Over the past few years, dozens of teachers and librarians have worked
with students to sort books using the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction classification
system.
7 were able to sort books effectively, and most students could easily identify
a favorite category. Here are some of their comments:
I
like active nonfiction because . . .
“it
teaches you to do the things you want to do.” —Gina, fourth grader
“you
get to do things while you read. That makes me feel calmer.” —Jack, fourth
grader
I
like browseable books because . . .
“you have a lot of choices about how you read.
It’s like the potluck dinners at my church.” —Matthew, fourth grader
“I can learn a ton of new, and
sometimes crazy, facts. I like to learn new facts so I can share them with
family and friends.” —Clara, fourth grader
I
like expository literature because .
. .
“it
has facts plus it can make you think about something in a new way.” —Rowan,
fourth grader
“it
can surprise you. And sometimes it’s like playing a game.” —Ryan, fourth grader
I like narrative nonfiction because . . .
“it has characters and a story that is a real situation! It is like I Survived
and other fiction books.” —Miles, second grader
“I’m not a nonfiction type, so it
really helps me learn more without having to read constant facts.” —Flynn, fourth grader
one student comment in particular blew us away:
think you should add an ‘oddball’ category. It’s for books that are a mix of
two or more categories.” —Austin, fourth
grader
right. While most nonfiction children’s books fit snugly into one specific
category, some titles are outliers that feature characteristics of two or more
categories. For the next few weeks, I’m going to take a close up look at these “blended
books.”
the line between browseable nonfiction and traditional nonfiction.
These titles
feature a colorful, eye-catching design with plenty of photos and other text
features (browseable), but the main text extends over many spreads, which makes
them most appropriate for reading section by section or from cover to cover (traditional).
I’ve written thirteen books in this series, and I can tell you from firsthand
experience at school visits that kids love them.
For more information about this kind of blended nonfiction, be on the look out for 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing with Children’sBooks, coming in 2021 from Stenhouse Publishing.
Next week, we’ll look at books with
characteristics of both browsable books and expository literature. Stay tuned.
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5 Responses
Thank you for this! I’m a new librarian and this is a great library lesson.
So glad it's helpful! More info to come text week.
Love it when you filed test the types by those who read it and you get answers like this. Smart kids. TY, Melissa.
Thank you for letting us know about "5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing with Children's Books" from Stenhouse Pub. coming out this fall. Looks like a very interesting read.
Love this–and can't wait for your book, Melissa. Giving teachers and writers a vocabulary to discuss nonfiction with is incredibly helpful!