Critical Directions

• International Reading Association Guidelines

PowerPoints

• Professional Development:  Illinois State Board of Education Content Area Literacy Presentation
  • Facilitator’s Guide K-5
  • PowerPoint with Notes K-5
  • Handout: Text Structure
  • Handout: Reciprocal Teaching
  • Handout: Collaborative Strategic Reading
  • Handout: Plan for Strategic Reading
  • Handout:  Collaborative Strategic Reading Learning Log
• Professional Development:  Oregon Department of Education
  • Facilitator’s Guide K-5
  • PowerPoint with Notes K-5
  • Handouts: CCSS Reading
  • Handouts: Reflections
• Professional Development:  Oregon Department of Education
  • Facilitator’s Guide 6-12 ELA
  • PowerPoint with Notes 6-12 ELA
  • Handouts
• Professional Development:  Oregon Department of Education
• Facilitator’s Guide 6-12 Content Areas
• PowerPoint with Notes 6-12 Content Areas
• Handouts: CCSS History/Social Sciences
• Handouts: CCSS Science/Technology

• Center on Instruction Informational Text Structures to Improve Comprehension
  • Informational Text Structure (Module 1: Grades K-5): Using Knowledge of Text Structure to Improve Comprehension in Grades K-5  
  • Informational Text Structure (Module 2: Grades 6-12): Using Knowledge of Text Structure to Improve Comprehension in Grades 6-12

• Each module contains:
  • Vimeo Leading the Module
  • Handouts /Guides
• Using Knowledge of Text structure to Improve Comprehension in Grades K-5

Research/Articles

• Duke, N. (2004).  The case for informational text.  Educational Leadership, 61(6), 40– 44.
• Dymock, S. (2011).  Teaching expository text structure awareness.  The Reading Teacher, 59(2), 177-181.

• Ehrenworth, M. (2013). Unlocking the secrets of complex text. Educational Leadership, 71 (3), 16-21. 
• Kelley, M. J. and Clausen-Grace, N. (2010), Guiding students through expository text with text feature walks. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 191–195.
• Neumann, S., Roskos, K. (2012). Helping children become more knowledgeable through text. The Reading Teacher, 66(3), 207-210.
• Shanahan, T. (2013). You want me to read what?! Educational Leadership, 71 (3), 10-15.   
• Synopsis of Improving Comprehension in Students with Learning Disabilities

Handouts

• Literacy Survival Tips for New Teachers! Navigating Nonfiction:Guidelines and Top 5 Strategies for Helping Kids Comprehend Informational Text by Lori Oczkus
• Helping Elementary Students Read for Information by Doug Fisher
• November is Science Picture Book Month by Terrence E. Young Jr.

Videos

• The Balance of Informational and Literary Texts in K-5
• The Power of Non-fiction: Using informational text to support literacy in special populations.
• Literary Non-fiction in the Classroom:  Opening New Worlds for Students

Smithsonian Channel: 19 museums. 9 international research centers. 168 million artifacts. 

Podcasts/Webinars

WebEx:

• Improving Expository Text Comprehension in Students with Learning Disabilities

Websites

• All Grades:  The Content Area Specialists for English Language Arts and Data/Assessment have written strategies for the Common Core State Standards for Informational Text.  Click on ELA Educator Resources. Click K-5 or 6-12 Informational Test Strategies.
• Grades 6-12: AdLit.org is a national multimedia project offering information and resources to the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers. (For grades 4-12).
• Grades 4-12: The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections.
• Grades 3-12: Newsela contains relevant articles from today's headlines, but scaffolded for students' reading abilities.
• Grades K-8: Nationalgeographic.com is a resource for informational text and science resources.
• Grades K-8: Beyond Penguins is a free online magazine for elementary teachers funded by the National Science Foundation. You will find informational text articles at a variety of reading levels, strategies, photos, lesson plan ideas, etc. 
• Grades K-8: Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project that offers research-based and best-practice information on teaching kids to read and helping those who struggle.  This website provides teachers with strategies, lesson plans and resources. 

• • Building Word Knowledge
  • Text Based Evidence
  • Nonfiction and the Common Core
  • Selecting Informational Books
  • All Content Area Literacy

• The Times and the Common Core Standards: Reading Strategies for ‘Informational Text’ 
• DOCS TEACH:  Over Four Thousand primary documents from the National Archives; tons of resources and ready to use tools to enhance your instruction 
• Top Ten Nonfiction Reading Resources:  Scholastic(Grades 3-5)
• Shanahan on Literacy - Informational Text: Or How Thin Can You Slice the Salami by Tim Shanahan
• Orbis Pictus Book Awards Website (Informational Texts) 
• Informational Text Lesson Plans from National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) K-12 
• Reading Adventure Packs for Families – Grades PreK-3^rd Teachers can support reading together at home with 29 different reading adventure packs — designed to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books.
• STEM Literacy in the Elementary Classroom Learn more about how to strengthen literacy, inquiry, and problem-solving skills, and how to connect kids with high-quality nonfiction and informational books.