I was one of those students who had all A’s grades 1-3 and had the hardest time as soon as I got to the 4th grade. I still had good grades, but I began to fall behind in reading. The cause of the problem had everything to do with reading comprehension. I never even really thought about the problem or how it could be corrected for those who had the same problem I did until I read this article. It makes so much sense to start with expository text rather than springing it on 4th graders. I also like the idea of using other texts such as newspapers and internet materials rather than the popular textbook for informational reading. It will definitely take some extra time in learning content knowledge and going through what will be appropriate for the students and the age group. I also think that teachers are going to have to work together to find a way to scaffold the use of informational texts and find ways to teach students to use it.
Students are being asked to think critically at a younger age every year. Critical thinking questions need take practice to answer and have to be taught at some point. What better way to gain more knowledge and vocabulary than to use informational texts at a young age. I think this is definitely something that should be researched further and implemented in order for students to be the best student they can be as they move up.
Would expository texts serve as supplemental texts or as the primary textbooks in the younger grades?
If the use of the computer for these informational resources is going to be implemented, how much time is going to be taken away teaching how to use the computer?
