A Nonfiction New Year Celebration by Steve Tetreault
Back in October 2023, I joined Bluesky, and it’s helped me connect to a whole new group of fabulous educators. One of them is middle school librarian Steve Tetreault, who wrote today’s post. Thanks for sharing your Nonfiction New Year Celebration, Steve. Nonfiction has been my Achille’s heel as an educator and librarian. It has loomed as […]
Updated 5 Kinds of Nonfiction Sample Books by Category
Some of the most popular posts of all time on this blog are the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction book lists I first published in early 2018. When the book 5 Kinds of Nonfiction came out in 2021, it contained expanded, updated lists along with QR codes that readers could use to access additional titles sorted by […]
Nonfiction Book Talks
How often do you read a book because it’s recommended by someone you know and trust? Students are no different. That’s why book talks are a great way to get students excited about books and reading. These 2- to 4- minute oral advertisements can make students aware of the wide range of books available in your […]
Readers Theater: A Rich Resource for Teaching Science and ELA
You’ve probably heard of Readers Theater (RT). It’s a fun, easy way to bring literature to life.RT is a reading activity that introduces students to theatrical techniques without the hassle of props, costumes, or sets. Instead of memorizing lines, students read directly from scripts, using intonation, facial expressions, and gestures to create characters. Children are natural […]
Reading Rockets Interview
Not long ago, the folks at Reading Rockets interviewed me and edited our discussion into fourteen short videos that you can watch yourself or share with students. Topics include keeping a nature journal, research, text structure, nonfiction read alouds, the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, and more. I hope you’ll take a look.
The Lowdown on the Smackdown by Renae Nichols
For the last couple of years, I’ve invited educators to share reflections of their students’ experiences during the Sibert Smackdown. After all, teachers and librarians loved hearing directly from their colleagues. Today’s post comes from school librarian Renae Nichols. Thanks so much for sharing Renae! I first heard about the Sibert Smackdown 2 years ago, […]
Getting Ready for March Madness Nonfiction
Inspired by the annual March Madness basketball tournament, in 2016, literacy coach Shelley Moody worked with instructional coach Valerie Glueck to develop a month-long, whole-school activity in which students read sixteen nonfiction picture books (some narrative, some expository) and select their favorite. During Week 1, half the classes read the 8 books on the right-hand side of […]
Text Scaffolding in Student Nonfiction Writing
Marlene Correia and I included a section about how text scaffolding can help young readers in Chapter 5 of 5 Kind of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books. But last summer, I had a conversation with literacy educator Xenia Hadjioannou that has led me to think more deeply about it in terms of […]
Best Nonfiction of 2023 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. 2023 was a phenomenal year for nonfiction, and it […]
Teaching Nonfiction Craft Moves
In most schools, students are deeply immersed in 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 and […]