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TEXT SETS
TEXT SETS
Welcome to our monthly series! Each month RRVWP will publish a different text set. A text set uses a collection of texts on one topic to deepen understanding of a concept and build background knowledge on authentic, engaging topics. This helps students take nuanced positions and create source-based arguments about issues that we/they care about. We know that reading deeply about one topic helps increase comprehension and build vocabulary. We also know that taking the labor of researching out of the writing process helps students focus on writing. The challenge is locating engaging texts to bring into the classroom. Throughout the year, our goal will be to provide different text sets that can used or adapted for a variety of purposes across content areas.
If you are looking for one text to bring into the classroom, two to pair together, or an entire set, we hope this can be the resource for you!
CLICK HERE for our Text Set "MASTER LIST"
May: Poetry
May: Poetry
End the year with the poem “ode to vacation” by Nate Marshall:
A writer, editor, rapper, and educator, Marshall is the author of Finna (One World, 2020); Wild Hundreds (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015); and a coeditor, with Kevin Coval and Quraysh Ali Lansana, of The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop (Haymarket Books, 2015). See Poets.org for more about author Nate Marshall.
Slideshow: Check out this slideshow for inspiration on how to guide students through the following process.
Lesson Sequence: Check out this document with a possible lesson sequence
Possible Lesson Sequence
3. Read the poem: Hand out the poem with annotation guide and the annotation guide. Follow the annotation guide to help students analyze the poem.
a. Poem with annotation guide for students
b. Annotation Guide handout for students
c. Some teacher annotations
d. Blank Poem
4. Close read: Try vertical teaching by putting copies of these lines around the room for students to stand at and annotate
a. Close read selection
b. Check out these two examples: Example 1 and Example 2
5. Brainstorm: Use the poem as a mentor text
a. Hand out the brainstorming sheet
note: this brainstorming sheet has teacher examples on it. Change it to your example or delete it.
6. Write a poem: Use the brainstorming sheet to write poem
March: No Texts! Text Set
March: No Texts! Text Set
Are your students ready to do their own research? Check out some of these activities for expository writing. Jeff Wilhelm argues that “if we are going to help students think like real readers, writers, historians, scientists, and mathematicians, we need to teach [patterns] and text structures in the context of our subject matter” (Wilhelm, et al. 4).
Below are ideas to help focus your students’ research and to write a paragraph in a specific text structure. The slideshow has some basic instructions and examples. The document has handouts and examples. Use them as is or just to get ideas on what could be done.
Try one, a few, or all and create a paper!
Wilhelm, Jeffery, et al. Get It Done! Writing and Analyzing Informational Texts to Make Things Happen. Heinemann, 2012.
DEFINITION: Have students define a topic. Check out this slideshow for notes and this document to view different ways to help students define a topic and create a definition paragraph.
a. Develop a research question and takes notes
b. Complete a Frayer Model
c. Use mentor texts to understand the genre
d. View some student examples of definition paragraphs
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: Create a timeline of events that to show how the topic as evolved over time. Check out this slideshow and this document.
a. Research historical events
b. Create a timeline
c. Look at blackout templates to understand transitions and sentence stems.
d. View some students samples
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: Compare and contrast the topic to something similar. Check out this slideshow and this document.
a. Pick a second topic to compare
b. Research similarities and differences
c. Complete a Venn Diagram
d. View some student writing examples
POSITIVE AND PROBLEM: Research one benefit and one issue for the topic. Check out this slideshow and this document.
a. Research a positive and a problem with topic.
b. Gather notes and complete a fishbone
c. View student writing samples.
February: AI, Loneliness, and Love
February: AI, Loneliness, and Love
Valentine’s Day is almost here, making it a prime time to talk about modern teen love. Use one or more of the readings as inspiration for a writing activity.
Prompt Ideas:
Write a problem-solution piece outlining the loneliness problem.
Do a talking heads activity to put two articles against each other. Inside the heads write the article's perspective. Add textual evidence and personal connections. Outside, detail how the articles agree and disagree. Use arrows to help show the relationship between texts.
Use the articles to predict how relationships will evolve in the next 100 years.
Use creative writing to write a letter from the future telling about relationships. Use the articles as historical information that prompted the change.
Reading Options:
Watch: a clip from the movie Her
Start a discussion:
How does Samantha take what Theodore says and act on it?
What would be some benefits of having an AI boyfriend or girlfriend?
It's impossible to truly love something that isn't real. Do you agree? What makes love "real"?
