Informational Text

Most children like to read informational text. If they are interested in the topic, students can engage in this genre with excitement. There is no disagreement that children will need to be fluent readers of informational texts as they move forward in their learning. So, what do our students need to know about informational text?

Google or Pinterest the topic and you will see that the main focus of instruction is text features. I call these the "tricky parts" of reading informational text. While they are important, there is so much more to teach. 

Out goal is to create readers, writers, and researchers. Students must be able to comprehend informational texts and use them in authentic ways. This requires the teacher to model the reading of informational texts and teach reading strategies that will promote reading comprehension. Explicit teaching of comprehension strategies can foster comprehension (Duke & Pearson, 2002). Here is a book that will help you understand the importance of comprehension strategies!

Teachers must differentiate instruction within the classroom. Selecting books on different levels will help teachers meet the needs of their students.   Here is an exceptional article with videos that will encourage you to support all students. Don't forget to refer to the Continuum of Literacy Learning to see what the text demands are at each level. 

Mentor texts are a vital part of informational text reading and writing.  Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli in their book NonFiction Mentor Texts, offer a wide range of mentor texts and show how these models illustrate the key features of good writing. This is a great resource!

I encourage you to think beyond the "tricky parts" and go for the development of the genre. We want our students to comprehend and enjoy a wide variety of informational texts. To authentically read and write about topics of interest. 

Reading Writing Researching

Non-fiction project
Beth Keplar

I found this great slideshow of students reading, researching and writing!  Are you interested in this approach to learning?  It can be a little scary to let go and let students do the work.  

I want to suggest Harvey and Daniel's Comprehension and Collaboration.
"This book is about small-group projects that work. It's about combining what we know about the research process, about thinking, and about people working together to create a structure that consistently supports kids to build knowledge that matters in their lives."-Stephanie Harvey and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels

Thanksgiving Thoughts and Freebies

It is Turkey Time again!  Just a few weeks to focus on the holiday and bring a touch of thankfulness to our classrooms.  Have you ever thought that Thanksgiving and the history behind it wasn't in your standards and something that you couldn't teach?  

What about using the theme in your shared reading time? Use the historical perspective during your ELA block.  There are wonderful non-fiction resources online!

And of course poetry and reader's theater always fit in our lessons!

The best place to start is The First Thanksgiving by Scholastic.  You can find a guide for lessons, 12 reader's theaters. video, virtual field trips, etc.  

Read Write Think offers great lesson plans:

Packing the Pilgrim's Trunk for K-2

America Celebrates Thanksgiving Today for 5-8

Myth and Truth: The First Thanksgiving for 9-12

My favorite activity for the little ones is the Thanksgiving bracelet.  Students can retell the story of the Pilgrims and the Mayflower by using the beads.  They love taking these home to share with family.  Send the story home with the bracelet.

Download Story 

Use these books to help them understand the story.

Thanksgiving Poem "Giving Thanks" 

Download Poem

Here are last year's poems!!

More to come on the Mayflower, so check back soon!

The Read Aloud Isn't Just for After Lunch

Download Poster

What a beautiful and inspiring quote by Mem Fox.  Her words express what I see as my mission; to help teachers and children fall in love with books.  If you fall in love with books, you make the journey of learning much more rewarding and less stressful.  I hope to ignite that emotional spark!

I just did a presentation on Read Alouds and how they can strengthen writing.  The resources for this presentation are listed on my Presentations Page.  I used the book Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe to show how vivid language in the form of similes can take writing to the next level. We can teach figurative language in writing workshop.  That makes so much more sense than teaching it separately.  You give your students a "hook" to remember similes.  When they think of similes, they will remember this beautiful book.

I also added nonfiction books and websites for research.   Firely.org is a great website for learning about fireflies.  Here are a few books that I used:



Lester Laminack is the go-to guy for understanding the power of the read aloud.

“To make read aloud intentional I believe that we must be as thoughtful in our planning as we are when selecting manipulatives for mathematics or when establishing the flow of a classroom. We must select the books we will read with the same care we take in designing centers or in setting up a science lab. We must be as diligent in considering our reasons for reading aloud as we are in selecting the focus of a mini-lesson in reading and writing workshops. In short, we must pay careful attention to our intentions for the read aloud. So why do we read aloud to our students? What are our expectations for the experience? What result or product do we hope for? How will our students be different for living through these experiences with us? Are we hoping to motivate them to explore a topic or genre? Are we inviting them to meet a new author or illustrator? Are we leading them to compare the organizational framework of this story with a favorite known by all? Are we simply reading today for some future benefit, investing the time now to connect future instruction later? Are we reading to introduce specific vocabulary that will be essential in understanding the concepts for a unit of study in a subject area? Are we reading to contrast the multiple meanings of troublesome words? Are we reading to raise awareness of a targeted issue? Are we reading to model a specific reading strategy or skill? Are we reading to draw them in, to lure them into wanting to read more for themselves? Are we reading to bank images and language we will draw upon in an upcoming study?”
-Unwrapping the Read Aloud, 2009

Reading Fiction and NonFiction

Stephanie Harvey says that reading fiction is like watching a movie, and reading nonfiction is like watching the news.  I  made these simple posters to help students remember this idea.  It is all about that inner conversation in our head.  What are they thinking when they read?  You can download them here!         

Unbroken

Wow!  I just finished Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  This nonfiction book is amazing!  She has a wonderful Website that explains the book in detail.
"On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood.  Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard.  So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War."

Don't miss this one!