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STEM Tuesday– The Impacts of Our Changing Climate– Writing Tips & Resources

By on February 15, 2022   /   Climate Change/Earth Science, STEM Tuesday  

Our Changing Climate: A Personal Narrative Prompt

In the eye of the storm book cover

In her acknowledgements, Amy Cherrix, author of IN THE EYE OF THE STORM, shares what motivated her to write her book about hurricanes. As she notes: “I undertook this journey to understand hurricanes because I am no stranger to these storms.” In her author bio she writes that she and her family have lived through “six hurricanes, two floods, a desert sandstorm, and more blizzards than she cares to count.” Reflecting on Amy’s comments, and reading through this month’s book list made me realize that all of us have a story to tell when it comes to the impacts of our changing climate.

Like Amy, my family has been affected by climate change. Southern California, where I live, is facing intense wildfires and extreme drought. In the past few years, we’ve seen one of our Scouts’ favorite backpacking trails destroyed, the nature center at a favorite hiking spot burned down, and we were forced to stay inside many days because of wildfire smoke and poor air quality. Not to mention, we have been asked to conserve water because of our ongoing drought.

From  floods to blizzards, and increasingly hot summers, climate change is affecting all of us. This shared experience could be a powerful prompt for a personal narrative assignment. Let’s dive in.

The Personal Narrative Process

There are so many wonderful resources and free lesson plans for crafting personal narratives, and I’ve included links to many of these below. Here are some key steps in the process.

  1. Read and study personal narratives. All good writing starts with mentor texts. The New York Times offers a free personal narrative writing unit for students, which includes links to personal narratives written by Times columnists. Study them to discover the elements of good narrative writing, like the role of setting or using dialog. Or better yet, read some of the personal accounts captures in our books this month, like IN THE EYE OF THE STORM.
  2. Brainstorm your topics. How have you experienced climate change? Read some of the books on this month’s book list to learn about climate change and its various impacts. You might look closely at a book like HOW TO CHANGE EVERYTHING, which includes first-hand interviews with many young activists, who talk about how changing climate is affecting their communities. In the classroom, you can brainstorm impacts of climate change in small groups or with the whole class. Once you have a list, pick a topic that’s affected you personally.
  3. Write down everything you can recall about your specific experience. What happened on that day it was too hot to play soccer outside or that day you had to evacuate for a hurricane? Remember, for a personal narrative, you are your own best source. For your chosen event, think about where you were (setting). Who were you with (characters)? What happened (conflict)? How did it feel? Think about details that speak to all five senses, not just what you saw, but what you heard, felt, smelled, tasted.
  4. Shape your narrative arc, making sure to include:
    • Exposition – the setup where your setting and characters are introduced
    • Rising action – where the action starts happening and events escalate
    • Climax – the final showdown, the moment of greatest conflict
    • Falling action – the events after the climax where tension is falling and the plot events are being wrapped up.
    • Resolution (or dénouement) – that final, satisfying moment, like “they all lived happily ever after.”
  5. After you’ve finished your first draft, revise. After you’ve revised on your own, share with a writing partner (or two) for feedback. I often like to ask my writing partners specific questions, especially about areas I might be struggling with. For example, I might ask “What did you think of the opening? Did it grab your attention?” or “Was the ending satisfying?”

I found some wonderful resources for narrative writing and personal narratives (including mini lesson plans), which I’ll include below. Happy drafting!

O.O.L.F.

Kirsten Williams Larson author

Kirsten W. Larson

Website: kirsten-w-larson.com

Biography

Kirsten used to work with rocket scientists at NASA. Now she writes books for curious kids. She is the author of  WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: EMMA LILIAN TODD INVENTS AN AIRPLANE, illustrated by Tracy Subisak (Calkins Creek), an NSTA Best STEM BOOK, A TRUE WONDER: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything, illustrated by Katy Wu (Clarion), which earned two starred reviews, and the forthcoming, THE FIRE OF STARS: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of, illustrated by Katherine Roy (Chronicle, 2023), and the middle grade graphic novel, THE LIGHT OF RESISTANCE illustrated by Barbara McClintock (Roaring Brook, 2023), as well as 25 nonfiction books for the school and library market. Find her at kirsten-w-larson.com or on Twitter and Instagram @KirstenWLarson.

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Announcing the #KidsLoveNonfiction Campaign

By on February 14, 2022   /   Articles, Book Lists, For Teachers  

 

Announcing the #KidsLoveNonfiction Campaign
This morning, Mary Ann Cappiello, Professor of Language and Literacy at Lesley University, and Xenia Hadjioannou, Associate Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the Harrisburg campus of Penn State University, sent the letter below to The New York Times requesting that the paper add three children’s nonfiction bestseller lists to parallel the existing picture book, middle grade, and young adult lists, which focus on fiction.

