Do you read non-fiction books aloud to your students? I saw an article today that made me think I need to read aloud MORE non-fiction.
The article is from Reading Rockets, and you can find the whole article by clicking here. The article is called "How We Neglect Knowledge and Why." (Eek!) The premise is that early childhood education has become so focused on the technical skills of reading that our students don't develop background knowledge.
Limited content knowledge (and vocabulary) may appear to be a reading or thinking difficulty. In a study cited in the article, increased exposure to informational text actually improved first grade students' attitudes toward recreational reading.
Really?
I know that our kindergarten and first grade teachers are quite focused on teaching reading skills and testing reading skills. And we all know that read-aloud time in the classroom has dramatically decreased over the last decade or two.
So...what would a non-fiction read aloud look like? I found a great YouTube video showing a teacher reading and thinking aloud about Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!
I know it seems like she talks a lot, but I think she has the students share off camera. The students were really engaged, weren't they? They were leaning in just like they do with a great story. And I can see that she is building skills as she reads aloud to her students.
I'm motivated to find a non-fiction book to share with my students next week. I know my students have limited background knowledge and need a boost. But what should I read to them?
What is YOUR favorite non-fiction read-aloud book? Please share with a comment!
I enjoy reading your blog. There is so much great information in it! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI try to do nonfiction read-alouds. Last week I shared Snowflake Bentley, the Caldecott award winning biography about Willie Bentley. The kids really enjoyed it. This week we are reading biographies like Rosa and My Brother Martin, next week will be George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (the Adler biographies are engaging for the little ones).
Nic Bishop books hook the kids with the amazing visuals and cool facts.
Jason Chin Books (Redwoods,Islands and Coral Reefs)are great nonfiction to share with a class.
Nonfiction appears in the library read alouds (K-4) more frequently with each passing year. The kids often chose to borrow nonfiction text, so I try to add as much quality nonfiction to our collection.
Enjoy it when you read it and your audience will too!
~Lisa
Thanks for the great suggestions, Lisa! Those all sound like winners.
DeleteAre you on Pinterest? If you want to, send me your Pinterest name in a comment or with the "contact me" button, and I'll add you to our collaborative Pinterest board for non-fiction read-alouds!
Cari
Over the years (I've been in school libraries for 13 years now!), I've discovered that our kids LOVE nonfiction read alouds. I teach in a K-4 building and the kids are like learning sponges, thirsty for more knowledge. The NF books I started with were written in narrative form, things like Nubs, Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library, Stand Straight Ella Kate, Pierre the Penguin, Twist of Fate...the list goes on! But, once the kids hear those, it's really only the beginning because they want to know MORE of the story. We often end up online, digging up 'the rest if the story'. Gotta be careful here though and do the digging yourself first. I learned that lesson with Hero Cat. Oh, the tears! Now I've become a huge fan of informational texts, too. Just today I read Capstone's Piranhas with a group of Kindergarteners after we generated a list of Wonders together. What rousing conversation on every page! And, as always, it led us off in other researching directions. Nonfiction has definitely won me over,
ReplyDeleteNatalie,
DeleteThanks for sharing your positive experiences. I think I'm missing out on the non-fiction fun! I'm going to check for some of those titles in our library.
Cari
I introduce non-fiction to my Grade 1s by reading them the picture book version of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, about William Kamkwamba, who built a windmill from scraps in his village in Malawi. I connect William's curiosity with the students', and that makes a nice tie-in to letting them loose in the NF section of my library. They go there to satisfy some of their curiosity about whatever topic they're interested in!
ReplyDeleteA couple of good read-alouds that have a local connection to us here in BC are Maggie de Vries's books Fraser Bear and Tale of a Great White Fish. They're narrative in style but also have some good information and raise a lot of interesting questions about ecology and the work of biologists.
Thanks for sharing that title. That sounds like a great read-aloud and a perfect introduction to the wonders of non-fiction.
DeleteCari
Once source I use to find non-fiction books to read aloud are books from the Children's Crown Award Lists.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.childrenscrownaward.org/
Thanks for sharing, kgreen! I will have to check out that list!
DeleteCari