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 […]
New 5 Kinds of Nonfiction Book Lists
A recent question on social media made me realize that, although I updated the sample book lists included in 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books at the end of 2022, I never shared them here on my blog or on social media. So today I’m rectifying that. Here are Sample […]
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 […]
What a Poem!
April is poetry month, so I’m excited to share my new favorite poem. Yes, this poem was written by an insightful, passionate fourth grader who decided to celebrate the power of reading nonfiction. Wow! I learned about this wonderful poem from Laura Purdie Salas, who spotted it on Amy Lugwig VanDerwater’s amazing blog The Poem Farm. I’m so grateful […]
Nod to Nonfiction: Using Focused Library Displays to Elevate Nonfiction by Marcie Flinchum Atkins
In a recent Chalk + Ink Zoom chat (an offshoot of the awesome podcast hosted by fourth-grade teacher Kate Narita), uber-dedicated elementary school librarian and children’s book author Marcie Flinchum Atkins described an idea I love—Nod to Nonfiction book displays. I thought other librarians and teachers would be interested too, so I invited Marcie to share […]
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 […]
Thank You, Meg Medina and NCTE
In January, Newbery Medalist Meg Medina was named the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Meg’s platform is ¡Cuéntame! Let’s Talk Books, and the amazing video she released on March 6 makes it clear that she’s deeply committed to making nonfiction part of the conversation. This is wonderful news! And what’s even better is that it’s the […]
The Lowdown on the Smackdown by Meredith Inkeles
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 reflections of their students’ experiences. And it was a great decision—teachers and librarians loved hearing directly from their colleagues. So this year, I’m doing it again. Today’s post […]