Key Shifts in ELA: Informational Text
The first of three major shifts in the English Language Arts/Literacy Framework is building knowledge through content-rich informational text. In grades K-5, the 2009 reading framework of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) recommend a 50/50 balance between literary and informational reading, based on the understanding that students need to gain knowledge about the world as they read. In grades 6–12, there is an even greater emphasis on informational reading, affording students more opportunity to build knowledge in various disciplines through reading, writing, and literacy skills while meeting the increased rigor of standards in their other subjects.
- ELA teachers, consider the current balance between fiction and nonfiction texts in a typical year of ELA lessons at your grade level. Reflect on the challenges you have come across when implementing the balance called for by the 2011 framework.
- Disciplinary teachers, reflect on the ways in which you see your students benefitting from this new focus on nonfiction texts.
