Navigating Nonfiction

TCRWP Paris Institute

Books Discoveries

Have you been on Good Reads or Nerdy Book Club? They have changed my reader life. I now have a way to discover personal books, as well as books for my classroom. Below are my new (to me) discoveries.

Primary book

Yard Sale by Eve Bunting

The Right Word by Jen Bryant

A River of Words by Jen Bryant

Enormous Smallness by Matthew Burgess

Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

The Invisible Boy by Patrice Barton

Ish by Peter Reynolds

Middle school book

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Information text

Egg by Steve Jenkins

A Chicken Followed Me Home!: Questions and Answers about a Familiar Fowl by Robin Page

Eye-to-Eye: How Animals See the World by Steve Jenkins

Guts by Seymour Simon

New Literacies

The reason people started writing books was to connect. Now, there are alternate modes of communicating, so how do harness that? Our kids are engaging with the world differently, and our teaching should reflect that. That's where new literacies come into play.

Principles of New Literacies:
1. Critical literacy is a crucial component
2. Engagement with multimodal texts
3. Production of counter texts or research/action projects

Role of New Literacies Teacher:
1. Be critically literate themselves
2. Reframe their assumptions about what literacy is and teach students how to “interrogate” text and media 
3. Assume the role of resource managers
4. Be con-constructors of knowledge with their students
5. Function as design consultants

There's Always Another Perspective

While I'm a proponent of the CCSS, I believe they are missing a crucial piece of the puzzle. Students are asked to identify the author's point of view, yet they are rarely asked to question this perspective. How do we expect students to vote in an informed way and advocate for change if they are constantly identifying and agreeing with the author's point of view. Our students must talk back to texts.

In Teaching Children's Literature: It's Critical!, Leland, Lewison and Harste provide a list of questions students might ask themselves to consider alternative perspectives while engaging with texts.

• Which character do I want to defend?
• Which character do I want to criticize?
• How did the author's use of language influence my decision to defend of criticize any of them?
• Who might agree or disagree with my perspective?
• Why should readers consider different views?

Prompts for Mini Readers Theater

1. Beginning of the Book: A passage that helps us get to know the characters and the world of the story
2. Beginning of the Book: A passage that reveals something important about the characters
3. Middle: A passage that is a "turning point"-- a moment that represents big change!
4. Middle: A passage that seems to be a critical moment--that stops you in your tracks
5. End: A passage that seems to be at the heart of the story--what the book is really about, what it's trying to teach us, what the big ideas are...
6. End: A passage that feels like it is written in BOLD-- one that makes you slow down, that will stay with you...

Talk Moves

Conversation prompts help students grow ideas.

Thoughts About Extended Day and Summer School

"It's incumbent on schools to ensure that very nearly 100% of the school's day instruction is appropriate to each child's needs. I would argue that creating after-school or summer school programs is professionally unethical unless we are absolutely sure that all children receive optimal instruction all year long during the regular school day. All of us need to focus our primary efforts on ensuring that children have access to high-quality teaching in their classrooms before we consider adding extended-time interventions." -Richard Allington (2006)

Nonfiction Note Taking

There are two ways students might take notes while reading nonfiction: notes based on structure of the text and notes based on personal agenda. Many students take notes based on their own agenda (i.e. Chocolate milk should or should not be served) but many need to be pushed to take notes based on the structure of the text (boxes and bullets, compare and contrast, cause and effect, etc.). It is also important to note that we have to encourage students to get away from reading with a pen. Remember, students are not copy machines!

Literature for Older Children

I detested reading as child. When I received TC's Literature for Older Children's syllabus, anxiety overtook my body. I was confronted with my childhood enemies: chapter books.

I stared at Charlotte's Web on my shelf for a week. I remembered Mr. Y assigning me to read Charlotte's Web in fifth grade. I skimmed the book and called it a day. Animals? Boring.

Today, I finally opened Charlotte's Web. I also finished it... and cried at the end. What a beautiful story of friendship.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books I missed out on growing up, and I'd love for you to join me on this journey!

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
The Witch’s Child by Kelly Barnhill
Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Rethinking Choice

It's no secret that I support choice in the classroom. If we are going to build readers that enjoy learning, dig deeply, and take action then choice is crucial (Leland, Lewison, and Harste 2013). But, what about the teachers?

At TCRWP Coaching Institute, Mrs. G modeled highly effective coaching that provided teachers with choice. At the beginning each lesson, she asked the teachers: Would you like to stop and ask me questions or would you like me to stop and ask you questions during the lesson?

As literacy coaches, we are pros at whispering in and jumping in when lessons aren't aligned to our expectations. No wonder teachers are roll their eyes when we enter their classrooms. What would happen if we gave them a choice about feedback delivery? Our time with teachers might be enjoyable and even lead them to take action.

Mrs. G also stopped to ask the teacher if she could give me a compliment during the lesson. You should have seen the shift in the teacher's body language and confidence during her small group lesson.

Choice for students is not enough. If teachers are going to enjoy their job, dig deeply into the content and data, and take action then choice is crucial for teachers, too.

Small Group

Small groups can be extremely powerful if the method is mixed up. We can't rely on demonstration alone. I've found this sequence to be very powerful.

Day 1: Demonstration by teacher followed by practice with Just Right Book
Day 2: Demonstration or explanation by teacher followed by practice with Just Right Book
Day 3: Restate strategy (discuss anchor chart) followed by practice with Just Right Book
Day 4: Inquiry followed by practice with Just Right Book

Make Anchor Charts Come Alive

Do you have a million anchor charts on your wall that students don't use? Have you ever taught a beautiful lesson that students mastered during active engagement but didn't apply to their own writing?

I was desperate for a way to make my teaching stick. As a result, I taught students how to create personal anchor charts that represent the mini lesson. Students reference the chart on a daily basis when they are stuck or want to evaluate their own work. 

Hooray! Writing lessons are sticking and the level of students writing has doubled dramatically! What do you do to make sure your lessons stick?

Alexa's personal anchor charts serve as writing goals.

Get Them Talking!