Foreword by Timothy Shanahan Acknowledgments Publisher's Acknowledgments Chapter 1. New Standards, Timeless Goals: How Informational Texts Can Help Make Every Child a Reader A Crash Course on the Common Core The College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading Naming the Skills Involved in Reading Nonfiction and Fiction Where Do We Go From Here? Chapter 2. Bringing Informational Texts Into Your Teaching Goal 1: Expose Children to More Complex Texts Goal 2: Pay More Attention to Oral Language Goal 3: Be More Intentional Goal 4: Differentiate Instruction Goal 5: Explicitly Teach From the Text Chapter 3. The How-To's of Selecting Stellar Texts The New Nonfiction Evaluating Format and Visual Appeal Evaluating Accuracy and Authenticity Evaluating Writing Style and Appropriateness for Young Children Evaluating Potential Content and Curricular Connections Chapter 4. The Top Ten: Focus on These High-Impact Comprehension Strategies Teaching High-Impact Skills and Strategies for Comprehending Informational Text Chapter 5. Demystifying What Makes Lessons Effective: The Lesson Plan Template The Overarching Goal of Informational Text Lessons: Rigorous Text Experiences for All Students The Four Lesson Steps Chapter 6. Informational Text Read-Aloud Lessons in Kindergarten The Common Core Standards for Informational Text Read-Alouds Using the Lesson Plan Template for the Read-Aloud Miss Webb's Kindergarten Class: A Sample Informational Text Read-Aloud Lesson Chapter 7. Informational Text Lessons in First Grade What's Different About First Grade? Mrs. Stocker's First Graders: A Sample Informational Text Guided Reading Lesson Chapter 8. Informational Text Lessons in Second Grade What About Students Who Are Not Reading With Grade-Level Proficiency? Mr. Morris's Second Graders: A Model Informational Text Guided Reading Lesson Chapter 9. Embedding Informational Texts in Units of Study An Interdisciplinary Focus Planning Units of Study: Who Does What? Selecting High-Quality Informational Literature for Units of Study Concluding Thoughts Appendix A. Checklist for Evaluating Informational Literature Appendix B. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Checklists Kindergarten CCSS Checklist First Grade CCSS Checklist Second Grade CCSS Checklist Appendix C. Lesson Plan Template Appendix D. Topical List of Informational Literature Appendix E. Annotated Bibliography of Children's Books References Index
Many educators, overwhelmed by the increasing demands of the profession and by the effort that the move to the Common Core Standards requires, continue to view fiction text as the primary source for both read aloud experiences and beginning reading instruction. This text helps all educators and prospective educators see nonfiction texts as an important component of all aspects of the PreK-2 curriculum and to provide them with practical, proven tools for selection and use of a wide variety of informational literature, including books, magazines, charts, graphs, digital media, and more. The authors examine why a balance of informational and narrative text is so important, and what recent research reveals about the value of using nonfiction text with young children. Those working most closely with children in kindergarten through second grade classrooms will find this to be a practical resource for understanding the Standards related to nonfiction text, and for selecting and using appropriate informational literature to build young children's background knowledge and their acquisition of foundational reading skills. Individuals responsible for professional development and for coaching teachers' implementation of the reading curriculum should be able to use this text in teacher book club discussion groups, and as the base for design of professional development sessions.