Posts Tagged ‘nonfiction’
December 7th is a day that stands out in US History. Do you know why? Do your students know?
On Big Universe Learning, I found World War II by Lisa Zamosky and Wendy Conklin. This book is one of the Primary Source Readers from Teacher Created Materials Publishing. This book starts off talking about December 7, 1941 (that is actually the beginning of the first sentence) in a section called ” Secret Missions and Superbombs.” This book contains great pictures, captions, news articles, famous leaders, symbols, and extra information to help answer questions and fill in the gaps. You could work on lots of nonfiction characteristics using this book as well.
Here are some great resources that could be used along with this book:
- From PBS: Freedom: A History of US: Pearl Harbor is part of the excellent PBS site based on Joy Hakim’s A History of US,this focuses on the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the ramifications of the attack. You can access primary sources andphotographs to bring this part of American history come alive.
- From The War Times Journal: Pearl Harbor Animated Maps presents animated Pearl Harbor maps that provide an overview of the areas that were attacked and the actual action that took place.
- From Scholastic: Relive the Experience Pearl Harbor includes an eyewitness account, timeline, glossary, related web links, and even a teacher’s guide.
- From ThinkQuest: The Pearl Harbor Story shares a very detailed description of the events leading up to the war, the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the outcome. Be sure to check the interactive map and the survivor and eye witness accounts. The site also provides great animated photos.
- From Calisphere: Pearl Harbor includes a broad selection of images featuring Japanese-Americans during World War II can be found on this site by Calisphere. By clicking on individual images you’ll find high quality photographs and image information.
- From Scholastic: Our America: World War II is a way to learn about World War II and the American home front through diaries, interviews with those lived through these times, and writing about what you’ve learned.
- From EDSITEment: Turning the Tide in the Pacific 1941-1943 includes activity sheets, student resources, and media, (This from the We The People program: We the People is an NEH program designed to encourage and enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history, culture, and democratic principles. )
- From National Geographic Education: A Date That Will Live in Infamy includes the article and vocabulary. There are also links for further exploration (audio, video, interactives, websites) Grades 5-12
- From National Geographic Society: Remembering Pearl Harbor ~ Multimedia Map and Time Line includes articles, images, audio, and places for more information.
- From National Geographic Expeditions: The Legacy of Pearl Harbor includes lesson plan and related links. Grades 3-5
- From ReadWriteThink: Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese in 1941 includes event description, classroom activity/questions, websites, and related resources. This activity really caught my attention:
- On December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy” in the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, many Americans were called upon to act as
heroes. Countless Americans gave their lives in defense of our country and its citizens in Pearl Harbor. Similarly, the surprise attacks on
America on September 11, 2001, called for heroic acts of selflessness from ordinary citizens, as well as firemen, police, military personnel,
and other government workers. Ask students to compare these two events using the interactive Venn Diagram. How are they alike? How are they different?How did each event change American citizens’ perspectives on war and the need for war? How did the two different Presidents of the United States
react? What was different about the media coverage?
Big Universe provides a wealth of both fiction and nonfiction stories to read. In my classroom, I often read fiction books with my students either as read alouds or in guided/independent reading time. We have end of the year test that use mostly pieces of nonfiction to assess reading skills.. Realizing that difference, I think we need to help our children understand there are different ways to tackle reading a fiction story and a nonfiction story. The nonfiction books on Big Universe are a great place to start.
I have some questions that I use to think about the ways to approach reading these different genres. (I don’t necessarily use these questions exactly as they are worded here when I use them to talk to students.)
- What is that author’s goal when writing a fictional story?
- What is a reader’s goal when reading a fictional story?
- What is the author’s goal when writing a piece of nonfiction?
- What is the reader’s goal when reading a piece of nonfiction?
- What evidence or data does an author need to support the information provided in a fictional story?
- What evidence or data does an author need to support the information provided in a piece of nonfiction?
- Are there concepts and ideas that a reader needs to understand before reading a fictional a story?
- Are there concepts and ideas that a reader needs to understand before reading a piece of nonfiction?
