Narrative for Informational Reading Strand:
The primary purpose of informational text (non-fiction) is to inform the reader about the natural or social world. Different from literaure (fiction), informational text does not utilize characters. In this strand students are expected to determine the topic (who or what the text is about). Students will also ask and answer questions about the topic of the text and retell details from informational text they hear.
Informational text offers a variety of structures to assist the readers in finding information quickly and efficiently. These might include a table of contents, bold or italicized text, glossaries, embedded definitions for specialized vocabulary, realistic illustrations of photos, captions and other labels, and graphs and charts.
Continued work on reading comprehension standards will heighten student abilities to read more age appropriate informational (non-fiction) text. Teachers use assessment and observation to determine if students are ready to progress to more challenging reading selections. Each child is unique, so be flexible, and trust your judgment as you assist your child. Together teachers and parents can help students make better choices when selecting books to read. Our youngest readers benefit from rereading text and text with high repetition. Although levels of reading determined through observation and assessment are valuable, caution is important in not confining children to a text level. Young readers can progress through levels of text quickly, but not all children progress at the same pace, which is expected. Increasing the frequency of reading is the highest predictor of success at any grade level. Building a child’s confidence, through successful experiences with reading, will encourage that desire to read more. Developing successful, life-long readers is our ultimate goal.
How to Help Your Child At Home with the Informational Text Strand:
- Ask questions about the topic being read (What does this book tell us about bears?)
- Go beyond just naming the topic, ask your child to tell you details about the topic
- Have your child retell the information on the topic they read about
- Re-read favorite books to build fluency, comprehension and confidence
- Discuss the informational topics you read about
- Read aloud frequently. Children love to listen to non-fiction stories that are more complicated than they can read on their own
- Bring attention to bold words, captions and glossaries that will help locate key facts or information in a text
- Read magazines and newspapers for information and entertainment - the pictures and current event topics offer a high-interest way for readers to attemp more difficult reading than they may in a book
- Read directions on packages, forms, games and recipes - this helps children see that we read many things to gain information
- Make regular visits to a public library to select informational (non-fiction) reading material
Calculation Method for Strands
Strands are larger groups of related standards. The Strand Grade is a calculation of all the related standards. Click on the standard name below each strand to access the learning targets and proficiency scales for each strand's related standards.