I don't like to read informational books and i really didn't like this chapter much. I do agree that informational books are very important for students to learn to appreciate. I do disagree with the thought that students would rather read to find an answer than to ask a teacher. In our society now everything is about instant gratification and students just want the answer. So I do feel it is important to teach children how to read informational books because it is different from reading other books. I found during an observation of a jr. high school the students didn't even attempt to find the answer themselves. I think informational books are much easier to read when it is about material the student is interested in already.
I think the most important point that the chapter makes is that informational books encourage self-reliance. Children who do not know the answers or the information must be shown where to find it and how to learn more. We can’t just give them the information and the answers. I think that it is important to show children that no one knows everything, and everyone can learn something new from a book. If a child is shown where to look for the answers then they can learn so many things in so many areas. If they are curious about a topic then they will want to learn more. Teachers are always looking for ways to incorporate the scientific methods into the classroom in interesting ways. Well written informational books can help. I know that at our school some teachers are turned off by science because we do our annual Science Fair, and it is a lot of work. However, if teachers and children find books that are interesting and entertaining, they might be more excited about it. Our school librarian is great at teaching children how to find information that they need. She does wonderful activities and games during part of the students’ library time so that they learn where to look for information. Finding books that are relevant to what you need to know and that are still fun to read can be a challenge. There are so many books out there, and children need to be shown that books (not just computers) can teach them useful, interesting, informative things.
Hannah-I agree that teaching the students the correct way to read informational text is important. It is a whole different way of reading and understanding. Students need to learn how to "find" the most important information and then what to do with it. How does the information help me? What did I learn from this book that I can apply to the assignment, apply to my life?
Informational books seem to be in flux right now because of the touch-of-the-finger information finding capabilities of the internet. It is important for the teacher to continuously integrate informational books and fact-finding exercises into the curriculum, so that students become self-reliant in their education journeys. Teachers who are asked a question, and answer it immediately without pushing the student in the direction of discovering the answer on his or her own, may be not utilizing the educational benefits of informational material. Another point about the importance of maintaining the informational book in the classroom, is that students often find out what interests them by way of small facts that can only be built upon by leading them to the wealth of information found in informational books. If, for example, a child was read Harry Potter and just could not get the feasibility of the flying car out of his or her head, the teacher might give that child the opporunity to follow-up the interest with informational books on the Wright brothers, flying mechanics, etc. Fictional books often give teacher's clues as to what interests a child so that they may be lead to informational books that will formalize their content-area knowledge of their chosen subject.
Hannah, I agree with your comments concerning the instant gratification society in which we live. I think that information is very easy to find, but with that comes the fact that some (understatement) information found on the internet insn't necessarily accurate. This is an execellent place to bridge technology into the regular curriculum by giving students ways to find reputable sites that have solid information, and ways to reinforce the truth in information by identifying it in various sources -- newspapers, books, websites, etc.
Biographies and informational books are quite a unique genre since they must be factual and do not allow for fictional elements to be inserted. Biographies must present a 3 dimensional portrayal of the topic of the book in order for readers to be able to possibly relate to the character. Informational books provide a vast reservoir of topics from science, animals, history, modern history, how things work, and a book on how to design crafts, and conduct science experiments. Informational books are perhaps among the most popular among students since they often serve the purpose of assisting their reader in expanding their knowledge.
One benefit of the curriculum we have at my school is that for each standard in our primary 4 subjects we have an informational book to correlate with that topic. When we learning about the solar system for science there was an informational book that discussed in detail the function of the solar system and then at the end of the book it provided ideas for projects. When we were discussing the Civil War and Westward Expansion era of America there were 2 informational books provided alongside the standards. One book spoke of the action that slaves took to support the Union Army from fighting in the army and revolting against slave owners and there was another book that spoke of the Frontiers that many settlers went to live in. These books were preferred over the textbooks by the children since they were more "to the point" as one child expressed and always came coupled with interactive assignments and Internet resources to follow. These informational books have proved to be an excellent educational tool and they are always utilized in my class. Biographies on the other hand have not been used by me and outside of a few books that were required for my students and me to read they are not much sought after.
This is going to change since I see the good that can come from biographies is similar to the good that can come from informational books. Students get to expand their knowledge and furthermore they are able to possibly inspire others to action since they can view a person who may resemble their circumstances, challenges, attitudes, goals, and so forth. Also, students get to see characters that accomplished much in circumstances that were very oppressive and can provide them with hope in spite of whatever obstacles they face.
You brought out a very good point. Informational books are adored by teachers such as me and beyond because they provide often easy access to information usually without the auxiliary information in textbooks and with more accuracy than that of information on the Internet. However, as mentioned in our unit literature we can analyze the author by examining their qualifications and their knowledge of the subject they are writing on. Some feel that only professionals in an arena should publish books on a specific topic and some feel that a capable author with or without expertise in a specific discipline can produce a book that is informative and enlightening if they conduct adequate research and convey it in a manner that interest children. So in conclusion I would say that we should examine the authenticity and accuracy of a book, hold the author to high standards in accurate research, and then be able to perform our own research to make sure the book is correct.
