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Kids need to be able to learn to read text for meaning ... (and ask themselves) "Do I know why I'm reading this? Do I know what information I'm looking for?" ... We're always delivering the curriculum in a way that draws on language and reading skills.
- Dr. Nonie Lesaux

Do you remember buying used textbooks in college? If you were lucky, you got one that was highlighted by a skilled student, giving you clues to key information from the book that you needed for your coursework. If you weren't lucky, you got a textbook that had practically all words highlighted on each page and you were looking at a sea of neon pink, yellow, or blue, which could be very distracting. My guess is that a lot of high school students head to college without ever having learned to interact effectively with non-fiction texts. Since books are a precious resource in K-12 education systems, students aren't allowed to highlight or mark in them, and may rely more heavily on the classroom instruction and peer interaction than their reading material to grasp the main idea of a lesson.

Reading Non-fiction with ELLs

See more great ideas in our related resource section on reading non-fiction with ELLs!

Of course it's not just a question of highlighting important information - it's a question of learning key concepts and vocabulary by becoming familiar with different kinds of text, by learning to use a textbook's tools and structure, and by monitoring one's own comprehension of non-fiction text. Without ever having developed these skills, students will have a tough time when it comes time for them to learn information independently in more advanced coursework and in college.

This is especially true for English language learners, who are challenged by learning a new language and new content in that language at the same time. Teachers can help prepare ELL students to successfully work with non-fiction, (or expository) text, however, in many ways - and the earlier the better. Starting early is important because if elementary school classrooms have a predisposition towards fictional stories and literature, students may struggle when they get to fourth grade and need to engage effectively with non-fiction texts in order to learn new content.

In Colorín Colorado's Reading to Learn: ELLs in Grades 4-6 webcast, featured panelist Dr. Nonie Lesaux addresses this transition:

There probably is a fourth-grade slump, but the question is whether we're just picking something up in fourth grade that's already been there for a lot of years for a number of kids, and/or whether, in fact, there are differences in the comprehension demands of the curriculum, and certainly that's a question ...(because by fourth grade) we have reading that cuts across a number of areas of instruction, so reading is not just relegated to reading instruction but rather we need to have good reading comprehension skills for math, for science, for other areas of the curriculum.

While some of those challenges relate to reading instruction in content areas, they also relate to improving the instruction non-fiction texts for ELLs so that students can work successfully with content-area material. In this article I will highlight components of non-fiction texts and effective strategies to help ELLs gain the skills needed to not only understand the content, but understand how the text structure works so they will be able to access content effectively throughout their education.

Introducing text

First, let's look at definitions of types of text:

Narrative: The main purpose of narrative text is to tell a story. Narrative text has beginning, middle and end, characters, plot or conflict, and setting. Usually, narrative texts are written from the author's imagination.

Expository: The main purpose of expository text is to inform or describe. Authors who write expository texts research the topic to gain information. The information is organized in a logical and interesting manner using various expository text structures.

To increase ELLs comprehension of non-fiction expository text, teachers need to provide:

1. explicit instruction on how expository text is structured.

2. models of "what good readers do" to get information from expository text.

3. opportunities for practice so that ELLs can identify and interact with the text

4. opportunities for peer interaction with the content of the text in order to increase comprehension.

Let's look at these steps in more detail:

1. Provide explicit instruction on how expository text is structured.

Teachers need to spend some time introducing students to the format of expository text. This is a lesson intended to teach students how to get information from non-fiction text rather than on the actual content of the text. That instruction can be done once students are familiar with the text format and structure.

Help students recognize the structure of expository text. Introduce the various parts of the text, such as the table of contents and the glossary. Discuss how these different parts are used for informational reading, how the text is organized, where different parts will be found in a textbook, and how they compare with one another.

For example, have students compare the index and the glossary, and discuss what they would use each section for. You might try asking a question such as, "If I want to know the definition of a word, will I look in the index or glossary?"

Elements that are important to introduce include:

Although it may seem very obvious to teachers, something as simple as finding bold words and identifying their definition in surrounding text may be new concepts to developing readers. As students are instructed to find different components of the text, ask questions such as, "What does this graphic tell us? Why do you think the author wanted to put that there?" Make it a thinking exercise so the students will internalize the knowledge.

Chapter walk

One way to help students become familiar with new kinds of books is through a chapter walk, which can be used with fiction or non-fiction text. Students preview the chapter before starting their first lesson in a new unit, looking for headings, graphics, pictures, important words, and key information. Students can discuss what they've noticed and what they think will be covered in pairs, gropus, or with the entire class. Once students have become comfortable with a new resource, this exercise can be used to preview content for future lessons and activate background knowledge.

This strategy can also be used with fiction books by using illustrations and chapter headings or important words in the text.

Types of text

For older students, teachers can spend some time helping them understand the different types of text they will encounter, such as descriptive, sequence, and cause and effect. (See examples in this document and the graphics from the U-46 School District in Elgin, Illinois, featured on Reading Rockets.)

2. Provide opportunity for ELLs to practice interacting with the text and identifying key components of the text.

Giving the students to practice these skills will build confidence and offer many learning opportunities. Practice activities can be done to demonstrate how to get information from the expository text. For example, ask students to look for the main idea of a text, and then to explain what "clues" they saw that supported their answer. Students might say things such as, "The main idea is usually in the first paragraph." Or, "I saw the summary written on the side of the page." Engaging the class in discussion about these key components will give all students a chance to demonstrate learning.

Other strategies include:

Making predictions: One method is the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA), which encourages students to be active readers. DR-TA is a process where the students listen to a brief summary of the text, review a few key words or pictures, and then make a prediction about the content of the text. As they begin to read the text, the teacher asks more questions about how their predictions match what they're reading.

Word splash: Students receive handouts with key words and phrases from the text "splashed" randomly across the page. The students spend some time making clusters of information that goes together. They can do this by circling groups of words, highlighting them in different colors, or drawing lines. The class discusses what they've learned from their clusters and what they predict they will learn from the text. Once again, when they begin to read the text they should make note of which parts of their prediction were correct and how they know that based on "evidence" in the text.

Practice highlighting: Students can practice highlighting text on worksheets or by using this method: Give each student a clear plastic overhead sheet and a "write-on/wipe-off" marker. Have the student paperclip the plastic sheet to a page in the textbook and work together to circle new vocabulary words and underline key points. The plastic sheets can be wiped off and used again.

Margin bookmark: One way to allow students to practice making notes is by using margin bookmarks. Prepare scratch paper "bookmark" strips that fit in the crease of the textbook and within the margin of the print, or that can be attached to the outside margin using a paperclip. Students can use these bookmarks to make notes in the margin. Give them specific tasks such as, "Write the definition of one of the bold words in your own words," or "Write one fact, one question, and one thing that is important for you to remember." Provide examples so that students see how they can interact effectively with expository text.

Define the important information: As evidenced by those textbooks full of highlighting I mentioned at the beginning of the article, if a student doesn't know what's important, then everything is important. I like to have the students do an activity I call "Pack the Suitcase" so that they can start identifying the most important information in the text. In order to do this activity, give the students a short text (no more than two paragraphs) and a small envelope with a picture of a suitcase drawn or glued on it. Pass out pieces of scrap paper and tell students that they need to:

1. review the text

2. write "an important point" on each piece of paper

3. "pack" them in their suitcase.

Students can use as many or as few pieces of paper as they want. When the students are finished, tell them they are going on a trip but that they packed too much - they must look in their suitcase and take out half of their items. Students will really have to decide which items (points) are most important to bring on the trip. Finally, have students "travel" to the other side of the room and sit with a partner and "unpack" the suitcases. See if they have the same points, and discuss any differences and how they identified what was important in the article.

