Are children reading enough informational text at school and at home?
Ruth Helen Yopp and Hallie Kay Yopp gave great insight in their research:
"Informational Texts as Read-Alouds at School and Home" (2016)
According to the research, students at school experience a low proportion of informational texts read aloud throughout their early years. (5% informational text versus 77% narrative) "Students literary diets at home, like school, are largely narrative." From their research pool, they found that only 7% of the books that the students read were informational, it was an average of 5.5 books per child.
But don't let this number scare you, increasing informational text as read aloud at school and home is possible, the key is to find the right books! Here are a few tips that may help you when you go book shopping or visit your local library:
- Start by reading informational book with a story background to ignite the child's interest
- Choose informational text that are interactive (books with folds and flaps, books with sound effect, books that children can listen to)
- Allow your child to choose topics that spark their curiosity (pay attention to their interest, what they are willing to spend a lot of time doing, what "WHY" question do they ask)
- Read the informational text WITH your child
- Ask the child to share a fact or teach you something that they discover from reading the informational text
Remember that things won't change overnight, don't be discouraged if your child reject your informational text recommendation just keep trying.