This change will align the children’s lists with the adult bestseller lists, which separate nonfiction and fiction. It will also acknowledge the incredible vibrancy of children’s nonfiction available today and support the substantial body of research showing that many children prefer nonfiction and still others enjoy fiction and nonfiction equally.

If you support this request, please follow the signature collection form link to add your name and affiliation to the more than 200 educators and librarians who have already endorsed the effort. Your information will be added to the letter but your email address will remain private.

LETTER TO THE NEW YORK TIMES

Nonfiction books for young people are in a golden age of creativity, information-sharing, and reader-appeal. But the genre suffers from an image problem and an awareness problem. The New York Times can play a role in changing that by adding a set of Nonfiction Best Seller lists for young people: one for picture books, one for middle grade literature, and one for young adult literature.

Today’s nonfiction authors and illustrators are depicting marginalized and minority communities throughout history and in our current moment. They are sharing scientific phenomena and cutting-edge discoveries. They are bearing witness to how art forms shift and transform, and illuminating historical documents and artifacts long ignored. Some of these book creators are themselves scientists or historians, journalists or jurists, athletes or artists, models of active learning and agency for young people passionate about specific topics and subject areas. Today’s nonfiction continues to push boundaries in form and function. These innovative titles engage, inform, and inspire readers from birth to high school.

Babies delight in board books that offer them photographs of other babies’ faces. Toddlers and preschoolers fascinated by the world around them pore over books about insects, animals, and the seasons. Children, tweens, and teens are hungry for titles about real people that look like them and share their religion, cultural background, or geographical location, and they devour books about people living different lives at different times and in different places. Info-loving kids are captivated by fact books and field guides that fuel their passions. Young tinkerers, inventors, and creators seek out how-to books that guide them in making meals, building models, knitting garments, and more. Numerous studies have described such readers and their passionate interest in nonfiction (Jobe & Dayton-Sakari, 2002; Moss and Hendershot, 2002; Mohr, 2006). Young people are naturally curious about their world. When they are allowed to follow their passions and explore what interests them, it bolsters their overall wellbeing. And the more young people read, the more they grow as readers, writers, and critical thinkers (Allington & McGill-Franzen, 2021; Van Bergen et al., 2021).

Research provides clear evidence that many children prefer nonfiction for their independent reading, and many more select it to pursue information about their particular interests (Doiron, 2003; Repaskey et al., 2017; Robertson & Reese, 2017; Kotaman & Tekin, 2017). Creative and engaging nonfiction titles can also enhance and support science, social studies, and language arts curricula. And yet, all too often, children, parents, and teachers do not know about recently published nonfiction books. Bookstores generally have only a few shelves devoted to the genre. And classroom and school library book collections remain dominated by fiction. If families, caregivers, and educators were aware of the high-quality nonfiction that is published for children every year, the reading lives of children and their educational experiences could be significantly enriched.

How can The New York Times help resolve the gap between readers’ yearning for engaging nonfiction, on the one hand, and their lack of knowledge of its existence, on the other? By maintaining separate fiction and nonfiction best seller lists for young readers just as the Book Review does for adults.

The New York Times Best Sellers lists constitute a vital cultural touchstone, capturing the interests of readers and trends in the publishing world. Since their debut in October of 1931, these lists have evolved to reflect changing trends in publishing and to better inform the public about readers’ habits. We value the addition of the multi-format Children’s Best Seller list in July 2000 and subsequent lists organized by format in October 2004. Though the primary purpose of these lists is to inform, they undeniably play an important role in shaping what publishers publish and what children read.

Adding children’s nonfiction best-seller lists would:

  • Help family members, caregivers, and educators identify worthy nonfiction titles.
  • Provide a resource for bibliophiles—including book-loving children—of materials that satisfy their curiosity.
  • Influence publishers’ decision-making.
  • Inform the public about innovative ways to convey information and ideas through words and images.
  • Inspire schools and public libraries to showcase nonfiction, broadening its appeal and deepening respect for truth.

We, the undersigned, strongly believe that by adding a set of nonfiction best-seller lists for young people, The New York Times can help ensure that more children, tweens, and teens have access to books they love. Thank you for considering our request.

Dr. Mary Ann Cappiello

Professor, Language and Literacy

Graduate School of Education, Lesley University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Former Chair, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Committee

 

Dr. Xenia Hadjioannou

Associate Professor, Language and Literacy Education

Penn State University, Harrisburg Campus

Harrisburg, PA

Vice President of the Children’s Literature Assembly (CLA) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

 

 

 

References

Allington, R. L., & McGill-Franzen, A. M. (2021). Reading volume and reading achievement: A review of recent research. Reading Research Quarterly, 56(S1), S231–S238. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.404

Correia, M. (2011). Fiction vs. informational texts: Which will your kindergarteners choose? Young Children, 66(6), 100-104.

Doiron, R. (2003). Boy Books, Girl Books: Should We Re-organize our School Library Collections? Teacher Librarian, 14-16.

