3 Great Ways to Introduce Students to a Range of Nonfiction
Throughout May, I’ll be sharing ideas and activities from educators who are working to increase their students’ access to a wide range of high-quality nonfiction books. You can scroll down to for last week’s suggestions. Here are three ideas to help students understand the wide world of nonfiction and all it has to offer. Immersing kids […]
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 […]
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 […]
Whale Fall: Behind the Book
Today is the official release date for Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-floor Ecosystem, and I couldn’t be more excited. The story behind this book traces back to 2019. While writing Ick! Delightfully, Disgusting Animals Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses, I stumbled upon an article about zombie worms, aka bone-eating snot flower worms. Of course, I included them in […]
A Deep Dive into Text Structures
Back on December 22—just as teachers and librarians across the country were wrapping things up for 2022—School Library Journal published a series of three linked articles about nonfiction text structures. Even though it was the midst of the holiday rush, the articles received a good response because many school delve into their informational writing unit […]
2022: The Year of Extraordinary Expository
Back in 2014, I wrote this post, lamenting the fact that expository nonfiction—books that explain, describe, or inform in a clear accessible way—were the unsung underdogs of the children’s literature world. These books rarely received starred reviews or won awards because narrative nonfiction—books that tell a story or convey an experience—was generally considered superior. But […]
Nonfiction Writing Mini-lessons
More and more, teachers are requesting educational resources that go beyond traditional teachers guides and activity sheets. So while I do still have those kinds of materials on my website, I’m also offering resources that delve deeply into the nonfiction reading and writing process from an author’s point of view. Some of these resources focus […]
Hungry for Nonfiction by Nicola Davies
At the end of 2022, Publisher’s Weekly re-printed this article, which first came out in the summer. When celebrated UK nonfiction author Nicola Davies tweeted her support, I asked if she’d like to share her own thoughts on this topic, and I’m so grateful that she agreed. Thank you, Nicola, for this honest and heartfelt essay. […]