- How can knowing about these concepts and ideas help a reader’s understanding/comprehension?
- How can not knowing about these concepts and ideas hurt a reader’s understanding/comprehension?
- What assumptions does a reader have concerning reading a fictional story?
- What assumptions does a reader have concerning reading a piece of nonfiction?
- What assumptions do writers make when choosing to write a certain genre?
- What assumptions do readers make when choosing to read a certain genre?
(These questions are based on Dr. Richard Paul’s Model of Critical Thinking)
This post is inspired by Dawn Little’s (AKA Links to Literacy) Book Buddies blog post where she explained the benefits of pairing fiction and nonfiction readings to increase comprehension and engagement, and to increase background knowledge about a subject. Unfortunately, most of our home, classroom, and school library book collections are limited. The public library is always an option, but there are times when you aren’t able to make the trip to the library. Why not utilize the Big Universe website for your fiction and nonfiction pairings? There are hundreds of books to choose from!
Just search for your topic using the Search bar:
Screenshot of The Big Universe Search Box
-or- Browse the different categories:
Screenshot of the Category option
Leave a comment for other pairings that you discover on the Big University website.
Here are a few to get you started:
Bears
Sea Turtles
Birds
Bats
Keisa Williams (aka Ms. K) is a K-5 School Librarian at Monarch Academy, a public charter school in Oakland, CA. She is certified in secondary and elementary education (MLIS and MEd) and loves collaborating with teachers and integrating technology into her library lessons. She considers herself a “Technology Diva” and “Gadget Junkie”.
Who can resist the magic of a train? Saturday, May 8, 2010, is the third annual National Train Day. This is a day to celebrate America’s love of trains. There will be free nationwide events happening all over the country. If you are not able to attend, host your own National Train Day event using these helpful resources.
Check out Bellwether Publishing’s Bullet Train on Big Universe. This book is great for reinforcing text features: table of contents, headings, bold words, visual aids, glossary, & index.
Lesson Resources
On the Valdez Middle School Language Arts website , there are several resources to promote Informational Text reading comprehension skills. Use the “Unlocking the Mysteries of Informational Materials” PowerPoint to introduce or review text features. Then use the “Text Features PowerPoint (pdf)” to model the use of text features and move into a “Text Features Scavenger Hunt” included in this document.
Keisa Williams (aka Ms. K) is a K-5 School Librarian at Monarch Academy, a public charter school in Oakland, CA. She is certified in secondary and elementary education (MLIS and MEd) and loves collaborating with teachers and integrating technology into her library lessons. She considers herself a “Technology Diva” and “Gadget Junkie”.
Young children love to learn about the world around them. In the past, nonfiction that was available for young children was less than desirable. Nowadays, there are wonderful nonfiction picture books that serve as fantastic examples for children to learn from as well as enjoy.
So, how should parents and educators go about locating a great nonfiction picture book?
- Look for high quality nonfiction picture books that are visually appealing. Young children tend to be visual learners. Visually appealing nonfiction is engaging to young learners. Look for books that have accurate illustrations and photographs. If it appeals to you, more than likely, it will appeal to your child.
- Is the information in the book accurate? Do the pictures match the facts/text? Look for information about the research process. Was an expert consulted? When reading books that combine nonfiction and fiction (i.e. The Magic School Bus series), use it as an opportunity to help your child understand what is fact and what has been fictionalized and why the author may have chosen to blend the two. Oftentimes, these types of books tend to be confusing and deceiving to children looking for factual information.
- Look for nonfiction picture books that engage the reader through the writing. Good nonfiction books are clear and coherent. Are the ideas ordered logically? Is the writing well organized? Is the language understandable? Does the author provide an engaging lead that draws the reader in? Look for books that present information in creative ways. Notice how vocabulary is introduced and defined.
What other ways might one go about locating great nonfiction picture books? I would love to hear your thoughts!
This post was inspired by: Gill, S.R. (2009). What Teachers Need to Know About the “New” Nonfiction. The Reading Teacher. (63) 4, 260-267.
