Determining Importance

Liz Krupicka and Mona Weatherwax

Niobrara Public Schools

An Overview

Determining Importance is useful for:Reading Non-fictionReading in Core Content ClassesReading for ResearchReading for Note TakingReading Information from the Internet

Essential for 21st CenturyIf today’s students are unable to

determine importance quickly, they will find themselves in information overload as they are bombarded by materials from around the globe via the Internet.

Why Emphasize Determining Importance in the Middle School?

Emphasis changes from fiction to non-fiction at this level

Greater emphasis on independent learning and the use of study skills

Therefore, middle school is the prime time for learning the format of non-fiction to polish expository skills.

Yet, we find …

Well-written material makes it difficult to decide what is most important.

And, textbook material is the most difficult of all.

Crafting Sessions

This is where the teacher models how to make decisions about which content is most important.

Example lessons for modeling may include:

Reasons Why Readers Make Decisions About What Is Most Important

Reader’s Purpose for Reading

To Answer Specific Questions That Arise Before or During Reading

To Find Specific Information

Factors Used to Determine Importance

Experiences - Prior KnowledgePurpose for ReadingIts Personally Aesthetically PleasingReader’s Beliefs and Opinions Related to the TextFocus or Repetition of the AuthorText-features

Text Features: The Road Signs of Reading

Headings, Subheadings

Italics

Bold Words

Graphs, charts, maps, diagrams

Pictures and captions

Cause/Effect, Compare/Contrast

Conferring

This is where independent practice takes place with the teacher acting in the role of “the guide on the side.”

The teacher must recognize how rich or dense the text is in order to effectively guide the student.

When Conferring….

The teacher needs to be aware of a student’s background knowledge. Is the student familiar with words or concepts presented in the reading? If not, it is difficult to determine importance. Everything will seem important to the student.

When Conferring…..

The teacher should make sure that the student starts with key words and phrases in each sentence before moving on to key concepts.

By beginning with words and sentences, students have to think as they read. This will keep them engaged, helping them to understand the whole text when they are finished.

Contentives and Functors

It may be helpful to teach students about contentives and functors in text they read.

Contentives are the words that hold the meaning or the content of the sentence.

Functors are the glue that holds the sentence together, but they don’t affect the meaning.

Multiple Main Ideas

Students need to know that only in the realm of standardized tests do we find only one main idea.In the complex text of the real world, we usually will find multiple main ideas.We don’t always agree about what the main ideas are, so we need to be able to defend our choices. This is the basis of critical reading. It also reinforces that there can be multiple main ideas.

Considerate vs. Inconsiderate Text

Considerate text has a predictable structure with which the reader is familiar and may have background knowledge for understanding.

Fiction is often considerate because the plot line gives it a familiar structure.

Inconsiderate text is written in a way that is difficult for its intended audience to understand.

Pedantic, expository text is often inconsiderate text.

Critical to Prioritize for Efficiency in Reading

Many bright Middle Schoolers have never had to prioritize before; they could always remember everything they read. Therefore, everything seemed important. Now to prevent them from bogging down, we need to explicitly teach these skills.

These skills are necessary: To summarize or write persuasively. To read discriminately to recognize propaganda. To corroborate questionable information through the use of

multiple sources. To make connections between text and self, text and world

and text to text.After reading: Suggest non-examples Articulate how to make decisions Defend your decisions