The Reading Teacher Vol. 67 Issue 2 pp. 109–119 DOI:10.1002/TRTR.1191 © 2013 International Reading Association 109 R T STUDENTS’ CLOSE READING OF SCIENCE TEXTS What’s Now? What’s Next? Diane Lapp ■ Maria Grant ■ Barbara Moss ■ Kelly Johnson Are you wondering how to weave together the Common Core State Standards and the new Next Generation Science Standards as you support students closely reading science texts? This article offers a few very practical suggestions for making this your classroom reality. G earing up for changes in curriculum as the Common Core State Standards (Common Core State Standards [CCSS] Initiative, 2010) weave their way into schools, teachers experience a multitude of emo- tions—fear of change, a desire to embrace change, and for some, confusion about how to pro- ceed. Although coming to grips with the specifics of the CCSS is challenging, supporting students’ growth from below and far below basic achievement levels to levels at which they can closely read, discuss, and write about complex informational text is daunt- ing. Through a “what’s now, what’s next” perspective, we explore instructional moves supportive of ascend- ing performance as students closely read science texts, a genre often fraught with difficulty for many underperforming students. Balancing Narrative and Informational Text Reading What’s Now? Informational text, a specific form of nonnarra- tive text communicating information (National Assessment Governing Board, 2008), is defined by the CCSS (2010, p. 31) as including the following: Diane Lapp is a distinguished professor of literacy education at San Diego State University in California, USA; e-mail lapp@mail.sdsu.edu. Maria Grant is an associate professor of secondary education at California State University, Fullerton, USA; e-mail mgrant@fullerton.edu. Barbara Moss is a professor of literacy education at San Diego State University; e-mail bmoss@mail.sdsu.edu. Kelly Johnson is an English teacher at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, California, USA; e-mail kjohnson@hshmc.org.