Thematic Educator Guide: Teaching Civic Engagement

Dear Teacher, The informational text genre feeds students’ interests and curiosity while informing them about the natural world and specific topics. Students enjoy poring over and learning from these informational text features: photographs and captions, sidebars chock-full of intriguing details, diagrams, charts, excerpts from journals and interviews, and firsthand accounts by eyewitnesses. Authors of informational books breathe

“Nothing can replace you, the teacher, in the classroom. Unlike computers and robots, when you possess deep knowledge about how children learn, you can process students’ actions, words, and written work and provide feedback that moves each child forward. Moreover, you have a heart and emotional center that enables you to build students’ self-efficacy, self-confidence, motivation, and engagement in learning because students feel your respect and trust, your hopes and goals, as they experience your investment in their progress”. – Laura Robb

Dear Teacher, A favorite genre of students, realistic fiction opens a window into their world and their hopes and dreams, and often validates their life experiences. Bonding to realistic stories can happen quickly as students connect with characters that experience a similar range of emotions, relationships, problems, and wonderings. When students relate to realistic plots,