If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve probably read
some of my posts about the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, a system for classifying the
wonderful world of nonfiction books for kids.
characteristics of the five categories, they can predict the type of
information they’re likely to find in a particular book and how that
information will be presented. As a result, they can
quickly and easily identify the best books for a particular purpose (early
stages of research, later stages of research, mentor texts in writing workshop,
etc.) as well as the kind of nonfiction books they enjoy reading most.
what school librarian Traci Kirkland has to say about it:
clarity to the way we think about nonfiction. We’re used to subdividing our
fiction section into genres like mysteries and science fiction. But then we
just lump all the nonfiction together. Now we can see smart, useful ways to
categorize these books too.”
And it turns out plenty of other educators also find the
system useful, so I’m excited to announce that Marlene Correia, a professor of
literacy education and past president of the Massachusetts Reading Association
and I, are writing a book called 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing with Children’s Books. It will be available in 2021 from Stenhouse Publishing. Hooray!
five categories. For more printable versions, please see this pinterest
board:
And here’s an activity for introducing it to your students:
Organize
students into small groups and invite each team to gather a variety of nonfiction
books on a single broad topic from the school library. Possibilities include outer
space, ancient civilizations, or natural disasters. After the children have
sorted the books into at least three categories that make sense to them, compare
the criteria each team used. Be sure to let the class know that each group’s set
of criteria is valid and well thought out.
Next,
introduce the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction classification system. After sharing several
books that fit each category, read aloud sections of books that are about the
same topic but represent different book types. One possible text set is:
of Pale Male by Megan McCarthy (narrative)
The
sample books listed on the Category Feature Cards (above) can guide you in
identifying other suitable titles in your own library’s collection.
Ask
students to compare how the books present information. Is the focus broad or is
a specific concept being discussed? What kind of text features does each book
include? What kind of text structure, writing style, and craft moves does the
author employ? Does the writing have a distinct voice? What similarities and
differences do students notice across the categories?
Finally,
give each team a copy of the Category Feature Cards (above). After students
take a few minutes to review the information, send the groups back to the
stacks to gather a selection of nonfiction books on a new topic. (Asking students
to gather a new set of books rather than re-sort their original pile reinforces
the idea that there are many ways to sort books and that there was nothing “wrong”
with their initial classification.)
Invite
each team to sort the books into the five types—active, browseable, traditional,
expository literature, and narrative. Did they find examples of all five kinds?
If not, can they explain why? (For example, some topics may not lend themselves
to active titles or a narrative approach.)
I’ll be sharing more information about the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction next week. Stay tuned.
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2 Responses
these are great!
Wow, 5 Kinds of Nonfiction is an excellent way of classifying nonfiction. Thank you!
🙂 Jill Dana