WEBVTT

00:00:00.046 --> 00:00:03.566
[Music] Welcome to Compare

00:00:03.566 --> 00:00:06.056
and Contrast Graphic Organizer:

00:00:06.056 --> 00:00:07.976
"A Whale Is Not a Fish"

00:00:09.666 --> 00:00:11.126
My name is Nakia McNair.

00:00:11.476 --> 00:00:12.566
I teach third grade

00:00:12.566 --> 00:00:14.176
at Lake Forest North Elementary,

00:00:14.176 --> 00:00:15.516
located in Felton, Delaware.

00:00:16.706 --> 00:00:17.456
I really wanted

00:00:17.456 --> 00:00:21.556
to choose a very good nonfiction text

00:00:21.596 --> 00:00:23.356
that would definitely match

00:00:23.356 --> 00:00:25.336
up with our skill, which was comparing

00:00:25.336 --> 00:00:26.166
and contrasting.

00:00:26.736 --> 00:00:27.576
The story was called

00:00:27.576 --> 00:00:29.646
"A Whale Is Not a Fish,"

00:00:29.646 --> 00:00:32.566
so it gave plenty of opportunities

00:00:32.566 --> 00:00:33.686
for students to be able

00:00:33.686 --> 00:00:34.966
to pull those details out.

00:00:36.116 --> 00:00:37.586
The next thing, I had to make sure

00:00:37.586 --> 00:00:39.306
that there was a graphic organizer,

00:00:39.686 --> 00:00:42.646
one that would help them to be able

00:00:42.646 --> 00:00:44.636
to organize those facts in a way

00:00:44.636 --> 00:00:46.306
that was very easy for them

00:00:46.306 --> 00:00:47.196
to understand.

00:00:47.736 --> 00:00:51.026
And I had a graphic organizer

00:00:51.026 --> 00:00:54.016
that we use for compare and contrast.

00:00:54.406 --> 00:00:56.036
However, I made some changes,

00:00:56.446 --> 00:00:59.076
and I added on clue words this time,

00:00:59.076 --> 00:01:00.676
so that students will be able

00:01:00.676 --> 00:01:03.366
to pull those clue words from the text,

00:01:03.626 --> 00:01:05.576
and that would also help them to be able

00:01:05.826 --> 00:01:07.186
to tell how things are alike

00:01:07.186 --> 00:01:07.746
and different.

00:01:08.766 --> 00:01:12.186
I modeled, first, how to first look

00:01:12.186 --> 00:01:13.126
at the pictures

00:01:13.466 --> 00:01:15.476
to show how the two animals--

00:01:15.476 --> 00:01:17.036
we started off with whale and fish--

00:01:17.296 --> 00:01:19.246
how they were alike and different.

00:01:19.726 --> 00:01:21.836
And then we used the subtitles,

00:01:21.836 --> 00:01:23.506
which gave us a lot of information:

00:01:23.506 --> 00:01:24.986
We had whale was immense

00:01:24.986 --> 00:01:26.946
and the fish were smaller.

00:01:27.266 --> 00:01:30.116
So looking at the subtitles also gave

00:01:30.116 --> 00:01:31.736
them clues that this is going

00:01:31.736 --> 00:01:33.666
to be definitely a text that's going

00:01:33.666 --> 00:01:35.586
to help them compare and contrast.

00:01:35.586 --> 00:01:37.656
And the way the author designed the book

00:01:37.656 --> 00:01:40.026
was just like the way the graphic

00:01:40.026 --> 00:01:41.206
organizer was designed,

00:01:41.206 --> 00:01:43.376
because the graphic organizer was

00:01:43.376 --> 00:01:44.616
designed where you had

00:01:44.616 --> 00:01:46.586
to tell how both things were alike,

00:01:46.586 --> 00:01:49.306
and the way the author organized the

00:01:49.306 --> 00:01:52.246
text began with a paragraph

00:01:52.336 --> 00:01:54.596
that showed how both animals were alike.

00:01:54.936 --> 00:01:56.436
So I modeled, first,

00:01:56.436 --> 00:01:58.036
identifying the clue words

00:01:58.036 --> 00:02:00.026
for comparing the two,

00:02:00.106 --> 00:02:01.116
telling how they are alike.

00:02:01.566 --> 00:02:04.116
And modeled how to pull those out

00:02:04.116 --> 00:02:05.846
and put them on a graphic organizer.

00:02:06.286 --> 00:02:08.045
And then I did the same thing

00:02:08.106 --> 00:02:10.015
for showing differences.

00:02:10.395 --> 00:02:11.616
And so once I did that,

00:02:11.876 --> 00:02:13.846
they were able to see how to use

00:02:13.846 --> 00:02:15.826
that text structure to be able

00:02:15.826 --> 00:02:16.646
to compare and contrast.

00:02:18.036 --> 00:02:20.656
Then after we got an understanding

00:02:20.656 --> 00:02:21.496
and had that model,

00:02:21.726 --> 00:02:23.666
they were able to then work

00:02:23.666 --> 00:02:25.856
with a partner to do the same thing

00:02:25.856 --> 00:02:27.896
on their graphic organizer.

00:02:28.916 --> 00:02:30.926
Partner pairs that were selected,

00:02:30.926 --> 00:02:32.756
they are normal reading partners.

00:02:32.756 --> 00:02:34.766
So they are used to working together,

00:02:35.276 --> 00:02:36.376
based on levels.

00:02:36.516 --> 00:02:37.906
I usually do either numbered

00:02:37.906 --> 00:02:39.066
or lettered partners,

00:02:39.316 --> 00:02:40.886
so they know that partner A will have a

00:02:40.886 --> 00:02:42.376
job, partner B will have a job.