If your best friend started dating an AI, would you support them or try to talk them out of it? Share what you would do and why.
Would you feel jealous if you knew your AI partner was talking to thousands of other people? Name different reasons why you would or wouldn't care
How different is a long distance relationship and AI?
Will AI boyfriends and girlfriends be the future?
What is our current state of loneliness?
Check out some graphs from the US Surgeon General
Why are AI relationships so bad?
Counterargument: Are we really lonelier now?
How can we help with loneliness?
*Some documents have different tabs. Make sure to check them out.
December: Editorial Cartoon
December: Editorial Cartoon
Help your students create an Editorial Cartoon for the Scholastic Arts and Writing contest. All entries are due December 15, 2024. Check out the website for more information. Scholastic defines Editorial Cartoons this way: A drawing or illustration, series of artworks, or animated film that offers commentary or criticism on current events or political topics.
Unit Idea:
Introduce editorial cartoons by going through the slideshow.
Brainstorm current issues.
a. Have students create a list to answer this question: What issues in your school, neighborhood, city, state, country, or world are you concerned about and have strong opinions about? These can even be issues in pop culture.
b. Have students work with a partner or in small groups to pick one topic they are concerned about. Have them answer the following questions:
i. What is the issue?
ii. Who/what does it affect?
iii. What are the two (or more) opposing thoughts on the issue?
iv. What is your opinion on the issue?
c. Have students create a list of keywords that are important to their chosen issue.
d. Have students create a list of possible symbols that could be used for their keywords. Check out one of these documents for a list of common symbols in editorial cartoons: this document, this one, or this one.
e. Have students make decisions about what to draw.
i. How do you feel about this issue?
ii. How do you want your audience to feel about this issue?
iii. What message or messages do you want to deliver?
iv. Who are the characters involved?
v. How would you represent the characters and setting? Consider symbolism, analogy, exaggeration, labels, and irony.
Create the editorial cartoon.
a. Reminder: All submissions to the Scholastic Arts and Writing contest must be hand drawn.
*Lesson idea adapted from Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards. Editorial Cartoon. [Powerpoint Slides.] https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZG-jY8gnBGt6NV1tmwrFSkg2ta5HxZK7/view
November: Flash Fiction
November: Flash Fiction
Help your students create a Flash Fiction text for the Scholastic Arts and Writing contest. All entries are due December 15, 2024. Check out the website for more information. Scholastic defines Flash Fiction in this way: Flash Fiction is for your shortest fictional work (maximum 1000 words). Works of Flash Fiction are intentionally brief, but still tell a full story. They are not excerpts of a longer work.
Not sure how to help students?
Check out this slideshow for some tips on Flash Fiction characteristics, plot and character development, building suspense, ending the story, and editing. Use it to help you know what to ask of your students, make a copy and create your own slideshow from the ideas, or show it to students as is.
Unit Idea:
Introduce the genre by reading model stories to understand what goes into flash fiction.
b. Crash
c. The Last Supper(2024 ScholasticAward Winner)
Take time to point out different aspects of the stories. Check out some annotations below.
b. Crash
Walk students through a brainstorming session to create and sketch a story.
Let students write!
Edit to condense writing.
Brainstorming Idea:
Create a list of 10 things you did the last week.
Students pass their list to a partner. The partner creates what-if questions. What if questions pose a question to add a conflict. Check out this example of things that happened last week with what-if questions. You may want to model this with students.
Pass for at least 2 more times.
Return the list back to the original student. Have the student narrow options down to two.
Let students verbally talk through what each of their two choices would be about. Let them tell the story to a partner. Give space for partners to ping-pong ideas back and forth about a topic.
Have students create a numbered list of everything that needs to happen in the story.
Have students create a comic strip to draw each scene. This will help them visualize the setting for each scene.
The Scholastic Awards also includes writing categories of sci-fi/fantasy, poetry, short story, novel, dramatic script, humor, personal essay, critical essay, journalism, and writing portfolio.
October: Zoos
October: Zoos
Key vocabulary: Extinction, Endangered, Conservation, Biodiversity, Cognitively Complexity, Reintroduction/Reintroduced, Species, Empathy
Text 1: Introduce the problem with a video
Texts 2 and 3: Zoos help animal
Infographic: Association of Zoos and Aquariums Infographic
Text 4: Zoos hurt animals
Text 5: The future of zoos
Video: How do we fix zoos?
Need a lesson idea? Try one of these:
Evidence Study
Introduce different types of evidence by having students find an example of each type and add it to thie evidence sheet while they read through texts.