3. Model "what good readers do" to get information from expository text.

As good readers, teachers sometimes forget how mystifying and overwhelming text can be for students. I can recall many years of math classes where I looked around at my classmates in puzzlement and wondered how they figured all the answers out! Looking at the textbook didn't help me because I didn't understand what I was looking for. I believe ELLs ofent have a similar experience, but if teachers model "what to do" when approaching expository text, ELLs will become more successful readers.

Here are some strategies to try:

Think aloud*: Read an introductory portion of the text to the class. Pause to model what you are thinking out loud, such as by describing what you know about the text. For example, a teacher may look at a chapter with a picture of a volcano and bold words in the text such as lava, magma, and geothermic. The teacher could say, "Hmmm ... I see this picture of a volcano and I notice bold vocabulary words. The words look very scientific and technical. I bet this will be a reading about science. I think I will learn facts about volcanoes and how they work."

Demonstrate how to figure out vocabulary: As you come to new vocabulary words, pause and think about how you can figure out what that word means. Show how you look for clues such as commas after the word that contain a definition, or show how the word is related to something else you know such as a root word or cognate in another language. Finally the teacher may want to demonstrate how to ask someone next to you for help with the word, or refer to your personal dictionary of new words that you've created for the unit.

Use a graphic organizer: Determine what you need to know in the text and show how to complete a graphic organizer. Talk about how the graphic organizer will help you remember the important information in the text. For example, if students need to determine the characteristics of an active volcano vs. an inactive volcano, the graphic organizer can follow a comparison outline and students fill in the correct information as related to the topic. Be sure to emphasize that this kind of activity can be used in any classroom and with any content. The student just needs to determine what they want to know and make an "organized picture" of the information so they will remember.

Model "fix up" strategies*: Proficient readers know when they "missed" something or what they are reading doesn't make sense. Developing readers tend to "just keep going" hoping that eventually it will all make sense. Of course, this makes it much more difficult to comprehend the content and it leads to frustration. Show students how you "double check" information when you don't understand it or it doesn't make sense. Read a section of the text aloud - especially a complicated portion - and stop to reflect. Say out loud, "What did I just read? That didn't make sense. Let me go back and read it again." If it still seems confusing, ask the students for ideas about how you could "check" your understanding of this information.

Determine if it's "In the Book" or "In my Head": In the Question Answer Relationship (QAR) strategy students are taught to identify if information is in the book (literal) or in their head (inferential). Teachers can demonstrate this by using questions to model how they figure that out. For example, a literal question might be, "What are three characteristics of an active volcano?" An example of an inferential question is, "Are volcanoes dangerous?" This can be a very important skill to develop because many developing readers spend a lot of time scouring the text looking for an answer that is not defined literally in the text.

*Strategies from, "7 Keys to Comprehension: How to help your kids read it and get it!" by Susan Zimmerman and Chryse Hutchins. See Hotlinks for further information.

4. Increase peer interaction with the content of the text in order to increase comprehension.

Giving students the chance to interact with their peers about new content will engage them and offer more opportunities to practice talking, writing, and thinking about what they have learned. You can do this with the following strategies:

Develop study guides to guide ELLs through content area textbook reading. Study guides will focus student attention on the major ideas presented, and can include graphic organizers as described above, key vocabulary, and guiding questions. These study guides can be very helpful in preparing for final exams and students can use them to "quiz" each other. More advanced students can develop their own study guides in partners or in groups.

Assign reading partners. Pair ELLs with friendly fluent readers. Ask partners to read aloud to each other, alternating sentences or pages. After the first student reads, the other student summarizes what they heard. Then the two partners switch roles.

Encourage student engagement. One strategy is the "Say Something" activity. Students take turns reading aloud, and following the reading, each student 'says something,' such as asking a question, making a comment, making a connection to something already read, or responding personally to the text. The exercise also engages students as readers and gets them thinking about the text. For ELLs, teachers may want to have a "phrase wall" displayed so they have a sentence structure to begin their comments. Examples such as, "That reminds me of..." Or "Do you know..." or "That's interesting because..."

Have students re-tell what they have learned. After students read a section of text, have them re-tell it to a partner or write a few summary notes in their notebook and switch notes with a partner. The partner can add notes, questions or comments to the author's notes.

For more tips on supporting reading instruction in the ELL classroom, take a look at our reading tips for teachers, as well as some reading comprehension strategies. You may also find some helpful tips from the AdLit.org Strategy Library.

Closing Thoughts

Spending time working with text structure and guiding ELLs in how to access expository content effectively will have huge benefits for your students now and in the future. Textbooks are like other classroom tools, such as microscopes or computers. Without the proper introduction and practice, the student will only get a fraction of the information the teacher hopes they will gain. As teachers work with students to discover the secrets to using expository text for learning, they will be rewarded by deeper discussions and learning in the classroom. Most importantly, having learned these strategies, your students will be equipped to interact with a multitude of academic texts throughout the rest of their education.
Text Features: Non-Fiction Printed Page vs. Website Format
This chart from ReadWriteThink.org gives students a reference for comparing non-fiction textbook or printed material to website content features.
Colorín Colorado Webcast: Reading to Learn in Grades 4-6
This Colorín Colorado webcast features Dr. Nonie Lesaux, and addresses the challenges facing English language learners - and their teachers - in grades 4-6.
Colorín Colorado Webcast: ELL Comprehension
This webcast featuring Dr. Cynthia Lundgren and Kristina Robertson discusses effective reading comprehension strategies for teaching English language learner students.
Colorín Colorado: How to Help ELL Students Leap to Success
This article offers suggestions for helping teachers guide ELLs through the critical transition between third and fourth grade.
AdLit.org: Strategy Library
This resource offers comprehensive list of strategies for each phase of the comprehension lesson - before, during, and after reading.
West Virginia Department of Education: Keys to Comprehension
Information and lesson ideas for the "7 Keys to Comprehension" by Susan Zimmermann and Chryse Hutchins. Available on the West Virginia Department of Education website.
Keys to Comprehension: Strategies
Brief description of the strategies from "7 Keys to Comprehension" by Susan Zimmermann and Chryse Hutchins.
Analyzing Text: Lesson Plans
Lesson plans from Poway Unified School District to help students in determining importance through crossing out information and using graphic organizers.
West Ed: Reading Apprenticeship Framework
Website for the Reading Apprenticeship Framework that describes the elements of the framework and includes links to articles.
Text-Mapping Project
Step-by-step lesson plan on how to map text with students.
What's Special About Non-fiction?
This lesson plan from Scholastic offers ideas about ways to introduce students to nonfiction texts.
Time for Kids
Time for Kids offers a great range of informational text for different grade levels and related activities.
Education Oasis: Graphic Organizers for Vocabulary Development
Links to vocabulary development graphic organizers.
Vocabulary Activity: Prediction and Confirmation
An activity for vocabulary prediction and confirmation featured on the Florida Center for Instructional Technology website.

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Increasing ELL Student Reading Comprehension with Non-fiction Text

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Kids need to be able to learn to read text for meaning ... (and ask themselves) "Do I know why I'm reading this? Do I know what information I'm looking for?" ... We're always delivering the curriculum in a way that draws on language and reading skills.

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He said the new curriculum could be useful in helping achieve the new learning targets, known as the Common Core, that New York and most other states have adopted. "As we align curricula and materials with the new Common Core Standards, we look forward to working with this group and others toward a higher standard," he said.

The pilot program and study were started in the 2008-9 school year by Mr. Klein, who worried that students suffered from what he called a "knowledge deficit." The study was conducted by the Education Department and paid for with $2.4 million in private donations raised by the Fund for Public Schools, a charity that supports department initiatives.

