Informational Texts and the Common Core

Jack, Gordon

CA-Effects of Common Core

Shanahan, T. (2013, November). You want me to read what?! Educational Leadership 71(3). 10-15. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov13/vol71/num03/You-Want-Me-to-Read-What%C2%A2!.aspx

The new Common Core Standards place greater emphasis on informational texts, but what are these exactly?  The Standards themselves describe them using different terminology. In the Writing standards, they are described as texts “to increase readers’ knowledge of a subject, to help readers better understand a procedure or process, or to provide readers with an enhanced comprehension of a concept (NGA & CCSSO, 2010, p. 23) The Reading standards include these texts, but also make mention of  “variant narrative and argumentative texts” (p. 11).  If informational texts include non-fiction narrative texts, such as memoirs and biographies, will students learn the skills they need in order to comprehend informational text structures found in essays, speeches, and historical, scientific, technical, or economic accounts?  Shanahan stresses the need for a “varied diet” of text across the curriculum, not just in English classes, to prepare students for the type of reading they will do post graduation.

Evaluation

Many librarians are going to be asked to supplement existing curriculum with these informational texts, so it’s important to have an understanding of how these texts are similar and different from general non-fiction.  While biographies and memoirs are important types of reading for students to be exposed to, they do not substitute for the kinds of texts such as Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”, the U.S. Constitution, Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Toi, Tears, and Sweat” speech, that the Common Core recommends.

Another interesting point the author makes is that the shift towards greater inclusion of informational texts in high school curriculum is not based on research that these kinds of texts will improve student achievement.  Rather, the recommendations come from more “commonsense notions” that informational texts are read more in college and in the workplace and require a different set of cognitive skills than reading literary texts (p. 12).

Work Cited

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved fromwww.corestandards.org/assets/ELA%20Standards.pdf