Compare Claims
Compare and combine claims across texts
*Adapted from The Reading Strategies Book 2.0 by Jennifer Serravallo
For each text, write the claim in a circle.
Use lines and images to show how the texts are relate to each other.
Green: Draw green lines between texts that are similar in opinions
Red: Draw red lines between texts that present differing claims.
Orange: Outline any text circles that present unique topics or opinions
Discuss:
What is common among the texts?
Which texts had the most convincing arguments?
Which texts would convince the following audiences: a hunter, a kid, and an animal rescue owner.
Text Rendering
Small group discussion: Text Rendering with a Twist
*Adapted from The Literacy Triangle by Leann Nickelsen and Melissa Dickson
After reading all of the articles, jigsaw articles by assigning each student one of the articles to focus on.
Each student highlights one sentence, one phrase, and one word from the text assigned to them that is important.
Group students so student form groups with each member working in a different article.
Each group is given a Text Rendering with a Twist handout.
Hold three rounds of sharing. Round one: Students share their sentences and tell why it was important. Continue the process for round two to share and talk about phrases and round three to share and discuss words. Students also add their sentences, phrases, and words to the handout.
Once everyone has shared, students should work together to compare and contrast their sentences, phrases, and words.
Together, students create a summary.
September: Back-to-School
September: Back-to-School
Need a quick get-to-know-you writing prompt to help students introduce themselves?
Use this TikTok video about birthdays to inspire students to tell you who they are. Added bonus: Use responses as a beginning writing sample.
The Thing About Birthdays
Use one idea or a combination for inspiration!
Writing Prompt Ideas:
Tell me five things you enjoy doing and what age you were when you first began doing those things.
Describe yourself in five words and what ages those descriptions started.
Detail five events in your life that influenced who you are today.
What parts of you are you the most proud of and what parts are you excited to grow out of?
What about you now do you hope you never out grow?
What were you like five years ago? How are you similar and how are you different? What do you think you will be like five years from now? What parts of you do you think will fade over time?
Create a timeline of your life that tells the story of how your personality became what it is today.
ChatGPT Writing Prompt Ideas:
Imagine meeting the different versions of yourself from past birthdays at a party. Write a dialogue between you and one or more of these past selves. What would you learn from them? What advice would you give to them?
Write a letter to yourself to be opened on your next birthday. Reflect on the past year’s experiences and how they have added to the layers of who you are. What hopes and expectations do you have for the coming year?
Explore how the different ages you’ve been influence who you are today. How do these different versions of yourself manifest in your daily life?
Choose a memorable age from your past and write a story about a significant event that happened that year. How does that event still impact you today? In what ways does that year’s version of you still exist within your current self?
Mentor Text Idea:
Have students use the video as a mentor text to write about an important aspect of their lives. Try this template.
May: Free Speech
May: Free Speech
Do you have a day or two to fill as you wrap up the year?
If so, check out this activity where students create an argument detailing what should happen to the ISU student who posted the TikTok video about Beyonce’s country album.
Pick your timeframe: Do steps 1-2 as a beginning-of-the-day writing prompt, steps 1 - 3 to move from writing to discussion, or do all to create a written argument!
Essential Question: How should colleges handle free speech?
Start a discussion:
Ask: What kind of speech is unpopular, harmful, or hateful speech?
Ask: How should we treat unpopular, harmful or hateful speech?
Ask: Should there be different rules on a college campus than in public?
Ask: Where is the line between protected and unprotected speech?
Watch all or part (potential cut points: at 4:57 or 9 minutes).
Before watching set the purpose: What actions did the college take in both examples detailed?
While watching engage in the video: Write down two surprising things said or shown.
After watching debrief: Discuss by sharing answers.
After watching apply ideas to new context: Ask: Is disagreement good for society?
Handout: Free Speech or No Speech?
Do Questions 1 - 8: Chooose a teaching method: Teacher-led, partner work, or create stations from the handout.
Use student responses to initiate whole class discussion.
BEFORE Question 9, Watch the TikTok Video of the ISU student
Warning: He does swear one time in here (sh*t)
Warning: Racist content
Have students answer questions 9 and 10.
Extra Resources:
Bonus Read: If you’re Black you’re not country, college student says…
Bonus Read: As a new generation rises, tension between free speech and inclusivity..
Lesson adapted from NY TIMES: What should free speech look like on campus? and NY TIME: Why is freedom of speech an important right?
