I found many interesting points in this article. Before reading this, I had never really considered technology to be a factor in why children should be more prepared in literacy than usual. Technology requires one to be able to sift through information at a quick pace and evaluate content for accuracy.
This article made some valid points, in that most elementary grades focus on fiction and rhyming. Informational text should be focused on more into the elementary level.
I believe that, after reading this article, if students are not exposed to expository text at an early age, it will grow more and more difficult to grasp important information. I remember feeling overwhelmed in elementary school when I first began being exposed to informational text, such as history and science. It was uninteresting for me, mainly because all I was doing was decoding words, not gaining meaning from the text.
Questions:
How early is too early to present informational text to children?
Is there a reason it is presented when it is? Will children be equally as overwhelmed by expository text, regardless of the grade it is presented?
I totally agree Emily, all I did in fourth grade was decode my text. I even invested in a science dictionary.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I loved your responce to the article but your questions really sparked my interest. I was thinking the same thing about the informational text and really how can kindergarteners (who have no reading comprehension yet) gain knowledge from reading. They would have to rely on listening comprehension which would then restrict them as to what they are being read. I'm just looking for a little more freedom for students to read what they are interested in.
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