Kids Love Nonfiction: Changing My Mindset by Kaitlin Alvine
Today we hear from fourth grade teacher Kaitlin Alvine who I met on the #classroombookaday Facebook group, created and maintained by uber-dedicated school librarian Jillian Heise. I highly recommend this group! Like many educators, Kaitlin is just beginning to understand the power of nonfiction to turn children into passionate readers. Thank you, Kaitlin, for sharing […]
Blasts from the Past
Each summer, I review this blog’s stats to see what kinds of topics resonate most with readers. And year after year, I notice a trend. Readership tends to fall off in April. I think there are a few reasons. First, most schools have finished their informational writing unit for the year, so fewer educators are […]
Does Expository Nonfiction = Just the Facts?
Lately, I keep hearing expository nonfiction described as “just the facts.” And I have two reactions simultaneously. First, “Hooray!” It’s exciting that more and more people in the children’s literature community using this term. For a long, long, time, narrative nonfiction received all the attention. But second, “Darn!” It’s disappointing that many people don’t fully understand […]
Is Memoir Nonfiction?
Now that state standards for ELA dictate that students to read and write more nonfiction than ever before, many middle school and high school English teachers are leaning heavily on memoir to satisfy this curricular requirement. Because memoir has characters, settings, dialog, and a strong narrative arc, it feels familiar and comfortable to fiction lovers. […]
A Second Grader’s Awesome Observation
Last week, I received a wonderful letter from a second-grade teacher in Washington State. She was excited to tell me what happened when she shared Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-floor Ecosystem with her class. After reading it aloud, she asked students what they noticed about the book. And one response blew her away: “The creatures start […]
A Mega-fun Mentor Text for Opinion Writing
In most states, the ELA standards expect students to create opinion pieces, or persuasive writing. A quick google search can provide lists of fictional mentor texts, but since the pieces students create will be nonfiction, wouldn’t an informational book make a better mentor? Your school’s librarian or literacy coach can probably create a list of persuasive nonfiction […]
Using Text Trios to Nurture STEM Curiosity
Recently, award-winning STEM author Jennifer Swanson let me know about an innovative idea that she’s working on—Text Trios. She’s pairing a book with a narrative writing style and a book with an expository writing style with episodes of her popular podcast Solve It for Kids. I was so excited about how these trios could appeal to […]
Making Test Prep Fun and Meaningful
Nobody likes state-mandated tests, but they’re an unavoidable part of school life, and that means preparing students to do their best is also a routine part of the school year. Here’s a link to a terrific lesson idea that uses Odd Bods: The World’s Unusual Animals by Julie Murphy to make the process a little bit […]
Sibert Book Club Shines a Light on Nonfiction by Jessica Fries-Gaither
In the past, I’ve written a #SibertSmackdown Wrap-up post with tidbits from some of the schools that participated. But last year, I decided to invite educators to share their experiences directly. And it was a great decision—teachers and librarians loved hearing from their colleagues. So this year, I’m doing it again. Most of these posts […]
Reading Nonfiction Aloud
As I was adding the read aloud guide for Whale Fall to my website, I realized that I hadn’t blogged about nonfiction read alouds for a while, and, well, there’s no time like the present. When it comes to read alouds, most teachers and librarians turn to fiction, but nonfiction read alouds can be just as […]