Graph from Campus Free Speech Survey
April: A Month of Poetry
April: A Month of Poetry
Try out poetry in April for National Poetry Month! Here are four simple poetry activities to help your students write their own poems. Do a poem a week or pick just one to try. There’s even an option to create a song lyric using a viral TikTok as the mentor text.
Try this lesson sequence:
Free write for 3 minutes.
Read the poem once,
Read the poem a second time, noticing the author’s style.
Outline the structure.
Go back to free write and create a list of three topic ideas for poem.
Write using the mentor text as inspiration.
Week of April 8
Mentor Text: “Cities” by Catherine P.
*Like this poem? Check out the resource here.
Free write idea: Write about a place you love or hate. Tell me what it looks like, what is happening there, and how you feel.
Week of April 15
Mentor Text: “The Idea Is Better Than the Truth” by Martha R.
*Like this poem? Check out the resource here.
Free write idea: Create a list of things that sound fun but are not or a list of things that you enjoy doing but are also hard.
Week of April 22
Mentor Text: “She Inherits His Steady Hand” by Laura Van Prooyen
*Like this poem? Check out the resource here.
Free write idea: Think of someone who needed help doing something or a time you needed help doing something. Write about it.
Week of April 29
TikTok Lyric Challenge!
Mentor Text: “2 Days Into College” by Aimee Carty
Handout with three options to help create lyrics.
*Need more lyrics? Check them out here.
Lesson idea:
Listen to the original and the different variations.
Notice how all of them start with the same first line structure, talk about how something is different than they expected, and describe how they feel about that difference.
Brainstorm a list of topic ideas: high/middle school, sport, summer, job, etc.
Let students work with partners or on their own.
February: Celebrity Activism
February: Celebrity Activism
Can celebrities affect the outcome of an election?
Essential questions foster the kinds of inquiries, discussions, and reflections that help learners find meaning in their learning and achieve deeper thought and better quality in their work. Read more on creating essential questions at ASCD.
How did Sammy Davis Jr. use his celebrity to help?
How do celebrities use their influence today?
Lesson idea: Highlight the expert Professor Tyree’s words. Then, paraphrase her words in the margins. Finally, at the bottom of the article, create a claim statement to reflect the expert’s views. Tyree claims that [topic] + [opinion on that topic] + [reasoning].
How much influence do celebrities have on politics?
Lesson idea: 30-Second Expert.
Have students create a t-chart on a sheet of paper. On one side label it “What I Know” on the other side label it “What I Learned”. With a partner, before reading, list what they know about celebrities influencing politics. Then, have each partner read one of the above articles. On the side “What I Know”, each should summarize their article in paragraph form. Then, give each partner 30 seconds to share what they learned in their article. The listening partner writes what they learn under the “What I Learned” section. Encourage students to start their writing with phrases like According to my partner…
What influence will Taylor Swift have on this year’s election?
‘She could absolutely change my mind’: readers on Taylor Swift’s political influence
A Taylor Swift Instagram post helped drive a surge in voter registration
Lesson Idea to Synthesize Articles: Create an acrostic poem.
After reading a selection of the articles, in small groups of 2-3, have students pick a word they think relates to all the articles. Some ideas for words include activism, celebrity, influence, vote, etc.
Students write this word vertically on a sheet of paper.
Students write a word, phrase, or sentence that begins with each letter of their vertical word creating an acrostic poem.
Hang them and do a gallery walk to have students find ones that are similar to theirs. They can even write a note on each other’s poem telling how theirs is similar.
*If you are trying to do more vertical activities, this would work well. Hang paper around the room and have students stand in their groups to complete it.
January: Middle School Spotlight
January: Middle School Spotlight
Teaching young adolescents nuance in claims
Text sets can be powerful tools for teaching nuance because they show students how two people can have completely different views on a topic. Or they show how what we thought was right is actually more complicated than first thought. Gathering texts that present this complexity and tasking students with coming up with a nuanced claim develops higher-order thinking skills and prepares them for a future of civic engagement. Here are a couple of text sets to get you started.
Text Set #1: Classroom Pets
Text Set #2: The Baggage We Carry
Are Cotton Totes Better for the Earth Than Plastic Bags? It Depends on What You Care About
Challenge Piece: The Problem with Banning Plastic Bags
Lesson Idea:
Ask a discussion question like “If we were to allow classroom pets in school, what would we have to consider first?” Or, “If we truly want to do what is best for the environment, what do we do about bags?”
