Teachers’ Use of and Attitudes Toward Informational Text in K–5 Classrooms

Abstract

The purposes of this research were (a) to understand the frequency with which K–5 teachers use informational text in their routine classroom instruction, (b) to understand the percentage of informational text in classroom libraries, and (c) to explore teachers’ attitudes about informational text. Survey data of 318 participants indicated that K–5 teachers used an average of 31.55 minutes (SD = 22.24) of informational text per day and that classroom libraries consisted of an average of 32.77% (SD = 14.16) of informational text. Participants were overwhelmingly positive about the instructional value of informational text but also reported that a lack of time, a lack of resources, and curricular limitations restricted their use of informational text. Implications on how to increase the use of informational text in K–5 classrooms are provided.

Notes

*The mean difference is significant at the 0.01 level.

*The mean difference is significant at the 0.01 level.