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Teaching Analysis and Synthesis

Page history last edited by Christy Stanley 12 years ago

Teaching Analysis & Synthesis

One of the most difficult things that literature teachers are asked to do in the schools is to teach unfamiliar (often non-fiction) text structures. Why is this a difficult undertaking? Because it assumes that we know how to teach students to read and analyze, as well as write in these structures. Monica Martinez, in a recent edition of "Kappan Magazine" states that "Much of modern [learning] can no longer be communicated in print." (93.3, 73) This means that the complexity of information today needs to be taught and expressed in increasingly dimensional, visual ways. 21st Century literacies demand that we teach students at a new level of sense-making. They have to be able to:

  • discern patterns (Visually sort new information into familiar categories)
  • evaluate what they find/see (Analyze the relationships between old and new information)
  • create a simple structure for thinking about information in new ways
  • selectively use this information
  • review concepts and demonstrate understanding

The following materials should help you to understand some of the characteristics of text structure and how to work with them.
A. These are the lecture notes for my PowerPoint on Analysis and Synthesis of Texts: B . . .b . . .Break it down!
 Studying_Texts.ppt


B. If you want to teach students to understand the five different types of expository text, making lists of signal words (keep them on word walls!) will help them to recognize, remember and write these texts more easily.

 Signal Words.pdf


C. A taxonomy is a way to organize and classify ideas. It is another way to build a mind map.

 LEVEL OF TAXONOMY.doc


D. Building a frame gives us a visual reminder of what the organizational structure looks like. Study guides are another outcome of the processes of synthesis and analysis when we read. Here are some of the most common ones:

 notetakingsystem.doc


E. The attribute block uses all 6 levels of Blooms Taxonomy to analyze and create questions about a subject.

 attribute blocks.pdf


F. One type of the five major expository structures is a cause and effect passage. Here is a pattern guide for seeing how cause and effect works within the telling of a story.

 Pattern Guide -- cause and effect.doc


G. Every well-developed character in a novel, as do we all, has a "sunny" side as well as a darker side to their personality. The literary mandala is a way to analyze these characteristics and construct a graphic representation of these sides.

 The Literary Mandala.doc


H. Looking at characteristics of the characters in a novel allows us to see their differences and similarities, as well as to organize what we think about them. The Semantic Feature Analysis allows us to map these features on a matrix for ease of analysis. Here is my example with instructions from the NCTE English Journal Extensions website.
"This strategy is a categorization strategy derived from the theoretical construct of cognitive structure described by
Frank Smith (1975). It is based on the manner in which human beings organize knowledge. As new information
is processed,

  • 1. Mental categories are established for the information;
  • 2. Rules are formulated to allocate objects into these categories; and
  • 3. Interrelationships are established between the categories to show both the similarities and unique characteristics
  • of the objects.

I. Semantic Feature Analysis is a systematic strategy for comparing and contrasting characteristics that enables
students to see how words are related and that can be used in all grades. Begin with concrete categories within the
experiential background of students before moving to categories of a more abstract nature. This is an easy strategy
to use but the key is to move slowly."

 Semantic Feature Analysis.doc


J. I am so excited about the organic possibilities presented by mind maps. With the proliferation of information, mind maps are "an idea processing tool that helps students generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and aid in studying and organizing information as well as problem solve and write. With this visualization, the reader can see the information and determine and assess the patterns." In the following article the author states that these types of organic maps "weave together concepts, skills, connections, and comparisons and then are deconstructed and converted back into thoughtful highly organized outlines and drafts for use in chapter summaries, research papers, essays, and portfolio artifacts." (Monica Martinez, "New Literacies for a New Era," Kappan, 92.3, 72-73).

Katie Stewart's Mind Map
Katie Stewart's Mind Map


K. But what about teaching students to prepare for end of level tests? Here are the handouts from the Central Utah Writing Project this past October with Carol Booth Olson on how California prepares students for the analysis and synthesis portions of the State exam:

L. A PowerPoint from Heather Hansen, Brian Rich, and I (NCTE, 2010) on Synthesis and Analysis (article forthcoming):

 Analysis and Synthesis - IRA 2010.ppt


M. PowerPoint on Expository Text by Dr. Peterson on how to evaluate sources and more.

 Expository Text.ppt


N. Here are links to resources for graphic organizers:

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