Nonfiction: Biographies and Informations Books

Let's start with the basic idea of what is nonfiction, in sum it is literature that is based upon truth, presenting facts. Unlike in realistic fiction, in where the authors have made up stories around realistic ideas, nonfiction is solely facts of different subjects or ideas. And like realistic fiction there are benefits and considerations to be taken into hand when choosing a nonfiction book. Looking at the benefits to nonfiction books, the most prominent one would be it can offer a key to a successful academic career. Some others worth mentioning would be it is found everywhere in the larger society, is preferred by some children, addresses children's interests and questions, and builds a great knowledge of the outside world. Nonfiction books are a great corner stone for a developing mind in the sense of information of what is out there in this giant universe we call home. However like all things in life there are considerations to take into place. As a teacher it is always important to know your students, however when considering a nonfiction it needs to be thought of the child's text accuracy, multicultural knowledge, and the child's preference. It is crucial to have the classroom library to reflect the interests of all the students. A great way to do this is perhaps each child donate a book of their choice to the class library, for some students will have common interests and therefore develop more of a book selection besides their own. Then over the years there will become a nice build up of a library or nonfiction books that reach all interest levels for the children.
                While nonfiction books tend to be the favorable type by children, it can be a struggle to get the boys to want to read sometimes. Some great ways to involve them into reading nonfiction is to form a boys only book club, put together a "guys only" shelf in the classroom, and invite men into the class to give book talks. Having a positive role model that they can look up to that reads in always great way. You don't have to have someone physically come into the classroom either, you could no a virtual classroom guest, through authors, society role models ,or a skype session with someone.
               In any classroom it is important  to promote multicultural understanding, this can be done in a numerous ways, however it is a great chance to bring nonfiction into picture. Some goals of understanding multicultural with non fiction are to; boost children's self-esteem and self-awareness, help children appreciate their ancestors, make aware of all the different cultures there are, reveal the history that comes with a culture, and help with misconceptions and stereotyping.

Top Ten read Alouds for Nonfiction

1) A Platypus, Probally, by Sneed Collard III, 2005 Charlesbridge 
2) An Egg is Quiet, by Dianna Aston, 2006 Chronicle 
3) Claudette Colvin:Twice Toward Justice, by Phillip Hoose, 2009 Farrar 
4) How We Are Smart, by W. Nikola-Lisa, 2006 Lee & Low
5) Down, Down, Down: A journey to the Bottom of the Sea, by Steve Jenkins, 2009 Houghton Mifflin 
6) Photo by Brandy: A picture of the Civil War, by Jennifer Armstrong, 2005 Atheneum
7) Pick Me Up: Stuff You Need to Know, by Jeremy Leslie and David Roberts, 2006 Dorling Kindersley
8) Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, by brian Floca, 2009 Atheneum 
9) The way We work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body, by 2008 Houghton Mifflin
10) Who Was First? discovering the Americas, by Russel Freedman, 2007 Houghton Mifflin

Realistic Fiction

           Let's start off with that realistic fiction is, it is realistic in the idea that the setting, characters and events are all believable-however the stories are fiction due to them never happening. They are just simply made up stories by authors that have plugged in realistic characters, place and events. Some categories of realistic fiction are the following: survival/adventure, mystery, humor, animals, sports, family, and growing up. All of these can be found at a local library. While everyone has their own preference into what to read, just because someone enjoys realistic fiction does not mean they enjoy the same read. 
           I would like to touch on some key benefits and considerations to realistic fiction. For starters it can portray the reality of life, having good times and bad, ups and downs. It is important for children to understand that this is a part of life, and even their favorite story book character goes through these. It can remind children that they are not alone in the world when they face a problem. It can also give children positive ideas of how to handle issues and ways not to handle issues that may face them. Some considerations to think of when handing a realistic fiction novel to a child is all the different point of views they will be exposed to and life situations they may have not encountered. While realistic fictions conveys all different aspects of life such as different cultures, racism, gender, sexuality, physical and mental impairments and treatment- it is important to make sure the child is prepared to handle what they will read. 
           Which brings me into the topic of controversial and sensitive issues. Sometimes death, divorce, moral choices, mental, physical and behavioral challenges, abuse, homelessness, poverty, sexism and sexuality can present its self in realistic fiction novels. As an adult handing the novel to the child you need to be prepared to talk to them about the subjects at hand and decided it they are ready to read such material. One may want to consider reading such controversial books aloud, this gives you as an adult the chance to experience the children's reactions and also to talk about the topics if need be. This leaves room for open ended discussions to confront certain topics and listen to the students and their thoughts. While not all students feel comfortable with speaking aloud in a group, you could easily incorporate reading response journals. This gives them a chance to reflect on the reading in a more personal way. Reading response journals don't have to be just for language arts, it can be used across the board in science, math,and social studies.
            As previously stated some books are controversial and some believe as long as they are talked about everything is okay, however some groups of people disagree with this and have challenged or tried banning certain books. Some books that most are familiar with are Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Books are challenged due to the controversial topics that present themselves and important to remember that sometimes a parents signature is required for such books to be read in the classroom. 
          Personally I see censorship unneeded in some areas, I think that some children are being over sheltered and need to be exposed to certain things such as sex and drug, and the way I see it is that the students should be exposed in a controlled way. I say this meaning that if a teacher or parent introuced the subject through a book and the child and adult are able to talk about it, when the child does eventually face it in real life they are more likely to make smarter choices than seeing it for the first time.