7 comments:
I don't like to read informational books and i really didn't like this chapter much. I do agree that informational books are very important for students to learn to appreciate. I do disagree with the thought that students would rather read to find an answer than to ask a teacher. In our society now everything is about instant gratification and students just want the answer. So I do feel it is important to teach children how to read informational books because it is different from reading other books. I found during an observation of a jr. high school the students didn't even attempt to find the answer themselves. I think informational books are much easier to read when it is about material the student is interested in already.
I think the most important point that the chapter makes is that informational books encourage self-reliance. Children who do not know the answers or the information must be shown where to find it and how to learn more. We can’t just give them the information and the answers. I think that it is important to show children that no one knows everything, and everyone can learn something new from a book. If a child is shown where to look for the answers then they can learn so many things in so many areas. If they are curious about a topic then they will want to learn more.
Teachers are always looking for ways to incorporate the scientific methods into the classroom in interesting ways. Well written informational books can help. I know that at our school some teachers are turned off by science because we do our annual Science Fair, and it is a lot of work. However, if teachers and children find books that are interesting and entertaining, they might be more excited about it.
Our school librarian is great at teaching children how to find information that they need. She does wonderful activities and games during part of the students’ library time so that they learn where to look for information. Finding books that are relevant to what you need to know and that are still fun to read can be a challenge. There are so many books out there, and children need to be shown that books (not just computers) can teach them useful, interesting, informative things.
Hannah-I agree that teaching the students the correct way to read informational text is important. It is a whole different way of reading and understanding. Students need to learn how to "find" the most important information and then what to do with it. How does the information help me? What did I learn from this book that I can apply to the assignment, apply to my life?
Informational books seem to be in flux right now because of the touch-of-the-finger information finding capabilities of the internet. It is important for the teacher to continuously integrate informational books and fact-finding exercises into the curriculum, so that students become self-reliant in their education journeys. Teachers who are asked a question, and answer it immediately without pushing the student in the direction of discovering the answer on his or her own, may be not utilizing the educational benefits of informational material. Another point about the importance of maintaining the informational book in the classroom, is that students often find out what interests them by way of small facts that can only be built upon by leading them to the wealth of information found in informational books. If, for example, a child was read Harry Potter and just could not get the feasibility of the flying car out of his or her head, the teacher might give that child the opporunity to follow-up the interest with informational books on the Wright brothers, flying mechanics, etc. Fictional books often give teacher's clues as to what interests a child so that they may be lead to informational books that will formalize their content-area knowledge of their chosen subject.
Hannah,
I agree with your comments concerning the instant gratification society in which we live. I think that information is very easy to find, but with that comes the fact that some (understatement) information found on the internet insn't necessarily accurate. This is an execellent place to bridge technology into the regular curriculum by giving students ways to find reputable sites that have solid information, and ways to reinforce the truth in information by identifying it in various sources -- newspapers, books, websites, etc.
Biographies and informational books are quite a unique genre since they must be factual and do not allow for fictional elements to be inserted. Biographies must present a 3 dimensional portrayal of the topic of the book in order for readers to be able to possibly relate to the character. Informational books provide a vast reservoir of topics from science, animals, history, modern history, how things work, and a book on how to design crafts, and conduct science experiments. Informational books are perhaps among the most popular among students since they often serve the purpose of assisting their reader in expanding their knowledge.
One benefit of the curriculum we have at my school is that for each standard in our primary 4 subjects we have an informational book to correlate with that topic. When we learning about the solar system for science there was an informational book that discussed in detail the function of the solar system and then at the end of the book it provided ideas for projects. When we were discussing the Civil War and Westward Expansion era of America there were 2 informational books provided alongside the standards. One book spoke of the action that slaves took to support the Union Army from fighting in the army and revolting against slave owners and there was another book that spoke of the Frontiers that many settlers went to live in. These books were preferred over the textbooks by the children since they were more "to the point" as one child expressed and always came coupled with interactive assignments and Internet resources to follow. These informational books have proved to be an excellent educational tool and they are always utilized in my class. Biographies on the other hand have not been used by me and outside of a few books that were required for my students and me to read they are not much sought after.
This is going to change since I see the good that can come from biographies is similar to the good that can come from informational books. Students get to expand their knowledge and furthermore they are able to possibly inspire others to action since they can view a person who may resemble their circumstances, challenges, attitudes, goals, and so forth. Also, students get to see characters that accomplished much in circumstances that were very oppressive and can provide them with hope in spite of whatever obstacles they face.
Anniem,
You brought out a very good point. Informational books are adored by teachers such as me and beyond because they provide often easy access to information usually without the auxiliary information in textbooks and with more accuracy than that of information on the Internet. However, as mentioned in our unit literature we can analyze the author by examining their qualifications and their knowledge of the subject they are writing on. Some feel that only professionals in an arena should publish books on a specific topic and some feel that a capable author with or without expertise in a specific discipline can produce a book that is informative and enlightening if they conduct adequate research and convey it in a manner that interest children. So in conclusion I would say that we should examine the authenticity and accuracy of a book, hold the author to high standards in accurate research, and then be able to perform our own research to make sure the book is correct.
Gregg
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