To become effective readers of informational texts, students need to understand:

• the features that identify nonfiction writing;

• the selective way nonfiction is read according to the reader’s purpose;

• the ways organizational features such as indexes, content pages, glossaries and headings help the reader access the text;

• the specialized language and language structures used to convey information;

• how visual literacy such as photographs, diagrams, maps and charts combine with written text to convey information;

• how information in captions and labels combines with running text to convey information; and

• strategies for using prior knowledge and experience to engage in inquiry.

Say, Mean, Matter