Currently, teachers of reading and language arts are being asked to look closely at what materials are being used in their classrooms. As of today, 45 states have become proponents of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). These standards have been created to “ensure that students are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to be globally competitive” (NGA, et al., 2008, p. 24). These standards mandate a higher percentage of what has come to be termed informational text. The first question that needs to be answered is what exactly is the definition of informational text and why is it important? The largest change noted in the shift to informational text is the percentage of text required. Informational text covers a very broad spectrum of reading material including biographies and autobiographies: “books about history, social studies, science, and the arts”; “technical texts, including directions, forms, and information displayed in graphs, charts, or maps”; and “digital sources on a range of topics” (Maloch & Bomer, 2013, p. 209). In the upper grades, the different subject areas are generally taught by a variety of teachers. These content area teachers are experts in their fields and much of their information is strictly informational in nature to begin with. The problem is that “Most teachers are not taught how to teach reading” (Gewertz, 2012, p. 1). This leads to the question of how teachers are utilizing informational texts in their classrooms. This chapter explores informational texts and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Adding the Tswana in Botswana: Writing Culturally Sustaining Informational Texts