But city officials said it was not an indication that balanced literacy methods should be abandoned. And several proponents of the longstanding approach, including Carmen Fariña, a former deputy chancellor, said the study focused on too few schools to be used in policy decisions.

"I think it's a very problematic study," said Lucy Calkins, a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College and an architect of the city's balanced literacy program.

"As far as I can tell, they gave resources to 10 schools to support content literacy and then they tested all of the schools on content literacy," she said, adding that there was no way of knowing with what fidelity the 10 comparison schools were using a form of balanced literacy.

Dr. Hirsch is the author of a number of books on education, including "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know," a best seller based on the idea that American schools were teaching children to read in a vacuum, without introducing the background knowledge the children would need to digest higher-level material. The book drew criticism for its insistence that having a common body of knowledge was the basis for America's national culture.

When he introduced the Core Knowledge pilot program, Mr. Klein said he hoped it could be used to raise eighth graders' reading scores, which were lagging behind the fourth graders' gains.

The study found that for each of the three years, students in the Core Knowledge program had greater one-year gains on a brief reading test than their peers in the comparison schools. The difference was most pronounced in kindergarten, when the scores of children following Dr. Hirsch's method showed increases that were five times those of their peers. By the third year, they were still posting higher scores, but the differences were not as wide. Between the fall and spring of last year, their scores rose 2.5 scale score points, compared with an average gain of 0.9 points in the comparison group. The scale score is based on the number of questions answered correctly, combined with the degree of difficulty of those questions.

On the TerraNova standardized tests on social studies and science, the Core Knowledge students outperformed the comparison group, but on a test of oral reading comprehension and vocabulary their scores were not significantly different.

Under the balanced literacy approach, which was used by seven of the comparison schools and remains the most popular method of teaching reading in the city's schools, children are encouraged to develop a love of reading by choosing books that are of interest to them. Teachers spend less time directing instruction, and more time overseeing students as they work together.

Reading nonfiction writing is the key component of the Core Knowledge curriculum, which is based on the theory that children raised reading storybooks will lack the necessary background and vocabulary to understand history and science texts. While the curriculum allows children to read fiction, it also calls on them to knowledgeably discuss weather patterns, the solar system, and how ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia compare.

The curriculum may have a particular appeal for city schools beginning to adopt the Common Core standards, which emphasize nonfiction reading and will go into effect in 2014. The Education Department plans to solicit bids from companies interested in creating textbooks, for students of all grades, that will be based on the standards.

Of the teachers and administrators who were surveyed about the pilot program, 72 percent said they were "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with the curriculum.

"I like balanced literacy, I do; I think that it works well, especially for children who are coming into school having been read to every single day," said Katie Grady, principal of Public School 104 in Far Rockaway, Queens.

Her school began using elements of Core Knowledge in 2006, under Kathleen M. Cashin, a veteran superintendent who was an early adopter of Dr. Hirsch's approach, with its heavy emphasis on basic knowledge.

"For my children, who are economically disadvantaged, they needed something more, and the Core Knowledge pilot had it," Ms. Grady said. Of the nearly 700 students enrolled at her school last year, 88 percent met the city's definition of poverty.

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Nonfiction Curriculum Enhanced Reading Skills in New York City Schools

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He said the new curriculum could be useful in helping achieve the new learning targets, known as the Common Core, that New York and most other states have adopted. "As we align curricula and materials with the new Common Core Standards, we look forward to working with this group and others toward a higher standard," he said.

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by Susan Verner 12,647 views

Stories are great.

We love following our favorite characters through adventure after misadventure. We can imagine ourselves in a different setting, perhaps a different world when stories take us to imaginary places or locations across the globe. Since readers get so much entertainment value from reading fictional pieces, they may be our automatic choice in the ESL classroom. For those of us, though, who have realized the great benefits nonfiction has to offer, we may think twice before choosing fiction over nonfiction. If you are thinking about using nonfiction in your ESL classroom or you already do, here are some benefits your students and you are getting.

How to Teach with Nonfiction

1. Personal Interests

No matter what age your English students are, nonfiction offers topics that tie into their personal interests. Younger children are naturally drawn to information about animals, cars and other topics while older students are fascinated with technology and music. Whether younger or older, your students can find nonfiction material to satisfy their curiosity and interest in their favorite topics. When your students are interested in reading about a given topic, they are more self motivated to read and fulfill that curiosity, and you can watch as their literacy levels rise as they do! Using nonfiction texts in your classroom ties into these personal interests and may even spark new passions in some of your students.

2. Increase Vocabulary

Many ESL students unintentionally limit their vocabulary bank to words used in conversational settings. By using nonfiction in your ESL classroom, your students will expand their vocabularies in areas that do not necessarily come up in everyday conversation. Nonfiction will challenge your students, but it will also give them a broader vocabulary base, especially texts from the fields of science and social studies.

3. Real Life Connections

Many nonfiction books include photographs to illustrate the authors' points. Photographs can be a great aid to your students as they strive to understand English text. Photos offer more detail and a clearer depiction of the world around us than do illustrations. When they are able to refer to photographs, your students will increase their comprehension level and make connections to the real world they see around them.

4. Curriculum Design

One of the best curriculum strategies for ESL students follows a cyclical pattern. By introducing specific sets of vocabulary several different times during the year, your students will internalize that material better and retain it longer. Nonfiction lends itself perfectly to a cyclical curriculum because similar content and vocabulary can be used to introduce different and increasingly complex grammatical concepts. Because your students will be familiar with the information and vocabulary your nonfiction text offers, they will be freer to absorb more complex grammatical and linguistic concepts introduced through that content as the year goes on.

5. Comprehension Clues

Nonfiction has a lot to offer ESL students in the way of comprehension clues, too. Teaching your students how to read nonfiction elements like the index, glossary, table of contents, headings and subheadings will give them a head start once they begin reading the text itself. Teach your students to look at these items before they read the text and make predictions about what their reading will reveal. Also, point out photos, diagrams and captions and ask your students to predict what they might read. This will help prepare them to understand more before they tackle the text.

6. Writing Models

While we sometimes ask our students to write fictional pieces, most of what we assign as writing projects results in nonfiction pieces. Reading and breaking down nonfiction text will give your students a model to follow as they write their own nonfiction essays, reports and compositions. When you read a nonfiction text in class, take time to look at the organization and point out to your students how the author places his information. Then challenge your students to employ that same model when they write their own pieces.

7. Writing Material

Not only will reading nonfiction help your students know how to write, it will give them ideas of what to write about as well. When students are encouraged to pursue and research the topics that interest them, they will have more information to draw on when they write their own nonfiction pieces. Show your students how to use a writer's notebook to record ideas for future compositions, and encourage them to add to this notebook as they read about interesting topics.

8. Higher Order Learning

More and more, younger students are expected to go beyond the simple reporting of facts and use critical thinking to analyze what they read. Your students who read nonfiction will use higher order thinking skills as they read and analyze texts, and that will help become better learners. If your students take standardized tests, you can also be confident that those students who can think critically will perform better on standardized tests.

9. Cultural Awareness

Students who are new to the U.S. or whose lives at home do not reflect that of the typical U.S. student may have a difficult time relating to the main characters of fictional texts traditionally used in classrooms. Reading nonfiction eliminates the cultural barrier that fiction may place between internationals and main characters. When you use nonfiction in your classroom, your students may also develop a more global perspective on their lives and the lives of their fellow students. Likewise, you will have more opportunities to promote cultural acceptance and understanding among your students when you read about people and places all over the world.

