Informational texts are an integral piece of ALL classrooms. In my opinion, they are the most important type of texts because they have the most real-world application.
In saying this, I believe that informational texts need to be introduced at a younger age. As a middle school English Language Arts teacher, I find that my students struggle with reading informational texts and find them "boring." I believe this is because the majority of their elementary education revolved around fiction texts. Although I am not an elementary certified teacher, I believe there is a solution to this. Although students need basic skills that can be easily taught through pattern books, these pattern books can be easily supplemented with informational texts and thematic units. For example, a theme could be "Animals on the Land" where all of the stories and informational texts revolve around different types of animals. One story could be, "The Hungry Caterpillar." When reading this story, the basic comprehension, spelling, and writing skills can be taught. Then, informational texts about caterpillars and butterflies could be supplemented throughout to build background knowledge.
Our students need to know how to read and understand informational texts because it is critical to the real world. Students will be need to interpret this information and use it as needed. I believe they will find it less boring if they can connect to it and truly understand how to read it.
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