Science, history, and literature use text in different ways to create and communicate meaning. Literacy experts Cynthia and Timothy Shanahan say that informational texts used in the elementary grades should represent a wide range of text types (biography, scientific explanation, letter, speech), modalities (picture, map, graph/chart or prose, online or in print), and purposes (to explain/inform, entertain, or argue).
This study of first and second graders looked at teacher-led read alouds as a way to introduce science concepts. Results suggest that using multiple text sources gave students more time to build a mental representation of important ideas and is an important instructional approach.
It’s a great time for children’s nonfiction! In recent years, these books have evolved into five distinct categories. Learn more about the characteristics of traditional nonfiction, browse-able nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, expository literature, and active nonfiction.
With this cooperative learning strategy, each student has a chance to become the expert in a topic and share their knowledge. Go inside Cathy Doyle's second grade classroom in Evanston, Illinois to observe her students use the jigsaw strategy to understand the topic of gardening more deeply and share what they have learned.
Keeping a science notebook encourages students to record and reflect on inquiry-based observations, activities, investigations, and experiments. Science notebooks are also an excellent way for students to communicate their understanding of science concepts, and for teachers to provide students with feedback.
This article presents a developmental framework of informational writing developed from a study of children's writing in K-5 classrooms. See examples of children's compositions at each developmental level, and learn how to use this continuum to support increasingly more mature forms of informational text.
The Vocabulary of Science Science learning involves lots of new vocabulary words. Focusing on root words, prefixes and suffixes can help your child learn new science words more quickly and become a word detective! [Tips in English and Spanish]
Recording Observations: Journals and Field Notes Science and math explorations give your growing reader a chance to strengthen observation and writing skills by keeping a special journal to fill with sketches, notes, and graphs. Try these ideas to get your child started. [Tips in English and Spanish] Find more tip sheets here: Growing Readers: Science and Math Activities
Find more resources for parents and educators in our STEM & Literacy section >
And browse our STEM-themed topics matched with recommended books, hands-on activities, apps, and educational websites at Start with a Book >
Author studies help students develop their reading, writing, research, and critical thinking skills as well as establish a stronger community of readers. Author studies can expose kids to different literary voices and styles and are easily integrated across the curriculum. And they’re fun! Get started planning a classroom project using our step-by-step guide. We’ve also included a sample author study featuring author and illustrator Patricia Polacco.
Hopkinson's vivid picture books about history shine a light on the role of women and girls. In our interview Hopkinson discusses her mission to make history come alive for students, her meticulous attention to historical details, and her love of sharing good books with her own children.
What makes a character strong or heroic? Join authors Jeannine Atkins, Heather Lang, Katherine Paterson, and Rita Williams-Garcia along with artist Ekua Holmes (winner of the 2018 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Out of Wonder) for an insightful, spirited conversation! You’ll also find resource guides for books by each author as well as links to picture books and nonfiction about amazing girls and women.
A dozen wonderful picture books where you’ll meet early activists who fought for women’s right to vote, four African American women who helped NASA launch astronauts into space, the First Lady of Jazz, a 19th century botanist who published the first photography book, the first bilingual storyteller/librarian, and other real-life heroes!
Related:
Find many more titles for Women’s History Month on Book Finder
Children learn when they make connections between what they hear and what they know. One way parents can help make these connections is called a think aloud, where you talk through your thoughts as you read. Here are three ways to use think alouds, with examples from some of our favorite kids' books. [In English and Spanish]
Attention all singers, rappers, horn blowers, pipers, pickers, percussionists, and piano players! March is Music in Our Schools Month – and we’ve got a joyful collection of picture books (fiction and nonfiction), hands-on activities, and apps to help kids celebrate and learn all about music.
Heading off to kindergarten is a big event for all kids and parents. For young children who have struggled socially or academically during preschool, it is a transition that needs careful planning and attention. Here are some tips on how to help your child make a successful move to kindergarten. [Tips in English and Spanish]
Explore two ways you can help your child begin to develop information literacy: learning to tell the difference between fact and opinion, and figuring out if a source of information is reliable. [Tips in English and Spanish]
Schools and teachers play an essential role in identifying students with reading difficulties, including dyslexia. This article offers a 5-step framework for identifying reading difficulties and determining if a student is eligible for special education services under IDEA — including the role of RTI, cognitive processing tests, and other statewide assessments and curriculum-based measures.
Research has identified three important ways reading and writing are connected — and all three deserve a place in the curriculum. Too many principals think that ignoring and even discouraging writing frees up time better devoted to higher reading scores. Too many teachers are anxious about writing because of the limited preparation they receive in this area. But having kids writing every day — in any and all of the ways described in this blog post — is a good idea. Not doing so leaves reading achievement points on the table.
Children's magazines offer loads of high-interest content to supplement instruction – across all subject areas. Students can sample different genres, from informational to poetry, in visually rich and engaging formats. Find out how you can use magazines in whole-class literacy instruction and as a springboard for writing. You’ll also find tips on building a great classroom magazine library that kids will visit again and again.
“I think the best thing educators and parents can do for their kids is to just provide opportunities for their children's creative outlets. And if you don't have art classes nearby, all you need is paper and pens and pencils.”
Reading Rockets is a national educational service of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital. The goal of the project is to provide information on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. Reading Rockets is supported in part by the Poses Family Foundation and Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes.
Send your questions, comments, or suggestions to readingrockets@weta.org. Our mailing address is WETA/Reading Rockets, 2775 S. Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22206. We look forward to hearing from you!