10. Preparing for the Future

Ultimately, giving your students plenty of practice reading nonfiction prepares them for their futures. 86% (!) of what adults read is nonfiction. Whether on the job or in the classroom, your students will be better prepared for the reading requirements of adulthood when they are well versed at reading nonfiction in your classroom.

What are your favorite nonfiction texts to use in your ESL class?

P.S. If you enjoyed this article, please help spread it by clicking one of those sharing buttons below. And if you are interested in more, you should follow our Facebook page where we share more about creative, non-boring ways to teach English.

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10 Top Reasons to Teach with Nonfiction in the ESL Classroom

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by Susan Verner 12,647 views We love following our favorite characters through adventure after misadventure. We can imagine ourselves in a different setting, perhaps a different world when stories take us to imaginary places or locations across the globe. Since readers get so much entertainment value from reading fictional pieces, they may be our automatic choice in the ESL classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Kids need to be able to learn to read text for meaning ... (and ask themselves) "Do I know why I'm reading this? Do I know what information I'm looking for?" ... We're always delivering the curriculum in a way that draws on language and reading skills.
- Dr. Nonie Lesaux

Do you remember buying used textbooks in college? If you were lucky, you got one that was highlighted by a skilled student, giving you clues to key information from the book that you needed for your coursework. If you weren't lucky, you got a textbook that had practically all words highlighted on each page and you were looking at a sea of neon pink, yellow, or blue, which could be very distracting. My guess is that a lot of high school students head to college without ever having learned to interact effectively with non-fiction texts. Since books are a precious resource in K-12 education systems, students aren't allowed to highlight or mark in them, and may rely more heavily on the classroom instruction and peer interaction than their reading material to grasp the main idea of a lesson.

Of course it's not just a question of highlighting important information - it's a question of learning key concepts and vocabulary by becoming familiar with different kinds of text, by learning to use a textbook's tools and structure, and by monitoring one's own comprehension of non-fiction text. Without ever having developed these skills, students will have a tough time when it comes time for them to learn information independently in more advanced coursework and in college.

This is especially true for English language learners, who are challenged by learning a new language and new content in that language at the same time. Teachers can help prepare ELL students to successfully work with non-fiction, (or expository) text, however, in many ways - and the earlier the better. Starting early is important because if elementary school classrooms have a predisposition towards fictional stories and literature, students may struggle when they get to fourth grade and need to engage effectively with non-fiction texts in order to learn new content.

In Colorín Colorado's Reading to Learn: ELLs in Grades 4-6 webcast, featured panelist Dr. Nonie Lesaux addresses this transition:

There probably is a fourth-grade slump, but the question is whether we're just picking something up in fourth grade that's already been there for a lot of years for a number of kids, and/or whether, in fact, there are differences in the comprehension demands of the curriculum, and certainly that's a question ...(because by fourth grade) we have reading that cuts across a number of areas of instruction, so reading is not just relegated to reading instruction but rather we need to have good reading comprehension skills for math, for science, for other areas of the curriculum.

While some of those challenges relate to reading instruction in content areas, they also relate to improving the instruction non-fiction texts for ELLs so that students can work successfully with content-area material. In this article I will highlight components of non-fiction texts and effective strategies to help ELLs gain the skills needed to not only understand the content, but understand how the text structure works so they will be able to access content effectively throughout their education.

Introducing text

First, let's look at definitions of types of text:

Narrative: The main purpose of narrative text is to tell a story. Narrative text has beginning, middle and end, characters, plot or conflict, and setting. Usually, narrative texts are written from the author's imagination.

Expository: The main purpose of expository text is to inform or describe. Authors who write expository texts research the topic to gain information. The information is organized in a logical and interesting manner using various expository text structures.

To increase ELLs comprehension of non-fiction expository text, teachers need to provide:

1. explicit instruction on how expository text is structured.

2. models of "what good readers do" to get information from expository text.

3. opportunities for practice so that ELLs can identify and interact with the text

4. opportunities for peer interaction with the content of the text in order to increase comprehension.

Let's look at these steps in more detail:

1. Provide explicit instruction on how expository text is structured.

Teachers need to spend some time introducing students to the format of expository text. This is a lesson intended to teach students how to get information from non-fiction text rather than on the actual content of the text. That instruction can be done once students are familiar with the text format and structure.

Help students recognize the structure of expository text. Introduce the various parts of the text, such as the table of contents and the glossary. Discuss how these different parts are used for informational reading, how the text is organized, where different parts will be found in a textbook, and how they compare with one another.

For example, have students compare the index and the glossary, and discuss what they would use each section for. You might try asking a question such as, "If I want to know the definition of a word, will I look in the index or glossary?"

Elements that are important to introduce include:

Although it may seem very obvious to teachers, something as simple as finding bold words and identifying their definition in surrounding text may be new concepts to developing readers. As students are instructed to find different components of the text, ask questions such as, "What does this graphic tell us? Why do you think the author wanted to put that there?" Make it a thinking exercise so the students will internalize the knowledge.

Chapter walk

One way to help students become familiar with new kinds of books is through a chapter walk, which can be used with fiction or non-fiction text. Students preview the chapter before starting their first lesson in a new unit, looking for headings, graphics, pictures, important words, and key information. Students can discuss what they've noticed and what they think will be covered in pairs, gropus, or with the entire class. Once students have become comfortable with a new resource, this exercise can be used to preview content for future lessons and activate background knowledge.

This strategy can also be used with fiction books by using illustrations and chapter headings or important words in the text.

Types of text

For older students, teachers can spend some time helping them understand the different types of text they will encounter, such as descriptive, sequence, and cause and effect. This document posted by U-46 School District in Elgin, Illinois provides an overview of five expository text structures, associated signal words, and related graphic organizers.

2. Provide opportunity for ELLs to practice interacting with the text and identifying key components of the text.

Giving the students to practice these skills will build confidence and offer many learning opportunities. Practice activities can be done to demonstrate how to get information from the expository text. For example, ask students to look for the main idea of a text, and then to explain what "clues" they saw that supported their answer. Students might say things such as, "The main idea is usually in the first paragraph." Or, "I saw the summary written on the side of the page." Engaging the class in discussion about these key components will give all students a chance to demonstrate learning.

Other strategies include:

Making predictions: One method is the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA), which encourages students to be active readers. DR-TA is a process where the students listen to a brief summary of the text, review a few key words or pictures, and then make a prediction about the content of the text. As they begin to read the text, the teacher asks more questions about how their predictions match what they're reading.

Word splash: Students receive handouts with key words and phrases from the text "splashed" randomly across the page. The students spend some time making clusters of information that goes together. They can do this by circling groups of words, highlighting them in different colors, or drawing lines. The class discusses what they've learned from their clusters and what they predict they will learn from the text. Once again, when they begin to read the text they should make note of which parts of their prediction were correct and how they know that based on "evidence" in the text.

Practice highlighting: Students can practice highlighting text on worksheets or by using this method: Give each student a clear plastic overhead sheet and a "write-on/wipe-off" marker. Have the student paperclip the plastic sheet to a page in the textbook and work together to circle new vocabulary words and underline key points. The plastic sheets can be wiped off and used again.

Margin bookmark: One way to allow students to practice making notes is by using margin bookmarks. Prepare scratch paper "bookmark" strips that fit in the crease of the textbook and within the margin of the print, or that can be attached to the outside margin using a paperclip. Students can use these bookmarks to make notes in the margin. Give them specific tasks such as, "Write the definition of one of the bold words in your own words," or "Write one fact, one question, and one thing that is important for you to remember." Provide examples so that students see how they can interact effectively with expository text.