00:02:42.376 --> 00:02:43.656
But there would always be an element

00:02:43.656 --> 00:02:45.486
where they will think first,

00:02:45.926 --> 00:02:46.956
then they will write,

00:02:47.226 --> 00:02:48.236
then they will share.

00:02:48.956 --> 00:02:51.976
Then as a ticket out, or an assessment,

00:02:52.336 --> 00:02:54.566
I had a different graphic organizer

00:02:54.566 --> 00:02:55.996
where they used pictures to compare

00:02:55.996 --> 00:02:57.606
and contrast, so I can just see

00:02:57.606 --> 00:02:58.946
that they grasp the skill.

00:03:00.016 --> 00:03:01.926
I assessed student learning today

00:03:01.926 --> 00:03:04.556
with first getting the thumbs-up,

00:03:04.556 --> 00:03:06.266
thumbs-down responses.

00:03:06.266 --> 00:03:07.746
I do that a lot in my class.

00:03:07.746 --> 00:03:10.786
So that's just a quick little assessment

00:03:10.786 --> 00:03:12.646
that I just can see if they get it.

00:03:12.836 --> 00:03:14.906
So once I see that,

00:03:14.906 --> 00:03:16.176
then it's onto working

00:03:16.176 --> 00:03:17.046
more independently.

00:03:17.046 --> 00:03:18.396
So, like the ticket

00:03:18.396 --> 00:03:20.686
out that I gave them, that was one way

00:03:20.686 --> 00:03:23.316
that I used to make sure to see

00:03:23.316 --> 00:03:24.176
if they were able

00:03:24.176 --> 00:03:25.756
to use the graphic organizer

00:03:25.756 --> 00:03:27.656
effectively, they were able to take

00:03:27.656 --> 00:03:30.326
out the story, the clue words to compare

00:03:30.326 --> 00:03:33.176
and contrast, and also were they able

00:03:33.176 --> 00:03:35.056
to-- at the end they had

00:03:35.056 --> 00:03:36.566
to complete a sentence,

00:03:36.566 --> 00:03:37.926
so they were adding writing

00:03:37.926 --> 00:03:39.196
to the piece, where they had

00:03:39.196 --> 00:03:42.576
to complete how two things were alike

00:03:42.646 --> 00:03:43.726
and complete a sentence

00:03:43.726 --> 00:03:45.716
about how the two animals were different

00:03:46.236 --> 00:03:47.856
using their graphic organizer.

00:03:47.856 --> 00:03:50.026
So that is how I was able to see

00:03:50.026 --> 00:03:51.566
if they really understood.

00:03:52.786 --> 00:03:56.866
When I first showed them the slide

00:03:56.866 --> 00:03:58.496
that showed the text elements,

00:03:58.666 --> 00:04:00.216
I got a little worried,

00:04:00.216 --> 00:04:02.686
because I had some kids tell me

00:04:02.686 --> 00:04:04.616
that they thought characters were

00:04:04.616 --> 00:04:07.226
in a nonfictional book.

00:04:07.226 --> 00:04:08.706
So I had to kind of go back

00:04:08.706 --> 00:04:09.756
and remind them

00:04:10.116 --> 00:04:12.636
of the story we read last week,

00:04:12.636 --> 00:04:13.996
which was fiction,

00:04:14.176 --> 00:04:15.406
and we focused

00:04:15.406 --> 00:04:17.846
on fictional text elements

00:04:17.846 --> 00:04:20.086
like character, setting, and plot.

00:04:20.745 --> 00:04:21.956
Once they were able to get

00:04:21.956 --> 00:04:24.186
that background from last week,

00:04:24.616 --> 00:04:26.956
I think they were able to see, "Okay,

00:04:26.956 --> 00:04:27.866
all right, so yes,

00:04:27.866 --> 00:04:29.206
there is a clear difference

00:04:29.256 --> 00:04:30.056
between the two."

00:04:31.416 --> 00:04:33.046
I have a student of mine

00:04:33.046 --> 00:04:35.446
who is a fictional reader,

00:04:35.726 --> 00:04:37.566
and nonfiction is not his thing.

00:04:37.566 --> 00:04:39.586
So then on assessments

00:04:39.586 --> 00:04:42.376
where they do have short passages

00:04:42.746 --> 00:04:43.956
that are nonfiction,

00:04:44.186 --> 00:04:47.366
some of the sources he may just read

00:04:47.366 --> 00:04:49.916
over and not even look at: charts,

00:04:50.426 --> 00:04:52.726
subtitles, pictures.

00:04:53.166 --> 00:04:54.956
And so I think now for him,

00:04:55.736 --> 00:04:58.586
he'll be able to look at those things

00:04:58.816 --> 00:05:01.076
and now do better or be able

00:05:01.076 --> 00:05:03.326
to comprehend and answer those questions

00:05:03.326 --> 00:05:04.796
that require him to pull

00:05:04.796 --> 00:05:06.466
that information out from those sources.

00:05:07.566 --> 00:05:09.276
Understanding text structure has

00:05:09.276 --> 00:05:10.896
improved my students' reading

00:05:10.896 --> 00:05:14.106
comprehension by allowing them

00:05:14.106 --> 00:05:18.526
to preview the text before they

00:05:18.526 --> 00:05:19.816
even read.

00:05:20.056 --> 00:05:22.816
And noticing parts of the text,

00:05:22.816 --> 00:05:24.126
especially with nonfiction,

00:05:24.126 --> 00:05:25.436
that is going to help them

00:05:25.436 --> 00:05:25.856
to comprehend.

00:05:28.016 --> 00:05:28.756
[Music] To learn more

00:05:28.756 --> 00:05:30.526
about graphic organizers,

00:05:30.526 --> 00:05:32.276
please explore the additional resources

00:05:32.276 --> 00:05:35.946
on the Doing What Works website.