November 2013 | Volume 71 | Number 3

You Want Me to Read What?!

Timothy Shanahan

Does the Common Core State Standards' focus on informational text mean that teachers must teach fiberglass installation manuals and the minutes of National Reserve Board meetings? No, responds literacy expert Timothy Shanahan. "I've pored over the lists of exemplary texts suggested by the standards, and I've not been able to find either of those entries. You might want to take a look yourself." In a sometimes tongue-in-cheek but always informative look at the questions surrounding the new emphasis on informational text, Shanahan addresses, among other things, the somewhat fuzzy definition of the term, why the standards are making such a big deal of this kind of reading, whether such texts are developmentally appropriate for younger students, and what this means for both English teachers and other content-areas teachers.

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