Define the important information: As evidenced by those textbooks full of highlighting I mentioned at the beginning of the article, if a student doesn't know what's important, then everything is important. I like to have the students do an activity I call "Pack the Suitcase" so that they can start identifying the most important information in the text. In order to do this activity, give the students a short text (no more than two paragraphs) and a small envelope with a picture of a suitcase drawn or glued on it. Pass out pieces of scrap paper and tell students that they need to:

1. review the text

2. write "an important point" on each piece of paper

3. "pack" them in their suitcase.

Students can use as many or as few pieces of paper as they want. When the students are finished, tell them they are going on a trip but that they packed too much - they must look in their suitcase and take out half of their items. Students will really have to decide which items (points) are most important to bring on the trip. Finally, have students "travel" to the other side of the room and sit with a partner and "unpack" the suitcases. See if they have the same points, and discuss any differences and how they identified what was important in the article.

3. Model "what good readers do" to get information from expository text.

As good readers, teachers sometimes forget how mystifying and overwhelming text can be for students. I can recall many years of math classes where I looked around at my classmates in puzzlement and wondered how they figured all the answers out! Looking at the textbook didn't help me because I didn't understand what I was looking for. I believe ELLs ofent have a similar experience, but if teachers model "what to do" when approaching expository text, ELLs will become more successful readers.

Here are some strategies to try:

Think aloud*: Read an introductory portion of the text to the class. Pause to model what you are thinking out loud, such as by describing what you know about the text. For example, a teacher may look at a chapter with a picture of a volcano and bold words in the text such as lava, magma, and geothermic. The teacher could say, "Hmmm ... I see this picture of a volcano and I notice bold vocabulary words. The words look very scientific and technical. I bet this will be a reading about science. I think I will learn facts about volcanoes and how they work."

Demonstrate how to figure out vocabulary: As you come to new vocabulary words, pause and think about how you can figure out what that word means. Show how you look for clues such as commas after the word that contain a definition, or show how the word is related to something else you know such as a root word or cognate in another language. Finally the teacher may want to demonstrate how to ask someone next to you for help with the word, or refer to your personal dictionary of new words that you've created for the unit.

Use a graphic organizer: Determine what you need to know in the text and show how to complete a graphic organizer. Talk about how the graphic organizer will help you remember the important information in the text. For example, if students need to determine the characteristics of an active volcano vs. an inactive volcano, the graphic organizer can follow a comparison outline and students fill in the correct information as related to the topic. Be sure to emphasize that this kind of activity can be used in any classroom and with any content. The student just needs to determine what they want to know and make an "organized picture" of the information so they will remember.

Model "fix up" strategies*: Proficient readers know when they "missed" something or what they are reading doesn't make sense. Developing readers tend to "just keep going" hoping that eventually it will all make sense. Of course, this makes it much more difficult to comprehend the content and it leads to frustration. Show students how you "double check" information when you don't understand it or it doesn't make sense. Read a section of the text aloud - especially a complicated portion - and stop to reflect. Say out loud, "What did I just read? That didn't make sense. Let me go back and read it again." If it still seems confusing, ask the students for ideas about how you could "check" your understanding of this information.

Determine if it's "In the Book" or "In my Head": In the Question Answer Relationship (QAR) strategy students are taught to identify if information is in the book (literal) or in their head (inferential). Teachers can demonstrate this by using questions to model how they figure that out. For example, a literal question might be, "What are three characteristics of an active volcano?" An example of an inferential question is, "Are volcanoes dangerous?" This can be a very important skill to develop because many developing readers spend a lot of time scouring the text looking for an answer that is not defined literally in the text.

*Strategies from, "7 Keys to Comprehension: How to help your kids read it and get it!" by Susan Zimmerman and Chryse Hutchins. See Hotlinks for further information.

4. Increase peer interaction with the content of the text in order to increase comprehension.

Giving students the chance to interact with their peers about new content will engage them and offer more opportunities to practice talking, writing, and thinking about what they have learned. You can do this with the following strategies:

Develop study guides to guide ELLs through content area textbook reading. Study guides will focus student attention on the major ideas presented, and can include graphic organizers as described above, key vocabulary, and guiding questions. These study guides can be very helpful in preparing for final exams and students can use them to "quiz" each other. More advanced students can develop their own study guides in partners or in groups.

Assign reading partners. Pair ELLs with friendly fluent readers. Ask partners to read aloud to each other, alternating sentences or pages. After the first student reads, the other student summarizes what they heard. Then the two partners switch roles.

Encourage student engagement. One strategy is the "Say Something" activity. Students take turns reading aloud, and following the reading, each student 'says something,' such as asking a question, making a comment, making a connection to something already read, or responding personally to the text. The exercise also engages students as readers and gets them thinking about the text. For ELLs, teachers may want to have a "phrase wall" displayed so they have a sentence structure to begin their comments. Examples such as, "That reminds me of..." Or "Do you know..." or "That's interesting because..."

Have students re-tell what they have learned. After students read a section of text, have them re-tell it to a partner or write a few summary notes in their notebook and switch notes with a partner. The partner can add notes, questions or comments to the author's notes.

For more tips on supporting reading instruction in the ELL classroom, take a look at our reading tips for teachers, as well as some reading comprehension strategies. You may also find some helpful tips from the AdLit.org Strategy Library.

Spending time working with text structure and guiding ELLs in how to access expository content effectively will have huge benefits for your students now and in the future. Textbooks are like other classroom tools, such as microscopes or computers. Without the proper introduction and practice, the student will only get a fraction of the information the teacher hopes they will gain. As teachers work with students to discover the secrets to using expository text for learning, they will be rewarded by deeper discussions and learning in the classroom. Most importantly, having learned these strategies, your students will be equipped to interact with a multitude of academic texts throughout the rest of their education.

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Increasing ELL Student Reading Comprehension with Non-fiction Text

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Kids need to be able to learn to read text for meaning ... (and ask themselves) "Do I know why I'm reading this? Do I know what information I'm looking for?" ... We're always delivering the curriculum in a way that draws on language and reading skills.

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Overview | Does the emphasis on reading "informational text" in the new Common Core State Standards set up a "fiction versus nonfiction smackdown" in English classes? If so, is that good or bad?

In this lesson, students will reflect on their reading experiences in and out of school and discuss the roles that both nonfiction and fiction have played. Then, they will become familiar with what the Common Core standards say about reading, and what critics and supporters have written in reaction, in order to discuss and write about the question "What Should Children Read?"

Materials | Our Reading Questionnaire handout

Warm-Up | Ask students to complete our Reading Questionnaire (PDF) to begin thinking about their own reading histories, habits and preferences - and about the roles of fiction and nonfiction in their lives.

Next, have students work in small groups to discuss what they wrote. (Though the questionnaire itself can remain private, they can use their answers to contribute to the conversation.) Then, as a whole class, hear observations and conclusions from each group. You might then go on to talk about any of the following questions, or save them for later in the lesson:

In general, how much of what you read now would be considered nonfiction or informational text?

What kinds of things do you read outside of English class, in science, history and math?

Do videos and graphs and photographs count as "texts" one can "read"?

Is reading informational text, or nonfiction, easier or harder than reading fiction?

Have you been taught explicitly how to read informational text, as you have been taught to read literature in English?

What do you get from reading fiction that you can't from nonfiction? What do you get from reading nonfiction that you can't from fiction?

Do students need to read more nonfiction to be ready for college and careers? Why or why not?

Finally, ask students if they have heard of the Common Core State Standards, and what they know, or think they know, about what the standards say. According to the overview, from the C.C.S.S. Web site, "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers."

Explain that 45 states and three United States territories have adopted the standards, so they will shape what students learn, what they read, and what they will be tested on.

