Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum

Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum Allison Burka Vanderbilt University Master’s Capstone Essay 3/1/2012 Table of Contents Abstract Note to Capstone Committee Introduction The “Explosion” of Informational Trade Books Strategies to Maximize the Benefits of Expository Texts for Young Readers 16 The Development of Expository Textual and Visual Assessment Tools 24 Conclusion: Looking to the Future of Expository Texts in the “Information Age” Classroom 26 References 28 Abstract Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum Today’s students live in an “Information Age,” surrounded by texts (e.g emails, websites and newspapers) that convey vast amounts of information, therefore the ability to interpret informational texts is critically important to academic success (Duke & Kays, 1998) Sadly, unacceptably large numbers of American students lack the skills necessary to read and write informational texts proficiently This is in large part due to existing claims that children are unable to comprehend expository texts at a young age (Duke, 1998) However, these claims are being challenged and according to current researchers, young children can begin to read to learn and build a foundation that is then refined throughout their schooling experience (Guillaume, 1998) The hope is that by presenting children with informational texts at a younger age, students will be better equipped to engage in informational reading and writing later in life, thus closing the “expository reading gap” (Duke, 1998) Furthermore, incorporating expository texts into the curriculum not only helps “mitigate” potential problems in later schooling, expository texts have also been found to have many other profound benefits for young children including motivation to read (Caswell & Duke, 1998) With the growing realization of the importance of introducing students to expository texts at a young age coupled with the motivational benefits for young students, there has been an “explosion” of informational trade books available to educators in recent years However, despite this growth, teachers have received little guidance in learning effective ways of selecting high quality books for classroom libraries Therefore, this paper investigates and critiques suggested frameworks currently used by teachers when selecting informational trade books While the selection of high quality informational trade books is the first step in increasing students’ exposure to expository texts, this paper also explores strategies that maximize the benefits of expository texts for young readers Finally, this paper addresses the need for early expository textual and visual assessment tools that can be easily administered, in order to help teachers better meet the needs of their students Note to the Capstone Committee This Capstone essay in an extension of an inquiry project for EDUC 3390 The inquiry paper titled, “Pathways to Expository Texts,” investigated the importance of teaching students, Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum starting at the preschool age, strategies to help comprehend expository texts based on current research It analyzed past studies that suggest narrative texts are more suitable for young children and compared these studies with more current and contrasting studies, which argue that the existing evidence does not support this belief Current evidence compellingly suggests that expository texts be incorporated into academic curricula beginning at a young age and supports the push for expository texts to gain a larger presence in elementary school classrooms The four areas of professional knowledge are incorporated throughout this Capstone essay The introductory section discusses the importance based on current research, of introducing expository texts into the classroom beginning at an early age This section addresses the learning environment of students Curriculum is addressed in the research pertaining to the selection of high quality informational trade books for the classroom The portion of the essay that reviews and critiques instructional strategies to help students comprehend expository texts addresses the area of strategy instruction as well as the learner Finally, this essay addresses the importance of assessment in exploring the development of early expository textual and visual assessment tools Throughout this paper, expository/information texts (I will use these terms interchangeably) are defined as texts that communicate information, include factual content, use timeless verb constructions, generic noun constructions, technical vocabulary, classificatory and definitional material, comparative/contrastive, problem/solution, cause/effect text structures, and graphical elements such as diagrams and maps (Duke, 2000) Introduction As we look to the future of the American schooling system, we must consider what values educators promote, and how we can positively develop these values in order to guide students effectively into the “Information Age.” Today’s students live in an “Information Age,” surrounded by texts (e.g emails, websites and newspapers) that convey vast amounts of information, therefore the ability to interpret these texts is critically important to academic Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum success (Duke & Kays, 1998) Sadly, unacceptably large numbers of American students lack the skills necessary to read and write informational texts proficiently These unprepared students struggle to make sense of “real world information” (Duke, 2010) In 2001, a study administered by the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS), found that of the student populations of the 35 nations studied, American ten year olds exhibited the largest gap between their ability to read narrative texts versus informational texts (Duke, 1998) Educational researchers are beginning