Process approaches to writing instruction in primary-grade classrooms have become widespread due to the influence of Graves (1983), Calkins (1986), Avery (1993), and others. Their work emphasizes expressive writing, particularly personal narrative, more than expository or informational writing. As a consequence, expressive writing is what children are encouraged to do most often in the classroom. In a survey of the instructional practices of primary teachers who are considered effective by their supervisors and administrators, Pressley, Rankin, and Yokoi (1995) reported that these teachers' students wrote mostly stories, responses to reading, and journal entries. While these writing methods are considered effective, Daniels (1990) lamented, Children can become familiar with and have experience with many genres of reading and writing from an early age (Moss, 1997; Pappas, 1991). Furthermore, for some children, interacting with non-narrative texts may be the best path to overall literacy, particularly for boys and struggling readers and writers (Caswell & Duke, 1998). This research suggests that common instructional practices in the primary grades underestimate the ability of students to comprehend and produce informational texts.