Schoolwide Blog

Last night in class we were discussing the fact that young readers and writers often experience more challenges when working with expository text than they do when interacting with fiction.  This is due, in part, to the fact that they typically have fewer experiences with this type of text.  Research demonstrates that students who are read to at home primarily hear fiction stories, and teachers in the classroom read aloud more fiction than any other genre.  Therefore, it makes sense that students are more successful with fiction to begin with because its structure is more familiar.  

When is the last time you really considered the titles you chose to read aloud in your classroom?  Have you ever stopped to reflect upon why you chose certain books?  Do you read an equal amount of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry?  Teachers tell us it’s a challenge to find nonfiction/expository text that is appropriate for early readers and writers.  The books they find have too much text for short attention spans or contain illustrations that aren’t engaging.  Remember, it is not necessary to read the whole book in one sitting.  Just like with a good story, there are stopping points that invite discussion and cause students to anticipate what comes next. 

Keep looking for those great books!  Below are a few titles that recently crossed our desks – ones that we think you and your young readers and writers will enjoy.   Please let us know what nonfiction titles your students enjoy and how you are using them in the classroom.   

Campbell, Sarah C.  (2008).  Wolfsnail: A backyard predator.  Photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell.  Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.

*Designated a Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book for 2009

This book contains amazing close-up photographs of a wolfsnail as it hunts for food among the leaves of a hosta plant.  The large font situated in a clean white space is perfect for early readers.  Additional facts and a glossary are located at the back of the book.

Cowley, Joy.  (2005).  Chameleon, chameleon.  Photographs by Nic Bishop.  New York: Scholastic Press.

Sparse text and large, colorful photographs describe a chameleon’s search for food in this engaging book.  Readers learn how a chameleon must be aware of its surroundings and how it communicates with other chameleons by changing the color of its skin.  The photograph of the chameleon catching a caterpillar with its long, sticky tongue always catches the students’ attention.

Kirby, Pamela F.  (2009).  What bluebirds do.  Photographs by Pamela Kirby. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press. 

The detailed photographs in this beautiful book tell the story of a pair of bluebirds who raise a family in a backyard nest box.  Written simply, the text shares a number of facts about bluebirds and their behavior.  A glossary, additional book resources, and websites are located in the back of the book for further research and exploration.   

Sayre, April Pulley.  (2009).  Honk, honk, goose!  Canada geese start a family. Illustrated by Huy Voun Lee.  New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Illustrated with cut paper collage, this book tells about a pair of Canada geese who raise a family near a pond.  The text describes how the geese work together to hatch the eggs and protect their chicks from predators. 

*Students might find it interesting to compare the parenting behaviors of the geese in this book to that of the bluebirds in the book above.