to explore the reasons for this troubling gap and how the American schooling system can work to overcome this deficiency When reflecting upon past studies, it is apparent that expository texts have been pejoratively stereotyped as “cold and passive” and unfit for children of young ages (Duke, 2000) There is a widely held, but largely unsubstantiated, belief that development progresses from story forms to other forms and that this progression will inhibit young children’s ability to comprehend expository text structures (Duke & Kays, 1998) Therefore, educators must wait until children are older to use expository texts because they are simply too difficult and developmentally inappropriate (Duke, 2010) In 2001, Donovan and Smolkin found that many educators still prefer narrative texts as they not feel comfortable teaching expository textual structures and assume that informational texts are “boring” and “too complicated” for young students (Donovan & Smolkin, 2001) Very little research exists to support this assumption, and some researchers argue that young children can in fact interpret and comprehend expository texts successfully when given the opportunity (Duke, 2003) In the future, it is imperative that the notion of narrative as primary is dispelled in order to fully guide students into the 21st century Existing claims that children are unable to comprehend expository texts at a young age are being challenged (Duke, 1998) While some theorists and researchers believe that students must be able to read fluently and with automaticity before focusing on the development of comprehension skills (Adams, 2004), there are numerous studies that validate the use of expository texts at a younger age (e.g., Richgels, 2002; Duke & Kays, 1998; Pappas, 1993) These studies support the conclusion that “learning to read and reading to learn” should happen simultaneously (Guillame, 1998, p 476) According to these researchers, young children can begin to read to learn and build a foundation that is then refined throughout their schooling experience (Guillaume, 1998) The hope is that by presenting children with informational texts at a younger age and teaching these students to comprehend expository text and visual structures, students will be better equipped to engage in informational reading and writing later in life, thus closing the “expository reading gap” (Duke, 1998) Furthermore, incorporating expository texts into the curriculum not only helps “mitigate” potential problems in later schooling (Caswell & Duke, 1998), expository texts have also been found to have many other profound benefits for young children  One such benefit is high interest in texts, which increases students’ motivation to read Rosenblatt’s “transactional theory” highlights the importance of having a connection with the text What the reader brings to the text highly influences what they will take away Therefore, there needs to be a wider range of texts available in classroom libraries (Sanacore &Palumbo, 2009) If particular children have more of a connection to expository texts, it is essential that they are not denied access to these texts (Mills, Stephens, O’Keef, & Waugh, 2004) The “Explosion” of Informational Trade Books With the growing realization of the importance of introducing students to expository texts at a younger age coupled with the motivational benefits for young students, there has been an Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum “explosion” of informational trade books available to educators in recent years (Gill, 2009) These informational trade books can help educators include clearly written exposition in their classrooms that are suitable for even the youngest reader (Moss, Leone, & Dipillo, 1997) However, with the increased availability of informational texts, educators must become more knowledgeable of what is available and begin to include these texts in classroom libraries (Banford, Kristo, & Lyon, 2002) In 2000, researchers Guthrie, Schafer, Von Secker, and Alban found that with a larger presence of informational trade books in the classroom, greater gains were made by students on statewide reading, math, and science proficiency exams (Young & Moss, 2006) It is also recommended that in order to increase exposure to informational texts, these trade books need to be prominently displayed throughout the classroom and fill about half of a classroom library (this percentage should increase in the upper grades) (Young, Moss, & Cornwell, 2007) While this percentage may seem overwhelming to teachers creating their own classroom libraries, Young and Moss recommends that teachers work towards this goal gradually and to focus on selecting books for quality rather than focusing on quantity (Young & Moss, 2006) Despite the growth of informational trade book publishing, teachers have received little guidance in learning effective ways of selecting high quality books for their classroom libraries Even when teachers are given sets of criteria to judge the quality of informational trade books, the breadth of the criteria can often seem “daunting,” and many teachers lack the necessary content knowledge to ease this process Often informational trade books are chosen solely based on availability in school libraries or on blanket recommendations Therefore, there needs to be a quick, easy, and valid way for teachers to make selections of quality informational trade books for their classroom libraries (Atkinson, Matusevich, & Huber, 2009) Harvey and Goudvis (2007) suggest referring to professional organizations that publish lists of honored informational texts such as the Washington Post Annual Children’s Book Guild for Nonfiction Award, Robert F Silbert Informational Book Award, Orbitus Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, ALA’s Notable Children’s Book list, and the National Science Teachers Association and the Children’s Book Council’s Outstanding Science Trade