Literacy Speaks Volumes

The Visit , 1899 by Lilla Cabot Perry On the surface two things may seem alike. If you examine them closely, however, you find differences. When students understand how two or more things are alike, they can begin to organize their own ideas for written explanation. Being able to identify how things are alike and different can help students make a decision on what is best for them--think presidential candidates here. Use the painting above to help students identify similarities and differences in a visual media. Then move on to a short piece of text. Aquarium fish are cold-blooded, so they cannot adjust to abrupt changes in water temperature. As a result, you must keep the water temperature steady in any aquarium  The water's composition may be different, though, depending on the kind of fish you have. Marine (saltwater) fish need exactly the right amount of salt and other compounds dissolved in their water. Freshwater fish, on the other hand, cannot tolerate mu...

Structure , a photo by p medved on Flickr. A text structure is the pattern a writer uses to organize ideas or events. Writers commonly use five major patterns of organization: cause-effect, chronological order, comparison-contrast, listing, and problem-solution. Being able to recognize these structures is an important skill that students need to be able to better understand informational text and the main idea of that text. In order for students to be able to recognize and identify the organizational structure of a text, they must have continuous exposure to these types of texts. They must also know what each type of text is. Cause and effect structure is divided into two parts: a cause is an event that makes something happen while an effect is what happens. An effect may have more than one cause, and a cause may produce several effects.  Taking care of my new puppy has changed my schedule. Since the puppy has to go out first thing in the morning, I have to...