This document discusses teaching reading comprehension strategies for nonfiction texts. It begins by explaining that 50% of reading material should be nonfiction by 4th grade according to the Common Core. It then provides examples of typical teacher questions and student responses that focus more on basic comprehension rather than deeper analysis. The rest of the document outlines specific comprehension strategies like determining main idea, key details, vocabulary, and using text features. It provides examples of questions teachers can ask and strategies they can explicitly teach students to help them comprehend nonfiction texts at a deeper level.

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Understanding NonfictionText
Complexity:
The Intersection of
Text Complexity and Skills
[handouts available on my website under “Odds&Ends”]
Jennifer Serravallo
www.jenniferserravallo.com
@jserravallo
Name some of your favorite
nonfiction children’s book
authors….
50/50 by Grade 4!
Teachers Need to Learn:
CCSS ELA Reading Informational Standards 1-­‐‑9=
COMPREHENSION
Standard 2:
“Determine the main idea
of a text and explain how
it is supported by key
details…”
CCSS ELA Reading Informational
Standards 1-­‐‑9=
COMPREHENSION
The Status Quo:
T: “What’s that?”
S: “A caption!”
T: “Great!”
CCSS ELA Reading Informational Standards 1-­‐‑9=
COMPREHENSION
The Status Quo:
T: “You can dip
in and out of
nonfiction texts.
Just look for the
info you want.”
Nonfiction reading can’t just be Time for Kids…
“The average
student spends
just 3.6 min per
day reading
informational
texts. Less if the
student is in a
low-­‐‑income
area.” (Duke, 2000)
These are
REAL
BOOKS and
are WHOLE
TEXTS!
From CCSS Appendix B:

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How was the experience
comprehending the two
texts different?
How do responses change
based on the level of the
text?
Text Complexity
CCSS Premise: “…the clearest differentiator
was students’ ability to answer questions
associated with complex texts.”
“Text complexity is the new black.”
– Fisher, Frey and Lapp, 2012
Standard 10: Text Complexity
Text Complexity:
Nonfiction
Main Idea
Ñ Determining main idea of a
part of a text (chapter,
section)
Ñ Determining main idea of a
whole text
RI 3.2, 4.2, 5.2
Main Idea
• Look back across this chapter/
section/page. What is this
mostly about?
• What is the most important idea
the author wants you to learn
from this section?
• What is the most important
main idea you learned from
reading this whole book?

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Key Details
Ñ Determining key details
that support a main idea
Ñ Comparing and contrasting
key details
RI 3.2,4.2, 5.2; 3.3, 4.3,
5.3; 3.8, 4.8, 5.8
Key Details
• Which details support the idea that
________?
• The author claims _______. Which
details from this section support
that idea?
•
• What is similar about ____ and
____? What is different?
• Compare and contrast _____ and
______.
Vocabulary
Ñ Determining the meaning
of key words and phrases
RI 3.7, 4.7, 5.7
Vocabulary
• Using text and pictures, what does
_____ mean?
• Explain what _____ is and how it
adds to what you’re learning about
_________.
• Define _______.
• Describe _____ using information
from pages ____-­‐‑____.
Text Features
Ñ Determine important
information from a text
feature and connect the
information from the text
feature to the main text.
RI 3.5, 3.7 , 4.7
Text Features
• What can you learn from the photo and
caption on page ___?
• Study the photo. What facts and ideas do
you learn from it?
• Read the sidebar “______” on page __.
What information does it give and why is
it important to understanding this
section?
• How does the information in this timeline
add to what you’re learning about
_______?

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Implications for
Instruction
Ñ Step-by-step, a how-to
Ñ Temporary, removable
Ñ Authentic
Ñ Generalizable
**to create your own…ask yourself, how did I do it?
What’s a Strategy?
Skill
Not a strategy
Strategy
Visualizing
Picture what you’re
learning.
Read the text. Look at the
photograph or illustration.
Imagine the subject coming
to life based on what you
learned in the text.
Strategy for visualizing…
Skill
Not a strategy
Strategy
Determ.
Import.
(Main
Idea)
Think what it’s
mostly about.
Strategy for determining
importance…
*MAIN IDEA*
WHAT AND SO WHAT. Determining a
main idea is more than just the ability to
name the topic of a section. It requires that
the reader is also able to identify the
author’s perspective, angle, slant, or idea
about the topic. It’s helpful to teach children
to first name the topic of the selection of
text (the “what”) and then what the author
has to say about that topic (the “so what”).
Key Details
USE PICTURES FOR SUPPORT It’s
important to clue in to the many details
that are often supplied in text features.
To manage a richer comparison, it’s
helpful to look not only in the main text
but also in the pictures and other
features. For certain readers, looking at
pictures or other features first may
actually help them to say more about
their topics.
Vocabulary
BE A WORD SURGEON
Challenging vocabulary may have its roots
in languages such as Latin and Greek.
Teach students to figure out the meaning of
any unfamiliar word by separating it into
its root, prefix, and/or suffix. To use this
strategy, students have to know their way
around these word parts. Over several
weeks, do once-­‐‑a-­‐‑week Root Routes charts,
where kids learn and review roots and the
myriad pathways to new words.

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Shift Perspectives with Firsthand Accounts. In
many books, especially informational texts with
historical content, firsthand accounts appear
within the text. In others, these firsthand accounts
are set off from the main text in sidebars. In either
case, the reader must be able to balance the shift
between expository nonfiction and narrative
nonfiction to understand how they work together
to support the main idea. One way readers can do
this is by asking, “How does this firsthand account
provide support to the main idea(s) in this text?”
Text Features
Ñ Connect
Ñ Teach
Ó State the Strategy
Ó Optional: Explain/Example/
Quick Demo
Ñ Active Engagement
Ñ Link
Strategy Lesson -
Structure
Guided Reading
-instructional level
-same book
-20 minutes
-structure includes
book intro
-why? Support to
move to next level
Strategy Lessons
-independent level
-different books
-7-10 minutes
-structure: intro to
strategy
-why? Support
independent level
What are the differences between
strategy lessons and guided
reading?
www.jenniferserravallo.com
jserravallo@gmail.com
Twitter: @jserravallo