One of the most significant "instructional shifts" in these standards is the demand that schools teach more nonfiction or "informational text" across subject areas. Because most of what students will read in college and in the workplace is not fiction, but texts that are "informational in structure," the standards say that that by fourth grade, half of what students read should be informational text, while by 12th grade, students should be reading nonfiction 70 percent of the time.

Here is the chart from the Standards document that shows the NAEP Reading Framework on which the authors of the C.C.S.S. base their recommendations:

(Note that this does not mean that 70 percent of the reading in 12th grade English classes should be informational, but, instead, that nonfiction should make up 70 percent of the reading 12th graders should do in school in all subjects.)

Ask students if this seems like a big shift to them given what they already read in school. Do they think that this shift is necessary in order to be "college and career-ready"? Why? What would be lost, and what would be gained, for students with such a shift?

Tell them that, as the nation transitions to these new standards, there has been a great debate about the fiction vs. nonfiction requirement. They are about to read an essay on the topic that recently appeared in The New York Times, then will read other points of view, discuss them, and decide what they think themselves.

Related | In her Opinionator blog post What Children Should Read," Sara Mosle writes:

Malcolm Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point" and a New Yorker staff writer, told me how he prepared, years ago, to write his first "Talk of the Town" story. "Talk" articles have a distinct style, and he wanted to make sure he got the voice straight in his head before he began writing. His approach was simple. He sat down and read 100 "Talk" pieces, one after the other.

The story nicely illustrates how careful reading can advance great writing. As a schoolteacher, I offer Mr. Gladwell's story to students struggling with expository writing as evidence that they need not labor alone. There are models out there - if only they'll read them.

Mr. Gladwell's tale provides a good lesson for English teachers across the country as they begin to implement the Common Core State Standards, a set of national benchmarks, adopted by nearly every state, for the skills public school students should master in language arts and mathematics in grades K-12.
The standards won't take effect until 2014, but many public school systems have begun adjusting their curriculums to satisfy the new mandates. Depending on your point of view, the now contentious guidelines prescribe a healthy - or lethal - dose of nonfiction.

For example, the Common Core dictates that by fourth grade, public school students devote half of their reading time in class to historical documents, scientific tracts, maps and other "informational texts" - like recipes and train schedules. Per the guidelines, 70 percent of the 12th grade curriculum will consist of nonfiction titles. Alarmed English teachers worry we're about to toss Shakespeare so students can study, in the words of one former educator, "memos, technical manuals and menus."

Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:

1. What does Ms. Mosle illustrate in her opening anecdote?

2. What are the advantages to teaching and reading nonfiction?

3. Why are English teachers concerned about the new nonfiction requirements?

4. What do you think education researcher Diane Ravitch means by writing, "I can't imagine a well-developed mind that has not read novels, poems and short stories."

5. What is narrative nonfiction? Can you think of any examples?

6. Overall, what is Ms. Mosle arguing about the role of nonfiction in schools? What sentences make that clear?

Activity | Note: Given the lengthy warm-up, some teachers may choose at this point to go straight to the writing exercise in which students state and support their own point of view on the topic. For classes that would like to consider other points of view and have a discussion or debate, we provide the following.

Tell students they will engage in a circle-within-a-circle discussion around the question at the heart of this article: "What Should Children Read?"

Before they begin to prepare for the discussion, project or distribute the Common Core anchor standards for reading literature and informational texts and ask students to look at the specifics for their grade level. Ask them note what seem to be the most important expectations for student readers at their grade level and to keep these in mind as they explore the discussion questions.

Give students this list of discussion questions with related readings (all nonfiction) and ask them to read and take notes in preparation for a discussion. You might assign groups or pairs of students to each question, and then jigsaw them to create an inner circle for discussion.

1. Does an increased emphasis on reading nonfiction threaten the place of fiction, poetry and drama in English classrooms? Some English teachers think so. According to the English newspaper The Telegraph, "American literature classics are to be replaced by insulation manuals and plant inventories in United States classrooms by 2014." Is this true? If so, is it a good idea? To decide for yourself, look at this post critiquing the focus on nonfiction by The Concord Review's Will Fitzhugh; the Room for Debate post "Reading More But Learning Less?"; the Washington Post's "Fiction vs. Nonfiction Smackdown"; and National Review's"Goodbye, Liberal Arts?" You can also read what two architects of the Common Core have to say in response about the role of fiction in E.L.A. classrooms, and what advice education researcher Diane Ravitch offers them about revising the 70 percent/30 percent requirements of the standards.

2. What does reading fiction teach us that reading nonfiction does not?

Fiction is generally the centerpiece of English language arts curriculums, and with reason. Fiction is good for you-for example, it can help you become more empathetic, and neuroscience says it's good for our brains. What would happen if we removed a significant amount of literature from the classroom and replaced it with nonfiction? Why?

3. What does reading nonfiction teach us that fiction can't? In her article, Sara Mosle makes a strong case that reading nonfiction can help students become better writers. Another study found that reading nonfiction also enhances reading skills. What other advantages can you think of for reading nonfiction texts in the classroom?

4. How can schools find engaging reading - both fiction and nonfiction - to engage all students in meeting the Common Core Standards?

How can schools go about finding pieces that connect to all students' lives so that students care about reading and learning from them? Should schools ensure that growing populations of minorities, like Latinos, are well represented in the books students read? Are there classics that should be taken off your school's reading list to make room for more contemporary favorites? And, finally, how might schools make classics (many of which, fiction or not, are part of the Common Core) less stodgy and more relevant?

5. Exactly what works should children read and why? For a long time, experts have been weighing in on what educated people should read, and college reading lists have been built around ideas like Harold's Bloom's "western canon" For almost as long, people have challenged notions of what makes a work canonical and sought to expand the canon to make it more inclusive of women and minorities. Take a look at these lists and, if possible, the official list for your school's English Language Arts program. Now here's the list of what the common core authors think you should read. What do you think? What would an ideal list consist of, in your opinion?

Once students have completed the reading and had time to thoughtfully consider the discussion questions and related readings, divide them into two groups. One group becomes the inner circle, and responsible for leading and sustaining the conversation, while the second group becomes the outer circle. The outer circle is responsible for taking notes, but may also contribute to the discussion. (An outer circle member might tap one of the inner circle on the shoulder and replace him or her, or the class could set up a microblogging backchannel for comments.)

Following discussion, ask students to craft persuasive letters citing evidence from the discussion to their school's administration to share their ideas about how to best approach implementing the Common Core reading standards.

Going Further | As Ms. Mosle notes, "What schools really need isn't more nonfiction but better nonfiction, especially that which provides good models for student writing. Most students could use greater familiarity with what newspaper, magazine and book editors call 'narrative nonfiction': writing that tells a factual story, sometimes even a personal one, but also makes an argument and conveys information in vivid, effective ways."

Show (or play) students an example of narrative nonfiction (select an essay from those Web sites curated below or from your own collection) and discuss it together. Use this piece to explore how good narrative nonfiction can both feed academic success and nourish the soul. Then, tell students that you'd like each of them to find a piece of narrative nonfiction that they think would enrich the curriculum (in English or any other discipline) by reflecting who they are and what perspective they bring to the canon (and the classroom).

Ms. Mosle mentions these places to find nonfiction:

Here are some more sources:

And here are some places to find great nonfiction (and ideas for what to do with it) on The Learning Network:

Have students choose a piece, then answer these questions: What interests you about this work? What might you gain from it that is different from what you might gain by reading a work of fiction - even one on the same topic? What perspective does it bring that might otherwise be missing in the classroom? What do you hope to gain from reading it? Finally, students should write persuasive letters advocating for their piece's inclusion in the curriculum.

