Figure 10.10. Selected 21st Century Skills and Literary and Informational Text
Experiences
Students develop critical thinking when they- Synthesize and organize text information
- Examine text closely to interpret information, draw conclusions, and evaluate an author’s decisions about content
and form - Closely and critically examine visual aspects of a text, including illustrations, diagrams, and charts, for bias,
perspective, aesthetic appeal, and representation - Identify the author’s perspectives, biases, and use of rhetoric
- Generate questions about the content, form, purposes or perspectives of a text
- Communicate with others to understand their points of view, ideas, and interpretations
- Identify real world local and global issues (e.g., social, economic, political, environmental) discussed in literary and
informational text
Students develop creative thinking when they - Develop dramatic, poetic, media, and visual responses to literary and informational text
- Engage in idea-generation activities, such as brainstorming
- Participate in activities that spark their curiosity about text or text topics
- Create presentations to share understandings of text
- Create Facebook pages, blogs, or tweets for characters or historical figures
- Generate research questions and procedures in response to text
Students develop communication and collaboration skills when they - Present orally or in written, digital or visual form, both informally and formally, their responses to and
understandings of a text selection - Share understandings with one another and build on the ideas and interpretations of others
- Communicate in large and small groups about literary and informational text for a variety of purposes, including to
inform, question, clarify, or persuade - Elaborate on their own and others’ ideas about texts
- Plan and organize individual and collaborative presentations to convey or extend text information, ideas, or themes
with an audience in mind - Discuss with peers different interpretations of text and reasons for those interpretations
- Interact in meaningful ways with peers of diverse backgrounds and discuss different and similar perspectives on
issues
Students develop social and cross-cultural skills and global competence when they - Interact with local and distant others to share responses to information, themes, characters, illustrations, and
author’s choices - Collaborate with diverse partners to design and develop presentations or projects in response to literature
- Engage with literature that presents a range of world perspectives and experiences
- Respectfully and with an open mind discuss literature with peers from diverse backgrounds
- Capitalize on proficiency in languages other than English to communicate with global peers
Students develop technology skills when they - Engage with digital and multimedia text
- Engage in additional investigation of topics in a text using technology, such as the Internet
- Use a variety of technologies, such as computers, tablets, projection systems, document cameras, and mp3 players
or iPods, to share information from or responses to a text or to learn more about a topic or author - Examine text carefully to locate and use pertinent information to support a position, justify an interpretation, or
make a point
Source
Adapted from
Yopp, Hallie K., and Ruth H. Yopp. 2014. Literature-Based Reading Activities: Engaging Students in Literary and
Informational Text. 6th ed., 5. Boston: Pearson. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., New York, NY.962 | Chapter 10 21st Century Learning