Kotaman H. & Tekin A.K. (2017). Informational and fictional books: young children’s book preferences and teachers’ perspectives. Early Child Development and Care, 187(3-4), 600-614, DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2016.1236092

Jobe, R., & Dayton-Sakari, M. (2002). Infokids: How to use nonfiction to turn reluctant readers into enthusiastic learners. Markham, Ontario, Canada: Pembroke.

Mohr, K. A. J. (2006). Children’s choices for recreational reading: A three-part investigation of selection preferences, rationales, and processes. Journal of Literacy Research, 38(1), 81–104. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15548430jlr3801_4

Moss, B. &  Hendershot, J. (2002). Exploring sixth graders’ selection of nonfiction trade books: when students are given the opportunity to select nonfiction books, motivation for reading improves. The Reading Teacher, vol. 56 (1), 6+.

Repaskey, L., Schumm, J. & Johnson, J. (2017). First and fourth grade boys’ and girls’ preferences for and perceptions about narrative and expository text. Reading Psychology, 38, 808-847.

Robertson, Sarah-Jane L. & Reese, Elaine. (Mar 2017). The very hungry caterpillar turned into a butterfly: Children’s and parents’ enjoyment of different book genres. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 17(1), 3-25.

Van Bergen, E., Vasalampi, K., & Torppa, M. (2021). How are practice and performance related? Development of reading from age 5 to 15. Reading Research Quarterly, 56(3), 415–434. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.309

If you support the request to add three children’s nonfiction bestseller lists to parallel the existing lists, which focus on fiction, please add your name and affiliation to the signature collection form.

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Engaging Readers by Exploring the Natural World of Book Settings

By on February 11, 2022   /   Articles, For Teachers  

The pandemic has placed stressors upon students, parents and educators alike. What if we could engage students more deeply in the books that they are reading while helping them reduce stress?  Research overwhelmingly shows that spending time in nature and exposure to natural elements reduces stress and promotes mental and physical health. Exploring the natural world in which books are set can help students achieve some of the benefits of exposure to nature. It also helps readers make cross-curricular connections and allows students’ natural curiosity to drive them to seek out non-fiction resources.

Below are six easy ways for you and the students in your life to get started.

  • Begin by collecting several books in which a significant part of the action takes place outdoors. Research shows that students are more engaged when they have a choice in their reading. Allowing them to select a book with a setting that they’d like to explore also sets the groundwork for their natural curiosity to drive their inquiry.

 

  • Ask students to read with nature in mind. As students read, invite them to take note of details of the natural world of the book’s setting. What do the characters see, hear, smell, taste and touch from the natural world in that setting? How do these interactions affect character development, story arc, plot, pacing, and other elements of the story?

 

  • Take nature journaling to the next level. Begin by providing students with a notebook and challenge them to create a day-by-day or week-by-week nature journal from the point of view of a fictional character in the book they have selected. Students can make notes about what would most likely be of interest to the character at each point in the story action. Students can use non-fiction resources to answer questions about plants, animals, geography, weather and other elements of the fictional character’s world at that time of year in that location. They can add drawings and notes about those elements to their journals. You also might challenge students to consider how these elements affect the main character’s ability to achieve their goal. For example, does the weather present an obstacle? If the character is surviving on their own in the natural world, what plants or animals present opportunities or contain threats? If the setting of the book is similar to the natural world found in your community, you might invite students to go on a field to a local park to explore that environment and add to their nature journals.

 

  • Invite students to create a diorama of their favorite part of the natural world of the book’s characters. As students read, you might invite them to select their favorite part of the natural world described in the story. You can challenge students to create a diorama of that setting, with footnotes about how each element in the setting affected character development, plot, pacing, and the overall story arc. This provides additional motivation to access non-fiction resources and to expand student knowledge.

 

  • Create a guided outdoor scavenger hunt featuring natural elements mentioned in the book. Many items are common across ecosystems. You might select several items mentioned in the book your students are studying and create a scavenger hunt of those items. For example, in My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, the main character created whistles out of willow, made salt from hickory limbs, and ate parts of wild violets. You might challenge students to see if they can find those things at a local park or other natural area where they have permission to take small samples of natural materials. You can find an example of a book-inspired scavenger hunt list here.

 

  • Create a discovery center and a tradition of a nature wonder hour. Once students have found items from their scavenger hunt, they can create a discovery center to house them. You can make a discovery center out of an old printer’s tray, a box, a basket, or another item that you have on hand. Invite students to consider the questions they have about those items. They can then explore answers in non-fiction resources during a regular Nature Wonder Hour. That time can be as long or as short as you’d like. The key is to let student curiosity guide their research. You can find a sample set of questions here.

Whatever activities you do, I hope that you and the students in your life enjoy diving even more deeply into the world of book settings. You can learn more about new releases at https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/mixed-up-files-book-lists/ and find a list of books by Mixed Up Files contributors at https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/about/contributor-books/. I’m wishing you and the students in your life lots of reading and outdoor adventures.

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