Other ways to broaden the canon with nonfiction (reprinted from a 2010 lesson on nonfiction created before the era of the Common Core):

1. Complement curriculum in any subject with related New York Times articles to engage readers, offer models for writing and put ideas into historical or current context.

2. Students play with the idea of genre by adapting a work of nonfiction as fiction. The adaptation by Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze of Susan Orlean's nonfiction book "The Orchid Thief" into the fictional film "Adaptation" is one example. Encourage students to think creatively about how to craft such an adaptation and make it work, including choosing an appropriate fiction genre. They append to their finished work a note about the differences between the genres and the artistic decisions they made.

3. Create book clubs around a theme in the curriculum, say coming of age or cultural identity, and offer students a choice of nonfiction texts to read. This can be done as a self-contained unit or in conjunction with a work of fiction related to the same theme.

4. Begin a "book in common" program at your school. Create a rotation of disciplines and invite teachers in each to suggest a nonfiction title each year to serve as the book in common. Every member of the school community reads the book and shares a common experience. This approach helps students see that reading goes beyond English class and offers possibilities for readers whose passions might lie outside the canon.

5. Involve teachers from across the curriculum in planning summer reading experiences and creating summer reading lists to ensure they offer students nonfiction options and reflect the breadth of your school's curriculum.

Common Core ELA Anchor Standards, 6-12
Reading
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Writing
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach.

Speaking and Listening
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively and orally.
4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

Language
1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

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Amanda Christy Brown and Katherine Schulten

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Fiction or Nonfiction? Considering the Common Core's Emphasis on Informational Text

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In this lesson, students will reflect on their reading experiences in and out of school and discuss the roles that both nonfiction and fiction have played in their lives. After learning what the Common Core State Standards and its critics say, they discuss the question, "What should children read?"

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English Language Arts Standards " Introduction " Key Design Consideration | Common Core State Standards Initiative

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Although the Standards are divided into Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language strands for conceptual clarity, the processes of communication are closely connected, as reflected throughout this document. For example, Writing standard 9 requires that students be able to write about what they read.

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Informational text is a type of nonfiction that conveys information about the natural or social world. Why should you expose students to this genre early on? According to numerous studies, the experience offers great benefits for young readers.

1) Provides the key to success in later schooling
As they advance in grade, readers more frequently face content-area textbooks as well as informational passages on tests. Including more informational text in early schooling puts them in a better position to handle later reading and writing demands. Ideally, all students would read to learn and learn to read from the earliest days of school and throughout their school careers.

2) Prepares students to handle real-life reading
Nonfiction text is ubiquitous. From home to work, studies such as those conducted by Venezky (1982) and Smith (2000) show that adults read a great deal of nonfiction, including informational text. In addition, there is growing reliance upon Web-based material. To prepare students for this world, you need to be serious about teaching them to read and write informational text.

3) Appeals to readers' preferences
Are your reluctant readers truly turned off to books, or is the literature they usually encounter just not appealing? As Ron Jobe and Mary Dayton-Sakari describe in Info-kids: How to Use Nonfiction to Turn Reluctant Readers into Enthusiastic Learners, some students simply prefer information text. Using these resources in your classroom may improve attitudes toward reading and even serve as a catalyst for overall literacy development according to Caswell and Duke (1998).

4) Addresses students' questions and interests
Studies by U. Schiefele, A. Krapp, and A. Winteler (1992) illustrate that regardless of readers' text preferences, when the text topic interests them, their reading is likely to improve. Not surprisingly then, research by Guthrie, Van Meter, McCann, Wigfield, Bennett, Poundstone, et al. (1996) shows that approaches emphasizing reading for the purpose of addressing students' real questions tend to lead to higher achievement and motivation.

5) Builds knowledge of the natural and social world
Reading and listening to informational text can develop students' knowledge of the world, as shown in studies by Anderson and Guthrie (1999) as well as Duke and Kays (1998). According to other researchers (e.g., Wilson and Anderson, 1996), the acquisition of this background knowledge can help readers comprehend subsequent texts. Overall, the more background knowledge readers have, the stronger their comprehension skills are likely to be.

6) Boosts vocabulary and other kinds of literacy knowledge
According to researchers, parents and teachers focus more on vocabulary and literacy concepts when reading informational text aloud versus when they read narrative text (Mason, Peterman, Powell, and Kerr, 1989; Pellegrini, Perlmutter, Galda, and Brody, 1990). This extra attention from parents and teachers may make informational text particularly well suited for building students'word knowledge according to Dreher (2000) and Duke, Bennett-Armistead, and Roberts (2002; 2003). Learning to read diagrams, tables, and other graphical devices that are often part of informational text may develop visual literacy.

Adapted from Reading & Writing Informational Text in the Primary Grades by Nell K. Duke, Ed.D. and V. Susan Bennett-Armistead (Scholastic, 2003).
Research Sources
Anderson, E., & Guthrie, J. T. (1999, April). Motivating children to gain conceptual knowledge from text: The combination of science observation and interesting texts. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada.

Caswell, L. J., & Duke, N. K. (1998). Non-narratives as a catalyst for literacy development. Language Arts, 75 , 108-117.

Dreher, M. J. (2000). Fostering reading for learning. In L. Baker, M. J. Dreher, & J. Guthrie (Eds.), Engaging young readers: Promoting achievement and motivation (pp. 94-118). New York: Guilford.

Duke, N. K., Bennett-Armistead, V. S., & Roberts, E. M. (2002). Incorporating information text in the primary grades. In C. Roller (Ed.), Comprehensive reading instruction across grade levels (pp. 40-54). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Duke, N. K., Bennett-Armistead, V. S., & Roberts, E. M. (2003). Bridging the gap between learning to read and reading to learn. In D. M. Barone & L. M. Morrow (Eds.), Literacy and young children: Research-based practices (pp. 226-242). New York: Guilford Press. (Note: This is an only slightly different version of the chapter listed immediately above.)

Duke, N. K., & Kays, J. (1998). Can I say Once upon a time?: Kindergarten children developing knowledge of information book language. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 13, 295-318.

Guthrie, J. T., Van Meter, P., McCann, A. D., Wigfield, A., Bennett, L., Poundstone, et al. (1996). Growth in literacy engagement: Changes in motivations and strategies during concept-oriented reading instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 31, 306-332.

Jobe, R. & Dayton-Sakari, M. (2002). Info-kids: How to use nonfiction to turn reluctant readers into enthusiastic learners. Markham, Ontario, Canada: Pembroke.

Kamil, M. L. & Lane D. M. (1998). Researching the relation between technology and literacy: An agenda for the 21 st century. In D. R. Reinking, L. D. Labbo, M. McKenna, & R. Kieffer (Eds.), Literacy for the 21 st century: Technological transformations in a post-typographical world (pp. 235-251). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Mason, J. M., Peterman, C. L., Powell, B. M., & Kerr, B. M. (1989). Reading and writing attempts by kindergarteners after book reading by teaders, In J. M. Mason (Ed.) Reading and writing connections (pp. 105-120). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Pelligrini, A. D., Perlmutter, J. C., Galda, L., Brody, G. H. (1990). Joint reading between Head Start children and their mothers. Child Development, 61 , 443-453.

Smith, M. C. (2000). The real-world reading practices of adults. Journal of Literacy Research, 32 , 25-32.

Venezky, R. L. (1982) The origins of the present-day chasm between adult literacy needs and school literacy instruction. Visible Language, 16, 112-127.

Wilson, P. T., Anderson, R. C. (1986). What they don't know will hurt them: The role of prior knowledge in comprehension. In J. Oransano (Ed.), Reading comprehension from research to practice (pp. 31-48), Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.

