Have a Great Summer, Everyone!
A Nonfiction New Year Celebration by Steve Tetreault
Back in October 2023, I joined Bluesky, and it’s helped me connect to a whole new group of fabulous educators. One of them is middle school librarian Steve Tetreault, who wrote today’s
Revisiting Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: Why Students Plagiarize—It’s Not What You Think
As you read the mentor essays in Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing, you’ll see that the importance of making personal connections emerges again
How Understanding Text Structures Helped My Writing
A quick search of this blog’s archive shows that one of the topics I’ve discussed most is text structures. Those posts date back all the way to 2009. Back then, I
Teaching STEAM Through an Author’s Lens by Susan Edwards Richmond
Not long ago, my friend Susan Edwards Richmond, who is a children’s book author and preschool teacher at wildlife sanctuary in eastern Massachusetts, told me about some great book-based lessons educators
The Writing Process as a Living Story
Last spring, I learned about this wonderful poem from Laura Purdie Salas, who spotted it on Amy Lugwig VanDerwater’s amazing blog The Poem Farm. I’m so grateful that Amy asked Adam to write
Revisiting Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: Starting with a Question
As you read the mentor essays in Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing, you’ll notice that, in some cases, professional writers start with a specific focus in mind. But for others, finding a focus is part of their creative process. In most cases, student
Updated 5 Kinds of Nonfiction Sample Books by Category
Some of the most popular posts of all time on this blog are the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction book lists I first published in early 2018. When the book 5 Kinds of Nonfiction came out in 2021, it contained expanded, updated lists along with QR codes that readers could use to
Revisiting Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: Developing a Spirit of Inquiry
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been describing strategies from the anthology Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing that students can use to choose topics they’re excited about for nonfiction writing projects. You can scroll down to read these posts. But to create
The Why and How of Teaching the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction by Christopher Hunt
Back in October, I joined Bluesky, and it’s helped me connect to a whole new group of fabulous educators. One of them is K-5 teacher-librarian Christopher Hunt, who wrote today’s post. Thanks for sharing your experiences, Chris. Despite the fact that some prominent publications don’t acknowledge or review children’s nonfiction, it’s
Nonfiction Book Talks
How often do you read a book because it’s recommended by someone you know and trust? Students are no different. That’s why book talks are a great way to get students excited about books and reading. These 2- to 4- minute oral advertisements can make students aware of the wide range
Readers Theater: A Rich Resource for Teaching Science and ELA
You’ve probably heard of Readers Theater (RT). It’s a fun, easy way to bring literature to life.RT is a reading activity that introduces students to theatrical techniques without the hassle of props, costumes, or sets. Instead of memorizing lines, students read directly from scripts, using intonation, facial expressions, and gestures
Reading Rockets Interview
Not long ago, the folks at Reading Rockets interviewed me and edited our discussion into fourteen short videos that you can watch yourself or share with students. Topics include keeping a nature journal, research, text structure, nonfiction read alouds, the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, and more. I hope you’ll take a
The Lowdown on the Smackdown by Renae Nichols
For the last couple of years, I’ve invited educators to share reflections of their students’ experiences during the Sibert Smackdown. After all, teachers and librarians loved hearing directly from their colleagues. Today’s post comes from school librarian Renae Nichols. Thanks so much for sharing Renae! I first heard about the
Getting Ready for March Madness Nonfiction
Inspired by the annual March Madness basketball tournament, in 2016, literacy coach Shelley Moody worked with instructional coach Valerie Glueck to develop a month-long, whole-school activity in which students read sixteen nonfiction picture books (some narrative, some expository) and select their favorite. During Week 1, half the classes read the 8 books
Text Scaffolding in Student Nonfiction Writing
Marlene Correia and I included a section about how text scaffolding can help young readers in Chapter 5 of 5 Kind of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books. But last summer, I had a conversation with literacy educator Xenia Hadjioannou that has led me to think more deeply
An Innovative Resource for Teaching Informational Writing
Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing has been out in the world for just over 3 years now. Here’s what educators are saying about it: “I planned on reading just a few essays, but I couldn’t put it down. I was so moved
Children’s Fiction vs. Nonfiction Sales Figures
Around this time last year, I wrote a blog post that turned out to be very popular. In it, I used Bookscan data reported in Publisher’s Weekly to calculate nonfiction vs. fiction book sales for adult books and children’s books for the first half of 2022. Since another year has
Best Nonfiction of 2023 Roundup
Next Monday is a big day in children’s literature. The winners of the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards will be announced. So today seems like a good time to look back at some of the highly-regarded titles published last year. There’s no doubt about it. 2023 was a phenomenal
Teaching Nonfiction Craft Moves
In most schools, students are deeply immersed in their informational writing unit at this time of year, so I thought it might be helpful to share the table below, which appears on p. 54 of 5 Kinds of Nonfiction. While the book discusses each of these craft moves in detail—with half a
10 Ways Nurture and Nourish Nonfiction Writers
Now that most schools are in midst of their informational writing unit, it seems like a great time to share a School Library Journal article that came out over the summer. It’s jampacked with great ideas for increasing student awareness of and access to nonfiction. Enjoy!
Narrative & Expository: Two Nonfiction Writing Styles
Over the holiday break, I spent some time thinking about what I’d share on this blog over the next few months and decided to take a look at my most popular post of all time. The answer surprised me, so I’m sharing it again for folks who might have missed
15 Favorite STEM Books of 2023
Today I’m finishing up my posts for 2023 with my annual list of favorite STEM books. I usually try to limit it to 10 titles, but this year’s list includes an astonishing 15 books because I just couldn’t narrow it down. It was a stellar year for nonfiction, and for STEM
Sibert Smackdown! There’s Still Time!
The American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards are 6 weeks away. I can’t wait to find who the winners will be, can you? As a nonfiction lover, the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is my favorite award of all. And that’s why I started the Sibert Smackdown six years ago. It’s
Featuring Nonfiction in One School, One Book Programs
One School, One Book programs are a terrific way to bring a whole school community together. You can find plenty of helpful resources for planning these events online. You can also find lists of suggested books. But as you peruse these lists, you’ll notice something missing—nonfiction. Since research shows that most
How Young Writers Can Avoid Plagiarism, Part 2
On Tuesday, I shared a video in which I discuss how two personal experiences helped me develop the lens of gratitude that makes my new book Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight so much more than just a matter-of-fact book about how moonlight affects animals. I hope you’ll take a few