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