MSLA Handout: Innovative Activities for Teaching Nonfiction Reading and Writing
Author-educator Melissa Stewart shares fun, practical ideas for helping K-5 students develop information literacy skills as they read award-winning nonfiction books and produce their own informational writing. Attendees will go home with creative ways to support student learning in the library and via collaboration with classroom teachers. READING Nonfiction Smackdown! Upper elementary students read two […]
Behind the Books: Writing STEM Picture Books, Part 6
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been discussing the ins and outs of writing STEM picture books, including its key craft elements. (Scroll down to read earlier posts in this discussion.) Today I’m going to focus on text structure. Common Core espouses six major text structures. But in truth there are many more. Nearly […]
5 Faves: Expository Nonfiction Recommended by Cathy Mere
When I was in school (okay, many years ago), we did a research report nearly every year. Teachers were pretty explicit about their process (which wasn’t always the same), and we just had to learn to follow the rules to get a good grade. It was a simple, albeit time-consuming, game. Across years of […]
In the Classroom: Elements of a Nonfiction Booktalk
Not long ago, I saw this list of recommended components for a booktalk: Title Author Genre Main character Plot bit And boy, did it frost my britches. Why? Because the person who created this list assumed the booktalker was talking about a fiction title. What about nonfiction? It’s important to booktalk these titles too because many kids […]
In the Classroom: What a Great Idea!
Don’t you just love this photo? Last spring, Fran Wilson (@mrswilsons2nd), a second grade teacher in Ohio, and her teaching partner Nicole Prater shared eight of my books with their students. The books had a range of text structures and features. After the class discussed the content of a book, Fran and Nicole asked the […]
RI TeacherFest Handout: Helping Students Overcome Their Biggest Nonficiton Writing Roadblocks
Today Sarah Albee and I are leading a 90-minute session at the Rhode Island Teacherfest. We will begin by asking the educators in the audience to share the most common nonfiction writing challenges their students face, and then we will suggest solutions. We will also invite audience members to share their own creative ideas with […]
SCBWI Handout: Writing STEM Picture Books
3 Tips to Get Started Starting with a Question https://twowritingteachers.org/2017/05/26/stewartnfques/ Making a Personal Connection http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2017/05/behind-books-concept-and-connection.html Hooking Your Readers http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2013/11/behind-books-hooking-young-readers.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2015/03/behind-books-tinkering-with-my-tools.html 6 Key Elements of Nonfiction Writing Category http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2015/10/behind-books-look-at-life-stories.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2015/10/behind-books-look-at-survey-books.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2015/10/behind-books-look-at-specialized.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2015/10/behind-books-look-at-concept-books.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2015/11/behind-books-choosing-nonfiction.html http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2017/05/guest-post-melissa-stewart-on-concept.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2016/01/behind-books-writing-sciencenature.html Writing Style http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2015/12/behind-books-two-kinds-of-expository.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2015/12/behind-books-two-kinds-of-narrative.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2016/10/breaking-mold.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2016/08/mta-handout-nonfiction-triumvirate.html Text Structure http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2017/01/behind-books-shopping-for-text-structure.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2016/06/behind-books-q-the-forgotten-text.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2016/01/behind-books-text-structure.html http://www.melissa-stewart.com/pdf/Understanding_Text-Structures.pdf#zoom=70 http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2014/03/deadliest-animals-look-at-structure.html Format http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2017/03/in-classroom-text-format-in-expository.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2017/03/behind-books-importance-of-format-in.html http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2011/05/behind-books-does-your-books-format.html Voice […]
My Favorite Book of 2017
I don’t usually start thinking about the Sibert Smackdown this early in the year, but the moment I finished reading Grand Canyon by Jason Chin, I knew it would be on my list. I’m pretty confident that by the end of January, the cover of Grand Canyon will be jam packed with shiny stickers. I […]
Behind the Books: A Place for Bats in the Classroom
I’m so excited that a new, updated edition of A Place for Bats became available on April 1. As with the original version, there are all kinds of ways you can use it in the classroom. For starters, there’s a Teacher’s Guide that makes connections to a wide variety of Next Generation Science Standards and […]
Helping Students Overcome Their Biggest Nonfiction Writing Challenges
Today SarahAlbee and I are leading a 90-minute session at the Massachusetts Reading Association conference. We will begin by asking the classroom teachers, librarians, reading specialists, and literacy coaches in the audience to share the most common nonfiction writing challenges their students face, and then we will suggest solutions. We will also invite audience members […]