According to the Science of Reading, strong readers need more than strong skills. They need background knowledge to make meaning of what they're reading. With Scholastic Text Sets, students build their knowledge base by reading multiple texts on a science, social studies, or math topic. Best of all, topics are carefully selected to align with the most widely used Basal Reading Programs.
We spoke with Dana Clark, an educator of more than 20 years and the coauthor of Read-Alouds with Heart: Grades K-2 and Read-Alouds with Heart: Grades 3-5 to find out why test sets are a classroom essential. Read on to discover Clark’s four reasons — as well as questions you can use in daily reading instruction to help guide students.
1. Text Sets Help Build Background Knowledge
Building background knowledge enables students to develop a deeper understanding of events, natural occurrences, and human experiences. Clark explains, “When reading about unfamiliar historical periods or settings, background knowledge is essential for students to understand how the realities of that place and time shape the perspectives, actions, and lived experiences of the people in the text.”
2. Text Sets Deepen Comprehension
Reading across a text set, rather than an individual title, is key to deepening comprehension. “Because each author chooses different details and emphasizes different viewpoints,” says Clark, “relying on a single text gives readers only a narrow perspective.”
3. Text Sets Help Students Develop Empathy
Reading widely across a topic is key to developing empathy. “Books serve as windows into new worlds,” says Clark. “They allow readers to see events through the eyes of those whose identities and lived experiences differ from our own, and enable readers to empathize and develop compassion.” Text sets with narrative (informational and fiction) can help students more deeply connect to and understand the world and ideas of other people.
4. Text Sets Encourage Critical Thinking
By comparing texts, students learn to analyze how different authors present information, what details they emphasize, and what perspectives they offer. “Using a curated collection helps students build background knowledge, compare ideas and perspectives across texts, and develop a nuanced understanding of the topic,” Clark explains.
Questions Teachers Can Use in Daily Instruction
Below are four questions recommended by Clark to help teachers guide students in making meaningful connections across texts, noticing new details, and exploring different perspectives:
What new ideas did this book teach you about the topic?
How is this text different from or similar to (name another text you’ve read together?
What did both authors talk about? Did they describe [common detail or event] the same way or differently? Why do you think they did this?
What ideas do you now have because of reading these books?
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Dana Clark is a Staff Developer with Gravity Goldberg, LLC. An educator for more than twenty years, she finds fulfillment in being a thinking partner to educators, supporting them in creating joyful classrooms where students thrive both academically and personally.