The Tops Ten Read Alouds for Realistic Fiction

1) Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, by Lenore Look, 2008 Schwartz & Wade
2) Each Little Bird That sings, by Deborah Wiles, 2005 Gulliver
3) Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson, 2007 Putnam 
4) The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale OF Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Intereseting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall, 2005 Knopf
5) Pictures of Hollis Woods, by Patrica Reilly Giff (2002 Wendy Lamb Books 
6) Ruby Holler, by Sharon Creech, 2002 Harper collins 
7) Ruby Lu, Brave and True, by Lenore Look, 2004 Simon & Schuster 
8) Rules, by Cynthia Lord, 2006 Scholastic Press 
9) The Talented Clementine, by Sara Pennypacker, 2007, Hyperion 
10) The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin, 2006 Little Brown

Reading to and with Children:Reading Aloud, Shared and Guided Reading and Writing

While we all know that there is a time and a place for things in life, this applies to reading aloud as well. It has come down to a simple science of when, what, where, why and how. many over think this process and become overly concerned on how to read aloud when in reality it is just going with it to a certain point. This applies to writing as well. Mem Fox is a great resource of children's literature, along with teaching how to read aloud to our students and children. As an educator or parent The National Writing Project:Mentor Texts is a nice resource for providing reading material on the art to writing.

The Top Ten Read Alouds: Stories in which the books come to life

• The Book of Story Beginnings, by Kristin Kladstrup, 2006 Candlewick
• Edward and the Pirates, by David McPhail, 1997 Little Brown
• The Great Good Thing, by Roderick Townley, 2001 Atheneum
• Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, 2003 Scholastic
• Lionel and the Book of Beasts, by E. Nesbit, 2006 HarperCollins
• Magic by the Book, by Nina Bernstein, 2005 Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• My Book Box, by Will Hillenbrand, 2006 Harcourt
• The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende, 1997 Puffin
• The Red Book, by Barbra Lehman, 2004 Houghton Mifflin
• Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?, by Lauren Child, 2003 Hyperion

In order for children/students to learn how to read aloud or write, they must have good examples set up for them. They learn from experiences, and usually the enjoyable ones. While everyone learns at different rates, there are simple steps that can be followed and gradually moving along as the child does.  When is all said and done, it is important to remember to follow up with the child at the end when the child has shown enthusiasm in the book.

The New Literacies: The New World of Online Children's Literature

This chapter focused on emerging the internet and children's literature through a variety of engaging upcoming tactics. While there was positive and negative sides to emerging the two, if done correctly and with thought-having children's literature can be a very powerful tactic for the literacy world. There comes a whole new group of terms that one must know and understand to fully utilize what is to offer.

There are so many amazing ways a person could use the internet to satisfy their love for literature, while sometimes we just like to be a able to hold the book and turn the pages in our hand. If you are open to new ideas and change, literature has become assessable at the tips of our fingers. There are even sites to visit that have over 200 free e-texts for all age ranges. Perhaps you or a student find a novel by a new author you just love, and want to see an interview or meet the author. However we all have crazy, busy lives, preventing us traveling sometimes to such events, now it is as easy as logging on the internet. There is a site to bring the author into the classroom virtually called WETA. This site has over 40 videos teaching children to learn along with author interviews for each of the stories read.

Over all the internet is taking literature to a new level and way of teaching a learning. It is important that children have a balanced experience of holding literature in their hands as well as experiencing it virtually. There comes pros and cons to each, however we must embrace all different point of views and take it for what is is-the future.

One "About Me"

Meridith Meerman, I would love to teach kindergarten/ first grade, I am a student at Florida Gulf Coast University and am set to graduate Spring 2014!      

A little bit more about me:


My name is Meridith Meerman and I am currently in blocks 2,3,and 4, for elementary education. I have lived all of the United States, from Ohio, Kansas, Alabama, North Carolina, and now Florida. I have had my fair share of different schools, being in seven before I was in high school. I have also attended Monissori schools for a number of years. This has given me a different perspective on learning and a new approach to some subject areas. With this experience it was diversifying me, by meeting all types of new people, and being able to adjust into new environments more easily. This has helped me in the education system by being able to look at different situations in more than one way. I have been working since I was 14years old, mainly in the restaurant business, thus improving my people skills. I started out my college journey at the University of South Florida as biology major. Then transferred to The State College of Florida after blowing out my knee and losing a basketball scholarship. Luckily I had academics to fall back on and then transferred to Florida Gulf Coast University. It was at FGCU that I realized I wanted to work with young children and became an education major.

After finishing just block one I had my first child, Faith Annette-taking off a semester. However I have just started back up this fall, and it feels great to back in the swing of things! I live in Port Charlotte, Florida with my fiancé, daughter, our two dogs and my wonderful horse. Live can get busy and crazy sometimes, but I always follow through and keep my head up. My fiancé works for Comcast 40+ hours a week having Mondays and Tuesdays off, which in turn I have school on those days. Completing homework assignments usually come late at night once everyone is asleep. I myself stopped working after my daughter was born and am now a full time mom and student. Some hobbies I enjoy are scuba diving, horseback riding, playing basketball, and going on picnics. These are all things in which are tranquil and something I do for me in my free time. I find it important to not get caught up in the hustle of everyday life, and to make sure you always do things for yourself that make you happy.