Students start a free write with the sentence stem First, I thought…
Read the first article
Add to the free write with the sentence stem Then, I learned… Challenge student by having them add a piece of evidence to their free write.
Read the second article
Add a third writing with the sentence stem Now, I am thinking… Challenge students to tell why one point is more convincing than another point.
Read the third article.
Create a claim by having students answer the following four questions and completing the claim template:
What is the topic?
What is your opinion on the topic?
Why do you think that?
What is something a person might say on the other side that you kind of agree with?
TEMPLATE: Although [other side], [topic] is [opinion] because [reason].
December: “The Day I Got Old”
December: “The Day I Got Old”
Use a mentor text to help students write a short essay about growing up
“Mentor texts are written pieces that serve as an example of good writing for student writers. The texts are read for the purpose of studying the author’s craft, or the way the author uses words and structures the writing. The goal is to provide students a model they could emulate in crafting their own piece. Essays, passages, articles, chapters, or full books could all serve as mentor texts. So too could a letter, email, film script, or comic strip, depending on the context under which the mentor text is being used.” - Deborah Reed
Lesson idea:
Have students find an old photo of themselves or think about a specific memory from the past. They can look at parents’ social media accounts, take a picture of a photo in their home, or bring an old photo to class.
Read the excerpt from the essay “The Day I Got Old” by Caitlin Flannagan
Use the essay as a mentor text to write about how their life has changed from when they were the age in the photo or memory until now. Pick an outline to help scaffold the writing process.
Mentor Text and handouts:
Pick an outline:
November: Teen Dating
November: Teen Dating
Get students thinking about when to start dating
Reading: Is 12 Too Young to Start Dating?
Lesson Idea:
Ask this question: Is 12 too young to start dating?
Have students who think no go to one end of the room. Have students who think yes go to the other end of the room.
Have students create smaller groups of 3-4 at each end.
Task each group with coming up with one reason why they are on their side and an example (either hypothetical or real-life) to support their reason.
Have a spokesperson from each smaller group go to the middle of the room to answer the question with their reason and example.
Read the article.
Individual write: Detail both sides of the issue. Take a position and defend it using evidence from the article or a real-life example.
Analyze statistics on how teens use technology in dating:
Readings:
Lesson Idea:
Use the graphs from a 2015 survey of teens, technology, and relationships to make meaning from statistics.
Complete a Says/Means/Matters Chart or a Double Entry Journal
Pair two articles together for partner work on the dangers of teen dating:
Readings:
Teenage Girls and Dating Violence: Why We Should Be Paying Attention
Teen Boys Report More Dating Violence Than Girls, Perplexing Scientist
Lesson Idea student handout
Lesson Idea:
Individual free write: When I first think about teen dating, I think…
Pair students together. Partner A reads the first article; partner B, the second. Both look for their article’s claim and important pieces of evidence.
Individual free write: Then, I learned…
Partners share each article’s claim and important evidence.
Together, write a claim to cover both articles and list at least 3 pieces of evidence from the articles to support their new claim.
Individual free write: Now, I think…
Help students put evidence in conversation with excerpts on love or benefits of teen dating:
Readings:
Evidence Talk Show student handout
Lesson Idea:
Read through one of the excerpts about teens and relationships.
Complete the Evidence Talk Show handout. Students create a question about the topic. Then, write a response in the voice of three of the excerpts. Each excerpt responds to both the question and the answers that came before them to show where they agree and disagree.
Use all of the texts for a complete text set!
October: Social Media
October: Social Media
Looking for one good text to get your students thinking?
Help students start a discussion, take a position, or create an argument by trying these texts on sharenting. Pair them together or pick one!
Video: Are Parents Exploiting Their Kids Online
Article: When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online
Want students to form opinions, extend ideas, and push back on ideas?
Give students an opportunity to get in conversation with texts. Using sources from different perspectives allows students to understand the complexity of an issue.
Article #1: Teens Are ‘Digital Natives,’ But More Susceptible to Online Conspiracies as Adults
Article #2: Teens Say Their Experience on Social Media Is Better Than You Think
Need a whole text set to help students build an argument on a topic?
Using a collection of texts on one topic deepens understanding of a concept and builds background knowledge on that topic, so students are able to take nuanced positions and create source-based arguments.
Want to read a non-fiction text without a formal writing assignment?
Have students pit two points or claims against each other and argue for and against both to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each position. Then, respond with their own nuanced point of view.
Try Point Knock Out!
Want a video tutorial for how to use this text set in the classoom? Watch Video
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