Reading informational text is different from reading literature or fictional text. Unlike literature, informational text focuses on factual, sometimes, current information or actual events. For example, newspapers, magazine articles, and textbooks in Science or Social Studies are all considered informational text or non-fiction text. Literature does not usually focus on actual events, its focus is on stories that are created by various authors, and they are not based on real events; however, some fictional text could become a real event, and those texts are considered realistic-fiction. In most literature or fictional texts, there are characters, antagonist, protagonist, setting, a plot, climax, conflict, resolution, and few more.
In contrast, informational texts provide information to the reader on a wide range of topics. Information about weather patterns, the Universe, or different mountain ranges are all topics shared through informational text. When reading informational text, the reader is tasked with identifying six key areas: the main idea, subject matter, supporting details, conclusion, clarifying devices, and vocabulary in context. These skills are essential to ensuring that the reader can comprehend factual information. There are three strategies that will help scholars comprehend informational text: annotate the text, Response-to-Reading, and the use of graphic organizers.
Annotate Text
As students read factual text, they should be encouraged to “mark up the text.” When interacting with digital text, most ebooks have tools that allow the reader to highlight and take notes within the text. Annotating text helps readers understand the text better. When students can write questions they have about a text they are reading and find the answers to their questions, they begin to develop a deeper understanding of the content. As a content teacher, I always pair writing with reading, and I coach scholars on how to identify key facts from the text that connect to the headings and subheadings. Headings and subheadings provide clues about the text, so when reading informational text, headings and subheadings provide glimpses into the text.
Response to Reading
Responding to reading is a strategy that requires the readers to engage with the text in a purposeful way. Informational text should always be accompanied with questions that check for understanding of the text. The questions can also ask the reader to expand their thinking about the text. For example, if the text is about Mars, one question could ask the reader to imagine living on Mars (What would life be like on Mars?), given the different atmosphere, daytime and nighttime temperatures, the length of day and night. Questions that focus on the text help readers understand specific concepts covered in the text because they are specifically designed to check for understanding of the content. So, include questions that check for understanding of informational text (See Table 1).
Table 1 Questions that Check for Understanding
| Examples of Questions that Expand Thinking |
| What is the main idea of this text? What are some ways that _______ are used?What is the composition of __________?What would life on Earth be like without ___________ ?How might ________ improve___________ ? |
Use of Graphic Organizers
The use of graphic organizers helps readers organize information about the text. Printable graphic organizer templates can be found online here: Graphic Organizers. These graphic organizers can be used with both fictional and factual text. A favorite graphic organizer that several of my eighth grade scholars like using when they read articles is the “Science Article Analysis” graphic organizer (not online) (See Figure 1). This graphic organizer helps readers identify key facts about magazine articles or digital articles, such as title, author, main idea, and four key details from the article. Also, readers are asked to make future projections and tell why they liked or did not like the article.
Figure 1. Article Analysis Graphic Organizer
Article Analysis Graphic Organizer
In conclusion, ensuring readers understand factual text requires some form of writing to be involved. Whether highlighting the text, underlining key vocabulary terms or answering questions based on the factual text, writing should always coexist with reading. Writing helps the reader make sense of any text and comprehend complex topics, when reading informational text. So, encourage your young readers