tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741956313845023588.post6789003439994254229..comments2024-03-06T05:13:58.358-08:00Comments on Literacy in Leafstrewn: Evidence shows that reading informational text more frequently is correlated with lower reading scoresEChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14853888915441711738noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741956313845023588.post-52082728290535734462013-05-31T14:49:58.116-07:002013-05-31T14:49:58.116-07:00I find informational texts (newspapers, research p...I find informational texts (newspapers, research papers, etc.) fairly addicting, so I'm not going to endorse every piece of that theory wholeheartedly, but it sounds pretty reasonable.EChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14853888915441711738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741956313845023588.post-38517132092571620052013-05-31T05:14:20.049-07:002013-05-31T05:14:20.049-07:00Here's an entirely unresearched opinion: readi...Here's an entirely unresearched opinion: reading non-informational texts is correlated with more time spent reading (enjoyably) which is highly correlated with reading better, which is highly correlated with read informational texts better. So there's no paradox--stay away from informational texts that put you to sleep, read gobs of YA fiction, and you'll be able to understand anything....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741956313845023588.post-88171698845081088352013-05-27T18:08:18.901-07:002013-05-27T18:08:18.901-07:00Thanks for your comment--but I think you're to...Thanks for your comment--but I think you're too kind to Shanahan et al. My main point is that they are making wildly inflated claims about what educational "research" shows (a common problem). You suggest that perhaps they have a "strong case", but as far as I can tell they do not have a strong case. And I think you are overly kind to the CCSS themselves. The authors express what is "required" in an introductory document (http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/introduction/key-design-consideration). This introductory document contains a table showing that in 4th grade the literary/informational ratio on the NAEP is 50/50, while in 12th grade it is 30/70. These ratios are clearly intended to be the ratio of reading done by students. In twelfth grade, the document says, "70 percent of student reading across the grade should be informational." That seems pretty clear. The authors of the document, like, as far as I can tell, the majority of its readers, seem to be envisioning a curriculum that is driven by test-preparation (the ratios are drawn right from the NAEP!) and that consists almost entirely of either brief texts (Gettysburg Address, MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail, etc.) or of "passages" isolated from longer, complete works. I think close reading is great, but I fear what we are going to end up with is essentially test-prep, with very little of the immersive, high-volume reading without which I doubt anyone has ever become a good reader.EChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14853888915441711738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741956313845023588.post-44910585862245093012013-05-22T13:12:55.974-07:002013-05-22T13:12:55.974-07:00It is hard to tell what anyone is really talking a...It is hard to tell what anyone is really talking about here. I gather that a lot of the commentary about informational texts is in response to elementary literacy programs which, for reasons I cannot fathom, are pretty much 100% fiction AND which have displaced all but minimal science and social studies curricula. <br /><br />So... perhaps Shanahan et al have a strong case that reading SOME informational texts is important, and who would ever really argue otherwise, but not much backing any particular amount.<br /><br />In other words, as is usually the case in ed policy, swinging from one extreme to another.<br /><br />I'd also note that standards don't dictate the amount of time or volume of reading spent on each standard. The entire concept is that you spend the amount of time on each task necessary for the kids to achieve each standard. You don't count up the days and divide by the number of standards.Tom Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08577165613934129833noreply@blogger.com