In informational texts, when the identities of the narrators are inconsistent with the identities of the writers, can such text be classified as nonfiction? In this article, we examine the relationship between the writer and the narrator of informational nonfiction books in alignment with the ELA Common Core State Standards for reading in grades…

The author presents findings from a yearlong study of the ways an inclusive fourth-grade teacher and her students talked about reading outside of formal reading lessons. Findings indicated that across the school day, especially during informal moments, students narrated connections and disconnections between their experiences and realistic fiction…

The purpose of this "teaching tips" article is to describe practical classroom instruction that helps elementary students write expository responses to narrative texts. It focuses on the importance of scaffolded, interactive discussions comprised of a combination of teacher think alouds and similar student responses before, during, and…

Presents an overview of research findings concerning children's storytelling and then considers a number of issues that need to be addressed, including the importance of children's expectations about what a story is and whether this "sense of story" is important in learning to read. (FL)

Notes research showing that narration and opinion writing are two different crafts and that children differentiate between the two when they write. (FL)

Reveals that fourth-grade children were able to tell the differences between expository and narrative text but still needed guidance in how to read the two types of materials best. (FL)

Narrates the author's experience and insights regarding the power of stories from an individual's own family. Discusses the power of learners' family stories, story in the freshman English classroom, learning how story structure works, family stories in remedial college classes, and writing for publication classes. Describes a year-long writing…

Shows how teaching sixth grade ESL students the story grammar of fairy and folktales enabled them to learn to express themselves in their own fiction writing. (FL)

Describes a study in which twenty first grade students wrote daily in journals, which were then analyzed at the end of the school year. (JC)

Notes that the African oral tradition of storytelling is giving way to an expansion of published works for children. (JC)

Presents reading/writing units based on story grammar techniques and intended for students in grades one through six. (FL)