and themes in separate texts. Students should be able to explain, either orally or in writing, how the ideas in the texts are alike and how they differ.

At this grade, student are expected to identify the ways in which ideas are similar and different across more than one text. For example, students might read a story and listen to a poem, and then write a response that comparing the ideas presented in the two sources.
Students should be able to communicate in writing their understanding of a text's purpose, key ideas, overall messages, and impact on the reader. When students truly comprehend a text, they should be able to make reasonable connections to other sources that address the same ideas in similar or different ways. These comparisons help students recognize the complexity of ideas and inform their own responses.

Research

1. Zuckerbrod, N. (2019). The power of stories: Develop social-emotional skills and empathy using fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Scholastic Teacher, 128(3), 45+. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A580773753/PROF?u=tea&sid=PROF&xid=b300f1ba

Summary: The author shows the impact that fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have on students in grades 3 through 6, especially when teachers choose texts that resonate with students. Teacher recommendations are provided, along with stories of how teachers help students make the connection from texts to personal experience and to the experiences of others.

2. Miller, M., & Veatch, N. (2010). Teaching literacy in context: choosing and using instructional strategies: to help students become proficient with expository text, educators need to focus on how to choose and use the most appropriate instructional strategies for their students. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 154+. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A242897421/PROF?u=tea&sid=PROF&xid=f1360380

Summary: This case study examines instructional strategies for teaching expository texts. The article provides an instructional process with both pre-teach strategies and the classroom implementation, focused upon students' ability to comprehend and summarize the text.