After reading this article by Barbara Moss, I was very intrigued by what I read. I was not aware of how little exposure students receive of expository texts. I found it very interesting that technology was such a huge factor in the change to include content area literacy at the younger grade level. Up until recent times, technology really has not played a huge factor in classrooms, but in this day and age, pretty much everything revolves around technology somehow. When I completed the article, I realized that I was extremely lucky because I have been exposed to expository texts for as long as I can remember. Since I was a little girl, my mom has been sharing expository texts with me, and they were also incorporated into my classrooms at school. Reading this article made me think back to my 1st grade teachers classroom. I remember her having a huge library in the back of the room. This library had two sections: one for narrative and story books and one for expository books. My teacher would always make sure to have numerous expository books relating to the topic we were studying as well as topics we had already learned about.
I believe it is very important to expose students to expository texts early on in their schooling careers. The article identifies three main reasons that content area literacy should be implemented in elementary grades and this really stuck out to me. The first reason is early exposure. It talks about laying the foundation for understanding and I completely agree. It is critical for students to receive a sturdy foundation early on that they can build upon and encourage their learning to grow. Another reason was that informational books motivate students. This I made a personal connection with. In 2nd grade, we were required to participate in the reading fair at school. At my school, reading fair projects were normally done using fictional story books. However, my teacher made my class choose an expository book to do our project on. I remember choosing a book on the Titanic. After reading the book and doing my project, I became motivated to read and learn everything I could about the Titanic, ships, that era of time, the people that were on the ship, and so much more. After that project, I was motivated to continue reading expository texts and learning information as I read. The last reason the article states is that informational texts increase new knowledge domains. I found it interesting and it caught my attention when it said deep knowledge of a particular topic requires long-term study or interaction with the topic. If this is true, in order for students to grow in their success through middle school and high school, they should be exposed to the information or related information at a young age.
This article has opened my eyes a lot more to the effect that expository texts have on students and their learning. I feel very fortunate that my parents and teachers exposed me to expository texts beginning at a young age and incorporated that into my schooling. One question or concern maybe that comes to my mind regarding the article is as the teacher, how do you know what level of expository texts to introduce to the children and when exactly to do it? Also, sometimes it can be challenging to get students motivated to read expository texts if the topic is not interesting to them. So, what strategies can be used to motivate all students while incorporating the expository texts. I learned a lot from this article and I am excited to learn more and eventually incorporate these expository texts into my own classroom.
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