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6 Reasons to Use Informational Text in Primary Grades | Scholastic

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Informational text is a type of nonfiction that conveys information about the natural or social world. Why should you expose students to this genre early on? According to numerous studies, the experience offers great benefits for young readers.

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This article is about the benefits of nonfiction text.

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December 2012/January 2013 | Volume 70 | Number 4
Common Core: Now What? Pages 80-82

Bryan Goodwin and Kirsten Miller

That's the finding from a national study sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). Sure, children are reading outside school-about 25 minutes a day, according to the study. But most of that reading appears to be fiction. Another study found that juvenile fiction outsells nonfiction by more than 4 to 1 (Milliot, 2012).

Even in classrooms, nonfiction appears to be in short supply. Duke (2000) conducted a study of 20 1st grade classrooms and found that informational texts constituted, on average, just 9.8 percent of texts in classroom libraries. The mean number of informational books per child was just 1.2 in low-income districts and a still relatively paltry 3.3 in high-income districts. On average, students spent just 3.6 minutes with informational text each day. Lower-income students fared worse, logging just 1.9 minutes of exposure to informational text (for example, during student reading, teacher read-alouds, or writing activities) during an average school day.

A New Emphasis on Nonfiction

The new Common Core language arts and literacy standards attempt to correct this imbalance by placing more emphasis on reading nonfiction-starting with an equal emphasis on literature and informational text in elementary school (Coleman & Pimental, 2012). At nearly all grade levels, students are expected to develop research skills across content areas with a strong focus on nonfiction, including literary nonfiction; essays; biographies and autobiographies; journals and technical manuals; and charts, graphs, and maps (Gewertz, 2012).

For many schools and districts, the Common Core standards' greater emphasis on text complexity, reading comprehension, and nonfiction likely represents a sea change. Porter, McMaken, Hwang, and Yang (2011) found low to moderate alignment-a range of 10 to 48 percent overlap-between states' existing language arts standards and the Common Core standards, with an average alignment of only 30 percent.

In light of this new emphasis, we should ask what the research says about the benefits of reading nonfiction. Is it really worth tearing kids away from The Hunger Games, the Harry Potter books, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid? After all, with multimedia consuming so much of students' time, shouldn't we be happy they're reading at all?

What Students Read Matters

For years, we've known that the amount of independent reading students do contributes to their reading skills. Students who read more tend to learn more vocabulary, become more proficient readers, find reading more enjoyable, and thus continue to read more and become ever better readers (Stanovich, 1986). Poor readers, on the other hand, tend to read less and lose ground. Over time, these differences create a widening gulf in learning. Students at the 90th percentile of reading volume (reading 21.1 minutes a day) encounter 1.8 million words a year, while students in the 10th percentile (reading less than one minute per day) read only 8,000 words a year (Cunningham & Stanovich, 2001).

Only in the past decade, however, have researchers begun to uncover that it's not just how much students read that matters, but also what they read. In particular, students need to read and comprehend informational texts as often-and as fluently-as they do narrative texts.

Traditional basal texts-which consist of largely narrative content-have come under increasing scrutiny. A comparison of an enrichment reading program and basal reading programs (Reis, Eckert, McCoach, Jacobs, & Coyne, 2008) found that the enrichment reading group scored significantly higher in oral reading fluency than did the basal reading group. Students in the enrichment reading group received instruction on thinking skills during teacher read-alouds; independently read self-selected books; participated in individualized reading conferences; and engaged in a variety of enrichment activities of their choice, including book discussion groups, creative writing, and other interest-based projects. The researchers concluded that providing "structured silent reading of self-selected challenging books, accompanied by supported, individualized reading instruction ... may be a promising way to increase reading fluency" (p. 312).

In the Common Core State Standards, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers (2010) cite a compelling research base supporting the shift to more complex, nonfiction texts. They note, for example, that students who are able to answer questions related to complex text have a high probability of earning a C or better in an introductory-level college course in U.S. history or psychology.

One reason reading nonfiction may be so important is that it helps students develop their background knowledge, which itself accounts for as much as 33 percent of the variance in student achievement (Marzano, 2000). Background knowledge becomes more crucial in the later elementary grades, as students begin to read more content-specific textbooks (Young, Moss, & Cornwell, 2007) that often include headings, graphs, charts, and other text elements not often found in the narrative fiction they encountered in the lower grades (Sanacore & Palumbo, 2009).

How Teaching Needs to Change

In response to the new standards, many teachers may need to shift how they approach both reading and writing. For example,

Book reports will ask students to analyze, not summarize. Presentations will be graded partly on how persuasively students express their ideas. History papers will require reading from multiple sources; the goal is to get students to see how beliefs and biases can influence the way different people describe the same events. (Santos, 2011)

One English teacher who taught a unit on the influence of media on teenagers said that she had previously had her students cite just one source for their papers; this year, she had them read multiple sources, including surveys, newspaper columns, and a 4,200-word magazine article by Nicholas Carr titled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" (Santos, 2011).

Teachers may find that this shift pays off in terms of student enthusiasm. Researchers have noted one other benefit of nonfiction reading: the potential to motivate young children to read by tapping into their interests (Caswell & Duke, 1998). This may, in fact, be the most important insight to be gleaned from research. Although students may continue to find fiction appealing, nonfiction doesn't have to be boring. On the contrary, allowing students to explore and pursue their interests within a broad array of informational texts can help them to see that the real world can often be just as surprising and intriguing as make-believe.

References

Caswell, L. J., & Duke, N. K. (1998). Non-narrative as a catalyst for literacy development. Language Arts, 75, 108-117.

Coleman, D., & Pimental, S. (2012). Revised publishers' criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and literacy, grades 3-12. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.

Cunningham, A. E., & Stanovich, K. E. (2001). What reading does for the mind. Journal of Direct Instruction, 1(2), 137-149.

Duke, N. K. (2000). 3.6 minutes per day: The scarcity of informational texts in first grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(2), 202-224.

Gewertz, C. (2012). Districts gird for added use of nonfiction. Education Week, 31(12), pp. 1, 14.

Marzano, R. J. (2000). A new era of school reform: Going where the research takes us. Aurora, CO: McREL.

Milliot, J. (2012, July 20). Industry sales pegged at $27.2 billion. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/53112-industry-sales-pegged-at-27-2-billion.html

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects, appendix A. Washington, DC: Authors. Retrieved from www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf

Porter, A., McMaken, J., Hwang, J., & Yang, R. (2011). Common Core standards: The new U.S. intended curriculum. Educational Researcher, 40, 103-116.

Reis, S. M., Eckert, R. D., McCoach, D. B., Jacobs, J. K., & Coyne, M. (2008). Using enrichment reading practices to increase reading, fluency, comprehension, and attitudes. Journal of Educational Research, 101, 299-315.

Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm

Sanacore, J., & Palumbo, A. (2009). Understanding the fourth-grade slump: Our point of view. The Educational Forum, 73, 67-74.

Santos, F. (2011, April 24). A trial run for school standards that encourages deeper thought. New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/nyregion/100-new-york-schools-try-common-core-approach.html

Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21(4), 360-406.

Young, T. A., Moss, B., & Cornwell, L. (2007). The classroom library: A place for nonfiction, nonfiction in its place. Reading Horizons, 48(1), 1-18.

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Nonfiction Reading Promotes Student Success - Educational Leadership

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December 2012/January 2013 | Volume 70 | Number 4 Common Core: Now What? Pages 80-82 Bryan Goodwin and Kirsten Miller That's the finding from a national study sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). Sure, children are reading outside school-about 25 minutes a day, according to the study.