Books For Students list (Atiknson, Matusevich, Huber, 2009) Many guides have been published in recent years to help teachers sift through the wide array of informational trade books available The professional organizations listed above use these guides in their own selection process in order to determine accuracy, organization, design and style However, which of these guides are the most effective? Is there a way to combine the best suggestions from each guide? Furthermore many online booklists fail to identify their sources and process of book selection These lists are also often long and overwhelming (Atkinson, et al, 2009) Nonetheless, there are many high caliber guides available for teachers that have been created by respected professionals and professional organizations in the literacy field (Atkinson, et al, 2009; Bamford & Kristo, 2000; Donovan & Smolkin, 2002; Gill 2009; Kiefer & Tyson, 2010; Rice, 2002; Stephens, 2008) While many of these guides use different formats, ask different types of questions, and focus on different criteria such as analyzing for theoretical rationale versus quality (Atkinson, et al, 2009), all of the guides stress the importance of assessing content accuracy (Rice, 2002) For instance, Gill emphasizes that it is essential to analyze the author’s research process, consultants listed, supplemental materials such as glossaries, illustrations that depict the text, and other credits and references (Gill, 2009) 10 been found that students are better prepared to comprehend material through critical reading and an understanding of textual and procedural features of the text (Duke & Pearson, 2002) In the move to increase students’ familiarity with informational texts, early exposure is paramount Venezky (1982) writes, “the literacy needs of the adult center primarily on obtaining information from nonfictional texts,” (Moss, 2005, p 50) Therefore, by increasing early exposure to informational texts, teachers will be able to help students build the foundation of skills that they will need later in life Additionally, teaching students the value of being able to both understand informational texts and evaluate them for their “truth value” and relevance is a crucial skill needed to succeed in the “Information Age” (Moss, 2005) Researchers such as Duke, feel that this is done through not only early exposure, but through authentic learning experiences with expository texts (Moss, 2005) Students are also motivated by these authentic experiences as they are able to, “search for answers to questions about their world,” (Palmer & Stewart, 2005, p 427) As educators look to current research to help guide their teaching of expository texts, they will find that there is still much to learn surrounding the research of effective informational instructional practices (Hall & Sabey, 2007) Most of the research surrounding expository texts up to this point have focused on the need to increase students’ exposure to expository texts (Caswell & Duke, 1998; Duke, 2000; Duke & Kays, 1998; Moss, 1997; Pappas 1993) Nevertheless, some research studies have begun to address the issue of identifying effective expository instructional practices (Hall, Sabey, & McClellen, 2005; Moss, 2004; Palmer & Stewart, 2003; Williams, Hall, Lauer, Stafford, DeSisto, & deCani, 2005) Teachers also have the benefit of being able to reference “How-To” texts created by literacy experts such as Stead, Harvey, Mooney, Parkes, and Hoyt (Stead, 2002; Harvey, 1998; Hoyt, Monney, & Parkes, 2003; 16 Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum Hoyt 2002) Palmer and Stewart have even created an instructional model for teachers to use in order to organize and synthesize the current most effective instructional practices For teachers who are unsure of ways to implement informational text instruction in their classrooms, using a framework such as this is a helpful organizational tool Palmer and Stewart (2005) organize instructional practices into a three model framework The three models include, “ (1) teacher-directed instruction, (2) scaffolded students investigation, and (3) independent student investigation,” (Palmer & Stewart, 2005, p 427) This framework is quite effective as it allows teachers to use many of the suggested instructional practices and apply them in an easy to follow structure For instance, during “teacher-directed instruction,” one repeatedly proven effective strategy that can be applied with young students is the use of teacher led read-alouds where students engage in listening and talking Read-alouds are an effective classroom strategy when promoting familiarity with different types of texts Students learn new vocabulary, activate their background knowledge, and discover differences in genre specific features through explicit teaching and discussion (Beck, McKeown, 2001) Moss (2003) notes that reading aloud is the, “simplest, least expensive, most often recommended practice to improve student reading achievement,” (Saul & Dieckmen, 2005, p 510) Smolkin and Donovan investigated the use of informational read-alouds and student responses in a study that compared and contrasted informational books and narrative fiction stories When analyzing the results of the study, it was found that 421 comprehension comments were made during informational book read-alouds while only 188 comments were made during read-alouds of fiction Smolkin and Donovan attribute this difference to the fact that most informational books are longer and that they promote more meaning-seeking and meaningmaking efforts (Donovan & Smolkin, 2001) The teacher observed in the study addressed the 17 “link within and between sentences, summarizing, creation of mental imagery and analogies, generation of hypothesis, and fix-up strategies” as part of her informational read aloud sessions (Donovan & Smolkin, 2001, p 115) Donovan and Smolkin conclude that while all genres allow for differing comprehension “orientations”, informational book read-alouds allow young and non-literate children to understand a variety of “written text comprehension principles” (Donovan & Smolkin, 2001, p 115) Duke and Smolkin also suggest that when introducing informational trade books to students during read-alouds, it is important to direct students’ attention towards illustrations/photographs, diagrams and linguistic features (cohesion, tense, vocabulary, and syntax) found within the informational books The features that students must analyze and comprehend in informational trade books are quite different than the visuals students are more accustomed to interpreting in narrative texts Therefore, these features including photographs, charts, tables, and linguistic features, must be explicitly taught to help guide students’ comprehension of expository texts For instance, in a study completed by Donovan and Smolkin (2000), several effective strategies that teachers used during informational read-alouds were identified These strategies included establishing links within and between sentences, pulling ideas together, examining text structure, activating prior knowledge, creating mental imagery, and questioning the author (Donovan & Smolkin, 2000) Gill discusses the read-aloud strategy in more detail as she feels that many teachers are told that explicit teaching of the structural features is essential, however, they are still unsure what this actually looks like in practice Pappas found that teachers prefer the use of stories during read-alouds and as one teachers puts it, “It’s real hard to read aloud without a story line,” (Donovan & Smolkin, 2001) Therefore these teachers need more guidance in learning new and 18 Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum effective ways of sharing informational texts with their students Gill comments that casually referencing pictures and reading from top to bottom and front to back will not help students learn to comprehend the differing textual structures of expository texts These texts, “actually invite nonlinear, non-sequential exploration,” and teachers can demonstrate this through the use of read-alouds (Gill, 2009, p 266) For instance, teachers can draw students’ attention to the illustrations, captions, bolded text, author’s notes, headings, and diagrams, while also modeling appropriate comprehension strategies in context, such as setting a purpose for reading, questioning before, during, and after reading, visualizing, drawing inferences, and synthesizing while reading (Gill, 2009; Palmer & Stewart, 2005 Saul & Dieckman, 2) Teachers can model these comprehension strategies using the “High 5!” strategy The “High 5!” strategy specifically incorporates five best practices of comprehension including activating background knowledge, questioning, analyzing text structure, creating mental images, and summarizing (Dymock & Nicholson, 2010) Additionally, pairing informational trade books with storybooks on the same subject can help students distinguish fact from fiction, (Richgels, 2002) The second model that Palmer and Stewart suggest is “scaffolded student investigation.” Fortunately, this type of instruction can be applied when working with early elementary students through the use of guided reading groups and other forms of small group instruction Strategies learned during large group read-alouds and shared reading can be applied in this small group setting Mooney believes that, “guided reading provides students with an opportunity to understand the purpose as well as the nature of features in informational text,” (Mooney, 2003, p 37) Hoyt comments that when the guided reading format is applied, students are provided the explicit support they need in, “reading to learn, while they are learning to read,” (Hoyt, 2003, p 62) Specific strategies that teachers can use during guided reading of informational texts 19 include, “scaffolding content-based vocabulary and language before reading, previewing text forms and structures before reading, developing strategies specific to reading informational texts, teaching to the specific needs of the groups members, and seeing students as individuals,” (Hoyt, 2003, pg 62) Furthermore, guided reading groups promote peer interaction and discussion, which ultimately helps to increase student comprehension (Palmer & Stewart, 2005) Rereading and retelling strategies are also easily taught within a small group guided reading context  Moss advocates that one way of incorporating high quality expository texts into classroom instruction is through the use of retellings Retellings are post-reading recalls of information remembered during readings or listenings of texts They are an effective precursor to summarization and other comprehension strategies (Duke & Pearson, 2002) Retellings help students recognize expository “text forms, text conventions, and the processes involved in text conventions” (Moss, 2004, p 712) Teachers are also able to gain insight into students’ thought processes by listening to oral retellings (Moss, 2004) Teachers must remember that in order for students to be successful at retelling expository texts, this strategy must be explicitly taught through teacher modeling (Moss, 2004) Hedin and Conderman also promote the practice of rereading sections of expository texts to boost student comprehension Teachers often advocate the idea that “good readers reread” (Hedin & Conderman, 2010, p 556) This comprehension strategy is especially effective when using expository texts For instance, students reread expository texts in order to problem solve and dissect main ideas, key terms, appositives, and text enhancements (Hedin & Conderman, 2010) Also during this small group instruction teachers can call students attention towards the interpretation of the visuals found in informational texts Often students believe that visuals and 20 Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum