In this article, I showcase an informational text reading comprehension unit that centers on text features commonly found in science textbooks. I taught this unit to a sixth-grade class and highlighted the work samples of three focal students here. The overarching question that guided this work was as follows: How can I focus my instruction on…

Immersion into fiction is associated with many educational and social benefits. The current study compared read-alouds of a historical fiction novel and a nonfiction textbook to determine whether differences were observed in student's transportation, content learning, and socio-emotional development. In all, 41 students between the ages of 9 and…

Science texts tend to privilege the voices, perspectives, and practices of White males (e.g., Ford, 2006), reinforcing widely-held perceptions of scientists as White men. This narrow portrayal of who "does science" discourages BIPOC or female students from building a science identity (Archer et al., 2015), with many such students also…

An examination of school reading texts and their adjustment--or lack of it--to changing life styles. (MM)

Presents a discussion, almost a debate, about using trade books in science teaching. Suggests that teachers should exercise caution in selecting trade books for their science classes, not simply default to trade books just because they and their students might be more comfortable with this form of literature than with science texts. (SG)

Using literature in science instruction has the potential to increase student motivation and to improve student achievement in both literacy and science. The process of identifying high-quality picture books, however, can be challenging and time consuming for teachers. The authors identified 74 science-based picture books from the annual Teachers'…

The face of content area literacy instruction is changing. Once associated exclusively with middle and high school instruction, today educators are directing their attention to the importance of encouraging content area literacy instruction at even the earliest levels. This article recommends using an array of text types to link content learning…

Concludes that teachers pick and choose when it comes to using activities suggested by teachers' manuals. Reviews what they do and do not use. (FL)

Reports that, as a group, elementary school teachers in one large school district felt that they must teach beyond the basic textbook to enable gifted students to reach their potential. (FL)