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Can your 6-8th grade students explain how two authors present the same info and reveal different points of view?

Here’s a lesson for teaching students to analyze how two authors writing about the same topic may shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of the facts (Common Core Standard 7.9).

  1. Go to Science News for Students and locate an article that cites a study. Most of these articles do cite studies. For example, the article “When smartphones go to school” by Kowalski cites a research study by Jeffrey Kuznekoff at Miami University Middletown. Screen Shot 2016-04-15 at 7.06.26 AM
  2. On the Internet, do a search for an article that cites the same study. I found “Take Note” when I searched for Kuznekoff’s study.
  3. Ask the students to read both texts and then jot their thoughts about each author’s point of view and discuss.
    In “Smartphones go to school,” while the author presents both sides of the issue (whether learning can happen via smartphones in the classroom), her presentation of the facts leans towards the argument that smartphones can be a distraction, dangerous and even addictive. Kowalski cites several studies and when she quotes Kuznekoff, she tends to quote him on the negative aspects of smartphones in the classroom. In “Take Note” the author explains Kuznekoff’s study in more detail and seems to be leaning towards the idea that teachers need to learn to work with technology like students’ smartphones and if they do, this can be beneficial.
  4. Closely read excerpts from the text that discuss the study. Close read for this purpose–How does the author shape her presentation or her message? Underline details and write in the margins. You might have to teach students language that identifies what the author is doing to shape their presentation of the information – you might have to introduce types of details like introduces study, explains study, presents counterargument, quotes an expert or researcher, shares negatives–benefits–disadvantages–positives–advantages, concludes with…, cites other studies, hypothesizes, draws conclusions. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART –TEACHING STUDENTS to identify and name THESE TYPES OF DETAILS. I find that I have to model heavily when first teaching students how to do this!  This is my annotation of an excerpt from “When smartphones go to school”              Scan 347Scan 348 Here’s my annotated copy of “Take Notes”                           Scan 349Scan 350
  5. Coach students as they have conversations about the differences and similarities in the authors’ presentations of the same study.
    Here’s one 7th grade student’s notes about the article “When smartphones go to school” articles–gleaned from her annotations                  Scan 351                                                                            Here’s her notes about “Take Note” Scan 352
  6. Ask students to write in response.
    Below is the 7th grade student’s response. There’s definitely room for her to grow–but her initial attempt reveals an understanding of what I was trying to teach.

Science News
Carl Straumsheim, Take Note, June 8 2015, web page
Kathiann Kowalski, When Smartphones Go To School, March 3rd 2016, web page

I read two articles on separate websites, by different authors, about the same
study, conducted by professor Jeffrey H. Kuznekoff. He had 145 students watch a video
and then take a test on it. One group of students was able to text and tweet about
anything during the lesson, another could only text or tweet about class related things,
and a control group could not use their phones at all. As a result the control group and
the group that could use their phones for class related purposes scored a letter grade
higher than the group that could text and tweet about anything. I learned that phones
can be a distraction during class if not used specifically for learning purposes.

Though the two authors were writing about the same study, they had a very
different point of view. Kowalski briefly touched on the positives, and went into detail
about the negative aspects. Her view on the subject of smartphones in school seemed to
be generally negative. To support this view, she also used results from three different
studies, as well as quotes from three experts. Straumsheim focused on only the one
study, and went into great detail about not only how it was conducted, but also both
the negative and positive sides of the argument of phones in school. He seemed to be
saying that smartphones can have benefits in the classroom, if teachers learn to
integrate them in a positive way.

This takes a lot of work on our part–model, model, think aloud, engage in shared thinking aloud, create anchor charts with the types of details author’s use, do it again and again and again.

Hope this helps.

Sunday

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