Two Nonfiction Writing Styles by Kristian Bucknor
Recently, teacher-librarian Kristian Bucknor read 5 Kinds of Nonfiction and tried an activity that introduces the two nonfiction writing styles—expository and narrative—with her students. I was curious to know how it went, so Kristian generously offered to write this blog post summarizing her experience. Thank you, Kristian! It’s wonderful to see how your students responded to […]
Look Out World . . . There’s No Stopping These Students!
Not long ago, school librarian Meredith Inkeles (@KRESLibrary) tweeted the following: After sharing Sibert Award-winning Summertime Sleepers by Melissa Stewart and Sarah S. Brannen with 3rd graders, they had some amazing questions about the mangrove killifish & the pixie frog. I think we have some research to do! A few minutes later, she followed up with a […]
The Lowdown on Our Smackdown by Galiah Morgenstern
In the past, I’ve written a #SibertSmackdown Wrap-up post with tidbits from some of the classes and schools who participated. But this year, I decided to try something a little bit different. I invited some of the participating teachers to share a reflection of their class’s experience with the activity, and it was a great […]
Using Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep to Explore Elementary Students as Nonfiction Readers and Writers by Tom Bober
Last March, uber-talented school librarian Tom Bober shared this terrific lesson idea for exploring active nonfiction with students. Now he’s back to describe his school’s experience incorporating the teaching strategies and author essays from Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Children’s Book Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing into nonfiction reading and writing instruction across […]
Why I Write Expository Nonfiction by Lita Judge
Today we continue the series in which award-winning nonfiction authors discuss the joys and challenges of writing narrative nonfiction and expository nonfiction with an essay by Lita Judge. Thank you, Lita. I was a scientist—a geologist working on paleontology digs—long before I was a writer. I chose that path early in life because I was filled […]
Best Nonfiction of 2021 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. 2021 was a phenomenal year for nonfiction, and it […]
Using the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction to Teach Craft Moves
In most schools, students are plunging into 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 chapter on text features […]
Why I Write Expository Nonfiction by Lee Wind
Today we continue the series in which award-winning nonfiction authors discuss the joys and challenges of writing narrative nonfiction and expository nonfiction with an essay by Lee Wind. Thank you, Lee. How can I explain a concept that’s huge and detailed? Not one story, but multiple layered stories that combine into something bigger than the sum […]
10 Tips for Finding Excellent Expository Nonfiction by Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Recently, I posed this question on social media: It’s relatively easy for educators to identify great narrative nonfiction because these books receive plenty of starred reviews and win lots of awards, but how do you find high-quality expository nonfiction—active, browsable, traditional, and expository literature—to add to your collection? School librarian Marcie Flinchum Atkins had so many […]
Investigating Nonfiction Like Detectives by D’Anne Dwight Mosby
Recently, school librarian D’Anne Dwight Mosby tagged me on Twitter so I could see the great activity her students were doing to think more deeply about the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction. I knew other educators would want to give D’Anne’s idea a try, so I asked her to write a blog post. When I received D’Anne‘s piece, […]