Abstract
Current standards and assessments emphasize the importance of a variety of genres in students’ literacy diets, which has placed increased attention on informational texts. Unfortunately, young students’ current exposure to and experiences with informational texts are often limited by the texts’ availability, quality, and relevance to children's lives. One way to address these issues of access and relevance is to create and use informational texts in more authentic, culturally sustaining, and productive ways. This article draws on a research study to outline suggestions for making and using culturally sustaining informational texts with young students. In this research, culturally sustaining informational texts of two genres (procedural and informative/explanatory) were developed, read, and written with standard 2 (second year of formal schooling) students in Botswana. Students who used these texts in reading and writing lessons showed increases in abilities to read and write both genres.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 445-455 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Reading Teacher |
Volume | 70 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2017 |
Keywords
- 1-Early childhood
- 2-Childhood
- Community-based programs
- Genres < Writing
- Informational text < Strategies, methods, and materials
- Instructional strategies
- Nonfiction
- resources < Family literacy
- Sociocultural < Theoretical perspectives
- teaching strategies < Strategies, methods, and materials
- text features < Content literacy
- Text types
- Writing strategies < Strategies, methods, and materials
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Pharmacology
- Linguistics and Language
- Pharmacology (medical)