Balancing Text Types
Day 1 Session 5
Elementary
CCSS: PK-5
Range and Content of Reading
“students
must read widely and deeply from
among a broad range of high-quality,
increasingly challenging
literary and informational texts.
The purpose...is for students to gain
literary, cultural and
foundational content knowledge
in order to be better readers in
all content areas.”(CCSS p. 10)
CCSS considerations of our ‘tools’
Texts need to represent a wide variety of:
•
•
•
•
Perspectives
Cultures and Ethnicities
Time Periods
Inclusion of non-traditional text,
non-print media, and multi-media
Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science and Technical Subjects PK-5
•
•
Are Integrated in the ELA Standards
Literacy instruction should not take place at
the expense of other content areas:
Social Studies, Science, The Arts, etc.
Texts are tools for integration with
the other content areas
English Language Arts
Grades
PK-5
Literacy in
History/Social
Studies, Science, and
Technical Subjects
“The K-5 standards include expectations for reading,
writing, speaking, listening, and language applicable to
a range of subjects, including but not limited to ELA.”
The same text in PreK-5 Classrooms
can be used for different purposes
Tool vs. Purpose
Reading/ELA
 Teach reading skills
 How to become a proficient
reader
Social Studies/
Science/Technical Subjects
Teach content
 How to think like a Historian,
Scientist, etc.
 Apply reading skills
An Example of ELA and
Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and
Technical Subjects
Integration PK-5
RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a
series of historical events, scientific ideas
or concepts, or steps in technical
procedures in a text.
Balance of Text Structure
Recommendations from NAEP (2009)
Percent of Text Structure Type by Grade
*These percentages include texts read in all classes
(i.e. ELA, Social Studies, Science, etc.)
Grade
% Literary Text
% Informational
Text
4
50*
50*
8
45*
55*
12
30*
70*
The CCSS and text types: Literature

Narrative text structure

Encompasses a wide variety of genres
The CCSS and Text Types: Informational Text
“Part of the motivation behind the
interdisciplinary approach to literacy
suggested by the Standards is extensive
research establishing the need for college
and career ready students to be proficient
in reading complex informational text
independently in a variety of content
areas.” (CCSS p. 4)
The CCSS and Text Types: Informational Text
Literary non-fiction:
 Biographies, Autobiographies, Memoirs
 Primary source documents: speeches, letters,
journalism
Expository text structure:
 information/technical books about history, social
studies, science, and the arts
Functional text:
 forms, procedural, directions and information
displayed in graphs, charts, or maps
‘Teachers need to approach the CCSS not in terms of the
broad category “informational text” but in terms of
the specific types of text named within that.’
Why?
Some of the texts have very different purposes
• Some have different features
• They require different strategies and
processes
• Not clear that proficiency with one will lead
to proficiency with another
Duke & Roberts, 2010