PhD

dissertationGiven that one-fourth of eighth graders in U.S. public schools are unable to read for information with proficiency, the need for middle school students to be exposed to informational texts is of great importance, particularly as students need these skills in order to be successful in school and society and because they are also expected to read a larger quantity of challenging informational texts. While many may believe that middle school students are exposed to informational text in content area classes, students do not always read these textbooks and are seldom taught how to actually read these texts. Because informational text instruction rarely occurs in content area middle school classrooms, the responsibility often falls to language arts teachers to instruct students on how to read these texts; however, the secondary language arts curriculum and literature anthologies have been predominately literature-focused, concentrating on the study of major literary works and training students to be literary scholars instead of teaching them strategies to access informational text and become highly literate learners. This lack of exposure to informational text proves problematic for middle school students, because an emphasis on literary text does not provide students with opportunities to practice reading, learn from reading, or gain the skills necessary to utilize informational text. Additionally, the 2009 NAEP Reading Framework calls for 45% literary and 55% informational text on the eighth grade assessment-calling for more informational text on an assessment than ever before