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The Everything Guide to Informational Texts, K-2
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The Everything Guide to Informational Texts, K-2
Best Texts, Best Practices

Foreword by Timothy Shanahan

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April 2014 | 296 pages | Corwin
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.
 
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

Supplements

There was a time when a book like this would have set out to try to persuade teachers. But, that’s not the issue anymore. . . . Teachers everywhere are asking themselves, ‘How do I teach with informational texts?’ Kathy Barclay and Laura Stewart provide a rich collection of practical answers to that question. Their book can--through its practical lessons, advice, and guidance--show teachers how to make informational text a joyful reality in the lives of our youngest scholars.”

Timothy Shanahan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago

“Kathy Barclay and Laura Stewart have done a marvelous job of providing teachers with specific suggestions for making the most of informational texts--from choosing the right texts for students, to practical and effective instructional strategies that will help students engage in close reading of these important texts, to an actual lesson format for teaching informational texts. Teaching informational texts can be a challenge for primary grade teachers. The Everything Guide to Informational Texts will help teachers and students meet that challenge!”

Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D., Kent State University
Kent State University

“The book is well written, well organized, and teacher friendly. It addresses a topic--the use of informational text with younger students--that has not been sufficiently addressed in guidelines associated with the CCSS.  It contains valuable lists of children’s nonfiction texts, annotated and organized by grade level. The suggested lesson format is illustrated concretely with sample lesson plans based on high-quality informational texts.”

Louisa Moats, Ed.D., Contributing Writer of the Common Core State Standards

“For K-2 teachers eager to select and teach from ‘informational texts of substance,’ Barclay and Stewart offer much guidance. With keen insight, they also direct our pedagogical attention to the oft-overlooked, but tremendously powerful, text complexity essentials--oral language development, read aloud, and shared reading.”

Jan Miller Burkins, Author of Preventing Misguided Reading

For instructors

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