Utilizing Nonfiction Texts to Enhance Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary in Primary Grades

Abstract

Many primary grade students are not afforded nonfiction-rich opportunities, with fiction comprising the majority of books read aloud in classrooms. With the Common Core Standards recommending that half of the texts made available to students be nonfiction, educators are increasing their use of informational text. The present study explored the impact of explicitly teaching reading comprehension and vocabulary strategies with nonfiction text compared to fiction text in primary-grade classrooms. Two first-grade (n = 39; 25 male, 14 female) and one second-grade class (n = 20; 13 male, 7 female) participated in the quantitative study that followed a repeated measures design in which the students alternated every 2 weeks between fiction-based instruction and nonfictionbased instruction for a total of 8 weeks. Vocabulary and use of comprehension strategies were assessed at the end of each 2-week period. Overall findings indicated that students were better able to apply the comprehension strategies and define vocabulary following nonfiction-based instruction; they also were more motivated to read informational text. The authors recommend that teachers use more nonfiction texts in the primary grades to support students' reading comprehension and vocabulary development.

Faire la lecture aux élèves: point de vue des enseignantes sur la planification de cette activité d'enseignement

“…On peut se réjouir du fait qu'elles intègrent déjà la lecture aux élèves dans leur programmation scolaire. Mais pour rendre cette activité d'enseignement encore plus profitable, il serait intéressant qu'elles y intègrent des interventions visant à favoriser le développement langagier (Wakik et al 2016), les compétences en littératie (Fountas et Pinnell, 2019) et l'acquisition des connaissances sur le monde (Kuhn et al 2017) de leurs élèves, tout en continuant à favoriser leur attitude positive envers la lecture.…”

“…Il a aussi été démontré que la lecture interactive offre un soutien important au développement de leur compréhension en lecture (Dupin de Saint-André, Montésinos-Gelet et Morin, 2012). De plus, elle offre l'occasion à l'enseignant d'exposer ses élèves à des textes variés tout en les amenant à comprendre de nouveaux concepts qui se rapportent à des matières scolaires telles que les sciences, les arts ou les mathématiques (Beck et McKeown, 2001;Kuhn, Rausch, McCarty, Montgomery et Rule, 2017). Par ailleurs, les enseignants sachant tirer profit de ce dispositif d'enseignement instaurent dans leur classe un climat positif entourant la lecture et ils suscitent des interactions qui amènent les élèves à réfléchir aux conventions de la langue écrite (Pellegrini et Galda, 2003).…”

First‐Year Teachers’ Informational Reading Instruction: Prevalence, Quality, and Characteristics

“…Strategy instruction is explanation or modeling by teachers to make visible the cognitive work effective readers employ as they decode, interpret, and analyze text (Grossman, 2013; Magnusson, Roe, & Blikstad‐Balas, 2019). The importance of strategy instruction specific to informational text is well documented in the literature (Kuhn, Rausch, McCarty, Montgomery, & Rule, 2017; Martin & Duke, 2010; Shanahan et al, 2010). This emphasis mirrors recommendations regarding strategy use for reading instruction more generally (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000; RAND Reading Study Group, 2002).…”

“The Best Thing I Can Do for Readers Is Read!”: How One Teacher Conducts Interactive Multimodal Read‐Alouds Using Nonfiction Picture Books

“…Efforts to expand approaches to reading nonfiction (Graff & Shimek, 2020) are currently being published, but many studies that focus on nonfiction read‐alouds continue to emphasize close readings (Nelson, 2019) and include strategies such as rereading, asking comprehension questions, and Know/Wonder/Learned charts (Yenika‐Agbaw et al., 2018). Like reading aloud fiction texts, teachers should use expression, allow students to converse about what they are hearing, find interesting books, build anticipation by only reading short segments, infuse talk throughout, and emphasize questions when reading aloud nonfiction (Kuhn et al., 2017; Stead, 2014).…”

“…Nonfiction picture books are more engaging (Graff & Shimek, 2020), synergistic (Shimek, 2019), and entertaining (Colman, 2007) than ever before, but few studies have examined teacher's practices in conducting read‐alouds with nonfiction picture books (Kuhn et al., 2017). Common Core State Standards require teachers to spend at least half of their instructional time on nonfiction texts (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010).…”