graphics are secondary to the text Additionally, when students not understand the function that graphics play, they are less likely to reference them (McTigue & Flowers, 2011) In order to prepare students for their future, it is important to not only help students read informational texts, but also be able to interpret pictures, graphics, and other visuals used in informational texts Visuals often add important information not found in texts Furthermore, informational books geared towards emergent readers often say more in the visuals than in the text Therefore, teachers must embed visual instruction within existing reading comprehension lessons McTigue and Flowers suggest that having students create their own visuals and diagrams to match texts is helpful because the creation and interpretation of graphics is an interrelated skill (MicTigue & Flowers, 2011) Dymock suggests using the CORE model (Connect, Organize, Reflect, and Extend), which also focuses on diagraming the text This model teaches students to activate background knowledge, determine the organization of the text, diagram the structure, reflect on the effectiveness of the text structure, and then extend through independent practice using new informational books (Dymock, 2005) Finally, after students have spent considerable time using the comprehension strategies taught during large group sessions and then again reinforced in small group lessons, teachers can begin using Palmer and Stewart’s third model, “independent student investigation.” This model is especially effective as it promotes authentic learning activities for students using expository texts For instance, teachers can assign students to investigate research topics of their choice Palmer and Stewart have found that by allowing students to pick their own self-selected topics, intrinsic motivation increases, thus keeping most students involved in the research process (Palmer & Stewart, 2005) It has also been found that by having students engage in authentic literacy learning experiences, students made major growth in their ability to comprehend and use 21 informational texts (Purcell-Gates, Duke, Martineau, 2007) Specific “how-to” guides have been developed by Harvey (1998) and Hoyt (2002) to help guide teachers through authentic investigation processes with their students It is also important to allow students time to read chosen informational texts independently Moss comments that reading widely on given topics independently can help promote engaged reading that ultimately increases achievement The more time students spend reading informational texts, the “greater their facility with this text type will be “(Moss, 2005 p 51) Researcher John Guthrie and his colleagues recently developed an instructional program called Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) The mission of this program is to “merge reading strategy instruction, conceptual knowledge in science, and support for student motivation” (Guthrie, 2005) A series of studies using CORI show that reading motivation has helped students, including low-achieving students, gain competence in informational reading and writing (Duke, 2010) One way that CORI has improved motivation is through exposing students to direct and authentic experiences For instance, in one class, students first observed hermit crabs, which in turn sparked an interest to want to learn more about these creatures The students then gathered information from different types of texts, interpreted the information, and communicated this information to their peers through writing and presentations Throughout this process, teachers guided their students by teaching them textual reading comprehension strategies (Liang & Dole, 2006) This section has introduced an instructional framework to help teachers more easily incorporate expository text instruction in their classrooms However, as mentioned previously, a big hurdle in increasing classroom exposure to expository text instruction will be to overcome teachers’ attitudes and hesitations towards using informational texts One way that has been 22 Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum suggested by Donovan and Smolkin to help teachers become more confident, is to address this issue with inservice teachers Currently, inservice teachers are only required to take at the most two science courses Perhaps if these student teachers were, “more fully informed” on the benefits of teaching with informational texts, they would be more open and willing to use these texts with their future students (Donovan & Smolkin, 2001) The Development of Expository Textual and Visual Assessment Tools While the research pertaining to effective strategies to use when teaching with expository texts is continuing to grow, a great need still remains for early expository textual and visual assessment tools that can be easily administered, in order to help teachers better meet the needs of their students Assessments designed for the purpose of testing preschoolers’ comprehension of text structures are currently being designed by the Development of the Early Expository Comprehension Assessment (EECA) While tests such as the Qualitative Reading Inventory- III (QRI-III) exist for elementary school children, they not test children on their ability to decode structures and signals Overall, the ability to assess children's’ knowledge of expository texts easily and quickly needs improvements (Hall, Markham, & Culatta, 2005) One suggestion that has been researched by Barbara Moss (2004) is the ability to assess students’ structural knowledge of expository texts through retellings She has even developed a “Richness of Retelling Scale” that analyzes students’ ability to, “include all main ideas and supporting details, sequence material properly, infer beyond the text, relate text to own life, understand text organization, summarize, give opinion of text and justify it, and ask