Use Of Informational Text Research Articles

Teachers’ Increased Use of Informational Text: A Phenomenological Study of Five Primary Classrooms

Teachers’ Increased Use of Informational Text: A Phenomenological Study of Five Primary Classrooms

Integrating Informational Text and STEM: An Innovative and Necessary Curricular Approach

Recent standards-based reforms call for the use of a variety of informational texts at the elementary level. Informational texts are essential for implementing integrated problem-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning in elementary classrooms. Additionally, integrated STEM projects support the use of informational texts as students conduct research, design solutions, and communicate their results, thereby providing real-world applications of informational text. Elementary teachers need encouragement and support in order to increase the use of informational texts that assist in implementing effective STEM lessons. The authors provide strategies for melding informational texts with problem- and project-based learning in STEM.

Researching the Historical Representations of Andrew Jackson in Trade Books

State and national standards compel teachers to introduce historical topics through multiple diverse texts, emphasizing the use of informational texts. Trade books allow teachers to meet these standards while also meeting the needs of diverse students. Primary sources serve as an additional curricular resource filling the gaps in information not covered by textbooks and trade books and allowing students to gain a more complete and accurate understanding of historical figures and events. Standards leave the selection and implementation of appropriate trade books, primary sources, and other curricular resources to the classroom teacher. In this research, I qualify and quantify how President Andrew Jackson, a very controversial historical figure, is portrayed in trade books. Misrepresentations within trade books concerning Jackson are reported and analyzed. Suggestions and a rationale for trade book and primary source selection and implementation in elementary, middle, and secondary school are addressed.

Informational Text Content and Structure: Intervention Ideas for Young Children

In recent years there has been an effort to increase the use of informational texts in early childhood settings (Pre-K-2), creating a growing need for effective strategies to teach the unique features of informational texts. This article will share practical ideas for supporting young children's exploration of informational content and initial awareness of basic organizational patterns found in informational texts. Strategies will be shared for highlighting relationships that can occur between or among ideas (e.g., problem/solution, compare/contrast, and sequence), strengthening content learning through oral language associated with multiple texts and experiences, and engaging children's interest in informational content.

Utilizing Nonfiction Texts to Enhance Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary in Primary Grades

Many primary grade students are not afforded nonfiction-rich opportunities, with fiction comprising the majority of books read aloud in classrooms. With the Common Core Standards recommending that half of the texts made available to students be nonfiction, educators are increasing their use of informational text. The present study explored the impact of explicitly teaching reading comprehension and vocabulary strategies with nonfiction text compared to fiction text in primary-grade classrooms. Two first-grade (n = 39; 25 male, 14 female) and one second-grade class (n = 20; 13 male, 7 female) participated in the quantitative study that followed a repeated measures design in which the students alternated every 2 weeks between fiction-based instruction and nonfiction-based instruction for a total of 8 weeks. Vocabulary and use of comprehension strategies were assessed at the end of each 2-week period. Overall findings indicated that students were better able to apply the comprehension strategies and define vocabulary following nonfiction-based instruction; they also were more motivated to read informational text. The authors recommend that teachers use more nonfiction texts in the primary grades to support students’ reading comprehension and vocabulary development.

The Jigsaw Revisited: Common Core Social Studies and English Language Arts Integration

In order to comply with the new Common Core standards, it is imperative teachers, particularly those at the elementary levels, incorporate English/Language Arts (ELA) in their social studies classes. These reading, writing, speaking, and listening foci, through the use of informational texts, necessitate strategies to help students meet these standards. They also help students learn social studies content and gain historical understanding. Teachers can meet these standards through an adapted Jigsaw strategy using primary source materials. We review a modified Jigsaw strategy; we call a “Source-Focused Jigsaw.” An aspect of this type of Jigsaw is its allowance of students to focus on the similarities and differences between multiple documents, which is a specific emphasis of the Common Core Standards. This strategy allows young learners to think like a historian and to understand various sources often contain different information. They also learn multiple sources may be necessary to for decision-making. The authors provide lesson examples of its use with social studies informational texts and ELA.

The Power of the Read Aloud in the Age of the Common Core

The implementation of Common Core Standards for English Language Arts (2010) will require the use of more complex text and an increase in the use of informational text; however, reading research and best practices in literacy instruction confirm the value of a narrative read-aloud. Read-aloud time using narrative texts must still be included as a vital part of literacy instruction. Reading aloud to students increases vocabulary development, enhances fluency and oral language, introduces students to diverse population or cultural diversity, and develops critical thinking and problem solving skills. An effective read-aloud can enable students to learn about different types of conflicts and possible solutions as well as empathy and understanding for others. An effective twenty-minute read-aloud can expose students to the same academic words that would be found in content area textbooks and motivates students to become engaged in reading.

