NEW YORK, NY. AUGUST 15, 2006 -Do you prefer a fictional novel to a non-fictional "how-to" book? Why is that? We'd rather read stories than information. We like the entertainment, mental travel, and gossip in a book. We don't always like the order and detail of informational reading. Our children are the same.

Narrative texts are told through their stories. Informational texts are told through their structure. If students don't understand structure, they're going to struggle. How to prevent that? Dr. Karen Kring Wixson, professor of education at the University of Michigan and a program author for Pearson Scott Foresman's elementary reading program, Reading Street, says get them started early, writing informative copy and using informative ideas in the everyday.

For the same reasons, young learners usually prefer narrative texts, like novels and short stories, to informational texts, like books on science and history. Narrative texts are crucial-but informational ones are, too. Without practice in informative reading, a child doesn't have a full complement of literacy skills.

By exposing young children to more informational texts, Dr. Wixson feels they benefit in a number of ways, including:

• becoming better readers and writers of informational texts;
• improving their vocabulary and comprehension skills;
• increasing their motivation for reading;
• and improving their literacy connections between what they read at home and school.

Think about it: diverse students have diverse interests. Some may want to read the latest Harry Potter. Others may want to tackle complex video games, tinker with Legos®, or solve math problems. The latter activities depend on reading information that will enlighten the challenge these students have set for themselves.

In a recent study, of 83 primary school teachers surveyed, only six percent were using informative materials during their school day. Of 126 primary school teachers, only 14 percent of the material they read aloud was informative. For children to master science, history and math, they've got to read science, history and math-and read it when their minds are forming. Informative books and presentations should play into every elementary curriculum.

Dr. Wixson believes it's up to everyone-parents, neighbors, teachers and community leaders-to show young people that informative texts drive our world every day.

"Informative words drive work. Informative words will consume our students' future. We need to read science and math problems together at home. We need to hear our students' presentations at home. We need to teach them to read game rules or assembly instructions and information they research for scouts or club projects. We need to link the classroom to your living room to show young people that informative texts are the words that run our lives."

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