Kids love fiction and nonfiction books, and among younger readers, studies often show that they prefer nonfiction books! Elementary school teachers know that certain nonfiction series fly off the shelves in younger grades: Who Would Win? or the Who Was? series. But at all grades should share, promote, and encourage nonfiction reading.
Read Aloud Nonfiction
How often do you choose a nonfiction book for a read aloud in your classroom? There are nonfiction picture books and middle grade books about any topic you can imagine! Nonfiction books are great for linking to your science or social studies curriculum, and you can find a ton of books about artists and musicians too.
Book Talk Nonfiction
In my classroom, we participate in First Chapter Friday, where I share the beginning of a middle grade book with my fifth graders. In addition to middle grade chapter books, graphic novels, and novels in verse, I also make sure to feature nonfiction middle grade books as well. These are a few of the most-popular middle grade nonfiction books in my classroom library.
All Thirteen: the incredible cave rescue of the Thai boy’s soccer team by Christina Soontornvat is as gripping as any fiction book. I already knew the outcome from the news, but I could not put this book down!
Chinese Menu: the history, myths, and legends behind your favorite foods by Grace Lin is a mouth-watering, information-packed book about your favorite Chinese foods. While you won’t want to read it on an empty stomach, you will be hungry for more stories once you start!
Kid-ventors: 35 Real Kids and their Amazing Inventions written by Kailei Pew and illustrated by Shannon Wright is a collection of stories and biographies about real-world kids who invented something new. My students find this one really exciting and inspiring!
Where Are the Aliens? The Search for Life Beyond Earth written by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by Nicole Miles is a super-engaging look at the evidence and the science behind the search for extraterrestrial life.
And one more (missing from the photo because it’s currently checked out): Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires written by Jessica Stremer and illustrated by Michael Garland is a fascinating (and reassuring) look at wildfires and how nature responds.
Write Nonfiction
Expository writing is an element of many classroom curricula, and narrative nonfiction addresses many of the same skills as narrative fiction. In my fifth grade classroom, we spend a month immersed in nonfiction picture books while my students are brainstorming, researching, and writing their own nonfiction picture books.
We begin in the school library, and our librarian introduces students to Melissa’s Stewarts Five Kinds of Nonfiction. Students read and discuss a wide range of picture books, slotting them into each category: active, browsable, expository, traditional, and narrative.
Later, we analyze published picture books as mentor texts, and students choose a specific book that matches the style or structure they want to emulate. By the end of the unit, students have developed their skills in research, note-taking, writing, synthesizing, drafting, revising, and even visual design.
Students often say that this is one of their favorite projects of the year–especially because they get to read their books aloud to their second grade buddies! Nothing beats an authentic audience.
What are your favorite ways to use nonfiction with students?
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