additional questions” (Moss, 2004, p 717) Written recall is also used to assess students’ knowledge of expository textual features For instance, students’ writing is, “analyzed for the degree to which 23 readers use the same organizational pattern as the author” (Richgels, McGee, Lomax & Sheard, 1987, p 181) Teachers can also informally assess their students’ comprehension of expository texts during small group guided reading sessions Hoyt writes that because guided reading groups are fairly small, she is able to observe students closely while they interact with the text and apply strategies She is also able to determine whether a student is able to use pictures clues, ask questions of the content, and use informational features such as headings or captions (Hoyt, 2003) Currently, Duke and Bolt are developing an informational comprehension assessment for the primary grades titled, “Concepts of Comprehension Assessment” (COCA) They are in the process of completing reports on the validity and reliability of this assessment COCA allows teachers to assess their students’ informational comprehension three times throughout the school year COCA measures students’ process of comprehension rather than the product, and also determines students’ knowledge of textual features including table of contents, index, glossary, diagrams, labels, pronunciation guides, and graphics and illustrations used in informational texts Duke has also developed the “Informational Strategic Cloze Assessment (ISCA), which assesses students ability to make text-to-graphic connections This assessment is also in the process of gathering data on validity and reliability The assessments currently being developed and designed provides hope that educators will soon have ways to assess their students in an easy and quick fashion However, while waiting for these assessments to become available for use, teachers must continue to assess their students through observation notes and checklists in order to plan for the instruction that their students need 24 Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum Looking to the Future of Expository Texts in the “Information Age” Classroom As we look to the future of education, there is a strong emphasis being placed on student achievement and accountability through reforms such as No Child Left Behind and the Common Core State Standards Initiative Tests such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are being used to gather data on the educational progress of America’s students While many may argue that such initiatives and standardized testing are stifling American education, one positive aspect of these programs, is the push for informational text comprehension and proficiency Teachers are now becoming more aware of the need to teach using informational texts in order to meet state standards (Moss, 2005).The NAEP reading assessment measures students’ abilities to comprehend informational texts The NAEP website states, “Informational texts include three broad categories: exposition; argumentation and persuasive text; and procedural text and documents.” The inclusion of distinct text types recognizes that students read different texts for different purposes (U.S Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics) The Common Core Standards and NAEP’s emphasis on informational texts reflects a movement of the United States into the “Information Age.” The Common Core website highlights the increased amounts of information technology available in recent years and suggests that in order for students to be “career and college ready,” they must be able to read and make sense of the vast amounts of informational texts surrounding them on a daily basis (Common Core Initiative) One stunning statistic reports that 96 percent of the World Wide Web is expository (Duke, 2002) Therefore, while there is a growth of research pertaining to the usefulness of expository texts, researchers still have a long road to travel For instance, much more research needs to be 25 completed on determining the most effective ways of incorporating expository texts into instruction Researches must take a deeper look into how children’s knowledge of informational text develops over time, how the inclusion of informational text into the curriculum will affect schooling in the long run, and how much instruction will actually make a difference in achievement (Duke, 2000; Duke, 2002) Furthermore, even with the increased publication of informational trade books, there is still a great scarcity of informational texts found in elementary classrooms (Duke, 2002) This confirms the reality that not enough educators are aware of the possible benefits of expository texts, thus contributing to the “expository gap.” Because researchers have found that expository texts can profoundly benefit young students, they need to consider ways to spread the word to the educational community and beyond Hopefully in the future, the day will come when “learning to read and reading to learn” can coexist and assist in the closing of the “expository gap.” Reference List Adams, M J (2004) Modeling the recognition and reading In R (Eds.), Theoretical models and pp 1219-1243) Newark, DE: Association connections between word B Ruddell & N J Unrau processes of reading (5th ed., International Reading A t k i n s o 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Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum Looking to the Future of Expository Texts in the “Information Age” Classroom As we look to the future of education,... investigated the importance of teaching students, Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum starting at the preschool age, strategies to help comprehend expository. .. towards the interpretation of the visuals found in informational texts Often students believe that visuals and 20 Burka: Weaving Expository Texts into the Fabric of the Elementary School Curriculum