Making the Case for Using Informational Text in Preschool Classrooms

This article explores the use of informational text in preschool environments by reviewing the current literature related to the topic. While informational text is currently used on a limited basis in early childhood settings, the benefits of introducing young children to this genre through interactive shared reading or read-alouds can positively influence foundational literacy development. Through exposure to informational text, children enhance their vocabulary and language skills while developing conceptual background knowledge. Strong vocabulary and language skills are keys to the development of strong literacy skills upon entrance to formal schooling. Read-aloud routines scaffold the learning inherent in the language and literacy development resulting from interactions with informational text.

Research and Policy: Teaching about and with Informational Texts: What Does Research Teach Us?

This column explores the research that investigates teaching children with informational texts, which is a growing concern and focus in Common Core State Standards (CCSS.) The authors highlight empirical data that study the use of informational texts with young learners. The article is foregrounded in four key findings: make the texts available and accessible, create authentic opportunities for engagement, engage students through interactive read-alouds, and employ explicit instruction.

Teachers’ Use of and Attitudes Toward Informational Text in K–5 Classrooms

The purposes of this research were (a) to understand the frequency with which K–5 teachers use informational text in their routine classroom instruction, (b) to understand the percentage of informational text in classroom libraries, and (c) to explore teachers’ attitudes about informational text. Survey data of 318 participants indicated that K–5 teachers used an average of 31.55 minutes (SD = 22.24) of informational text per day and that classroom libraries consisted of an average of 32.77% (SD = 14.16) of informational text. Participants were overwhelmingly positive about the instructional value of informational text but also reported that a lack of time, a lack of resources, and curricular limitations restricted their use of informational text. Implications on how to increase the use of informational text in K–5 classrooms are provided.

Availability and Use of Informational Texts in Second-, Third-, and Fourth-Grade Classrooms

A sharp increase in the proportion of informational text with the corresponding expansion of cognitive demands and conceptual structures is a widely held explanation for the decline inreading achievement at the fourth-grade level. In this study, differences in the proportion of informational text across the second, third, and fourth grades were examined in order to determine if this perennial explanation for the fourth-grade slump was supported. Available print materials in 15 classrooms (5 per grade) and time spent with texts in written language activities were coded and analyzed by text type following Duke’s (2000) data-collection procedures. The proportion of informational text in classrooms was slightly higher in grade 2; in classroom environmental print it was highest in grade 3, followed by grade 4 and then grade 2; in classroom written language activities it showed a marked increase from grades 2 to 3, with that increase sustained in grade 4. Total instructional time with informational text was an average of 1 minute in grade 2 and 16 minutes in grades 3 and 4. The most common instructional activities with informational text were reading to complete a worksheet and round-robin reading.

Growing Research Practices: Expanding Our Communities and Our Conversations

Beth Maloch reflects on her Alan Purves Award-winning article, which was chosen because of its demonstration of the ability of one teacher to make a difference in young students’ use of informational texts to develop complex, literate lives.

Focus on the Facts: Using Informational Texts Effectively in Early Elementary Classrooms

Effective use of informational texts in early elementary grade classrooms can extend and expand children’s knowledge of the world and provide critical skills necessary for success in the information age. This article suggests several research-based instructional activities that will enhance children’s ability to use and comprehend informational texts.

Choosing and using information trade books

The authors examine why calls for use of informational text in classrooms have been increasing and discuss what is meant by informational text. They then examine issues related to book choice and purpose, focusing particularly on informational trade books on topics in natural sciences and in the social world. Recommended practices that simultaneously address literacy and content learning are presented.

Facilitating the Use of Informational Texts in a 1st-Grade Classroom

Facilitating the Use of Informational Texts in a 1st-Grade Classroom

The Contexts of Comprehension: The Information Book Read Aloud, Comprehension Acquisition, and Comprehension Instruction in a First-Grade Classroom

In this article we embed a case study of 1 teacher and her first graders' interactions around information book read alouds within a discussion of the research on reading comprehension instruction and language acquisition. The case study revealed that the comprehension strategies the teacher modeled within the context of the read alouds reflected the same categories as those suggested by more systematic but decontextualized research. We suggest that there may be a developmentally appropriate time to begin formal comprehension instruction and that prior to that an interactive use of informational texts may support a stage to be thought of as comprehension acquisition, which would foster conceptual development, comprehension strategy formation, and text structure familiarity.