How can text sets enhance my lesson? Text sets
can get the students engaged by having a variety of books on a given topic to
bring together the lesson. The books can be the hook you need to get children
interested in the lesson. Books, videos, or interactive web sites help to
activate learning by incorporating variety of modalities to connect to the
different learning styles of your students. You can also difference ate
instruction by having books at different lexiles and gradually move up to the
harder text. The books can be used to inspire more in-depth content
exploration.
Often through text sets, teachers can
teach across subject matter to help students read about the science content
being taught. Students can begin to understand the concepts by use of the
books. Often we want to teach each subject separately, but when we use books to
enhance the concepts the subjects come more alive to the students. If you use
text sets, “the teacher becomes more empowered to teach or take the lead,
creating and shaping the curriculum, that they know works for the students they
teach” according to Capplello in “Teaching with Text Sets”. As stated earlier,
text sets help to differicate learning because you can use a variety of books
on different levels that will appeal to all students at their different
readability levels. By incorporating some videos or interactive web sites for
exploration, the students will be engaged and can work at their level. The
different books give them a common language so they can share and discuss
together.
You can enhance already existing units by
adding a collection of books to bring the lesson to life. Books can be tools
used to get the students talking about the concepts and wanting to investigate
on their own by reading variety of books on the topic. The new children’s books
help us to break down topics that are hard for students to understand. Reading
the book, The Skin I’m In, helps the child to feel for the girl in the
story. Reading a story about a boy whose
brother is Autistic will help us to understand what it’s like to have a
handicapped sibling or to be handicapped. Reading letters or stories about how the
different soldiers, Confederate or Union felt in battle helps the students
connect to the battles and they become more lifelike.
Using a text set with different stories to
relay the fact that we’re all different and unique in our own way would get
conversations started about being different without saying it. Students can
connect with the characters and see why we should accept others. You could
easily role-play how to respond to others or ways to interact when someone is
being picked on. Another example of text set is a collection of books on amphibians
and reptiles. They could discover and explore the difference between amphibians
and reptiles through creative writing, art activities, research, or match up
using the different books to guide them through the concepts. A Color of His
Own, The Mixed-Up Chameleon and Chameleons Are Cool books could help the
children understand about how the animals change their colors to protect
themselves. I Can Read About Reptiles could be read by kids at a lower lexile
while About reptiles: A Guide for Children could be read by
students reading at a higher lexile. It would actually be a collection of
nonfiction and fiction books to help students understand the science content.
This helps students to see that reading is relevant to all subjects and gives
them a purpose for reading.
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