Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Five Kinds of Nonfiction Books, Teaching Strategy 2

Update June 24, 2024: My thinking about nonfiction classification has evolved since I wrote this post, but I’ve decided not to delete it because there’s value in looking back at my past ideas. For my current thinking, please see the book 5 Kinds of Nonfiction as well as information on my website.


Back
in December, I published this post with my view of the nonfiction
family tree, showing how it’s evolved and blossomed over the last couple of
decades.

Because it received such an enthusiastic response, I
published a follow-up post with
sample book lists on January 5. After reading it, school librarian Laurie Nawor
asked if I had a lesson plan for teaching the five categories. I suggested an
activity for introducing them last week, and today, I’m sharing a second idea.

Reinforcing the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction Children’s Books

Remind students of the five kinds of nonfiction by sharing a
few examples of each. (The sample books in this post will help you identify suitable titles in your own library’s
collection.)

Divide the class into small groups, and encourage the teams
to brainstorm a few characteristics of each category. Next,
give each group a packet of sticky notes and three to six books from
various categories. Then invite students to classify the books and label each
one with a sticky note.

When all the teams have completed this
task, ask each group to rotate to a different table, leaving their books
behind. Students should review the books at their new table and discuss how the
previous group classified the books. If they disagree with the previous group,
they should add a second sticky note explaining their rationale.

Repeat this process until each group has
reviewed all the books. Then have a brief class discussion about books that
have multiple sticky notes on them. Finally, ask the students how knowing these categories can help them as readers and
writers.

One Response

top 25 nonfiction blog award
Return to Blog Archive

Most Popular Posts

Topics
top 25 nonfiction blog award
Return to Blog Archive

Most Popular Posts

Topics

© 2001–[current-year] Melissa Stewart. All rights reserved. All materials on this site may be copied for classroom or library use but may not be reprinted or resold for commercial purposes. This website is COPPA compliant. If you are a child under age 13 and wish to contact Melissa Stewart, please use the email address of a teacher, librarian, or parent with that adult’s permission. Webhost Privacy Policy.