Textual Features and Language Demands of Primary Grade Science Textbooks: The Call for More Informational Texts in Primary Grades

Abstract

There is no surprise that intermediate and upper grade students in American schools predominantly read informational texts (Moss, 2005), but it may astound some that half of all reading materials for primary grade students should now be nonfiction. According to the recently adopted Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSSO & NGA, 2011; corestandards.org), primary grade students are expected to use and learn from informational texts starting in first grade. In an earlier publication, Frey and Fisher similarly suggested that “…teaching students to read for information must begin with the primary grades” (2007, p. 3; see also, Duke, 2004; Duke & Bennett-Armistead, 2003). But in many schools, young children rarely use informational texts. In this current educational climate of increased technology and global competitiveness, the goal is to increase rigor in reading and writing instruction by increasing access to and production of expository texts, ensuring students are “college and career ready in literacy” when they graduate from high school. By the 12th grade, it is recommended that 70–80 % of the texts students read and write are informational. Thus, the learning standards call for curricular and pedagogical reform to include more informational texts at all grade levels, starting in the primary grades.