ABSTRACT
Let’s reflect back on the vignette that begins the introductory chapter of this book, which describes elementary school teachers’ concerns about teaching informational writing. In response to these teachers’ anxieties, I explained to them that students can become strong writers of informational texts once they become strong readers of informational texts. Once students understand what strong informational writing looks like and are aware of the writing tools and strategies effective informational authors use in their works, the students can apply those same strategies to the informational pieces that they create. Since the Common Core Standards emphasize informational reading and writing—literacy components that, according to research (Duke, 2000) frequently have not received adequate attention—it is especially important to help students understand and use the tools needed to craft strong informational texts.
