Abstract
Excerpt: As states implement English Language Arts (ELA) components of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS, Common Core State Standards Initiative [CCSSI], 2010), teachers should remember that best practices and research-based literacy instruction need to continue to be the priority in the area of literacy instruction. The ELA components of the CCSS highlight the need to increase text complexity so that students are prepared for the demands of college and career-level reading by the end of high school; consequently, the standards call for an increase in text complexity and an increase in the use of informational text at each grade level. With the standards outlining a progressive development of text complexity, some educators are worried about their use of narrative text. Before trading in your narrative read-alouds for informational text, look at what research tells us.