Nonfiction
Extravaganza!
Discovering the Core of our
Interests with Informational Texts
Denise Ousley-Exum, ELA Education
Somer Lewis, WSE Teacher in Residence
Do you recognize this kid?
Physically active
Prefers hand-on
Sports
Fact finder
Delights in taking things apart
Picks things out, eye for detail
Enjoys arts & crafts,
Construction,
Information seeker
modeling, collecting
Loves random facts
FULLY focuses on one
topic, then another
Or maybe this kid?
Literacy procrastinator
Does not like to read or write stories
Can be a great talker
Fiction avoider
Prefers to live in the “real world”
Has own agenda
Unique personal rhythm
Unique time schedule
Displays idiosyncratic interests
Prefers the world outside of the
traditional classroom
Info-Kids: How to Use Nonfiction
to Turn Reluctant Readers Into
Enthusiastic Learners
Ron Jobe & Mary Dayton-Sakari
Two Types of
Reluctant Readers
Type 1: Students who can read quite
proficiently, “thank you very much,” just not
inclined to bother. No interest in reading
“The Necklace”
Prefers the Guinness Book of World Records
or 101 Things Every Kid Should Know about
the Human Body. But those titles are not in
the teacher’s classroom library….
Two Types of
Reluctant Readers
Type2: Students who truly struggle with
reading, but must focus on non-literacy
outlets to preserve personal self-concept
Format of informational texts is particularly
helpful because content is processed with
both textual and graphic cues
Might we offer a
Suggestion?
What if educators reframed the image
of the so-called “reluctant reader”?
What if that reader became not reluctant, but
discerning?
What shifts might that inspire
in self-concept? in evaluation?
in the classroom libraries we build for our students?
Engaging Students in
Middle and High School Classrooms
Adolescents:
What do the love?
What do they fear?
What do they hate?
What do they do after school?
What do they dream about?
Engaging Students in
Middle and High School Classrooms
The answers?
That is our curriculum.
Nonfiction Extravaganza!
Explore…
Post it…
Move on!
Nonfiction Extravaganza: Step One
For each collection of books at your table,
please do the following:
1. Explore
Look at as many books you can. Try to
get to every book at each table. If a
book’s subject is not your cup-of-tea,
feel free to move on to the next title.
Your group will have 8 minutes with
each collection of books.
Nonfiction Extravaganza: Step Two
2. Post-it
Each time you come across anything
that catches your attention because it
is
interesting, surprising,
unbelievable, inspiring,
gross, or amazing
Nonfiction Extravaganza: Post-it
Grab a post-it and copy the following
Fact # 1,2,3 (and so on)
Quote the bit that you want to
remember
Book title and author(s)
Page number (so you can find it
again)
Box #
Nonfiction Extravaganza: Post-it
Fact # 1
“50,000 tons, that’s 3 million miles of steel
wire have been used since the slinky was first
released in 1945. This is enough wire to go
around the earth 126 times.”
Wow!
FAO Schwarz: Toys for a Lifetime by
Stevanne Auerbach
Pg 96
Box 4
Language of Common Core
Regarding Informational Text
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Cite textual evidence
Draw inferences
Determine central
ideas
Analyze in detail
Determine meaning
Analyze structure
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Determine POV and
purpose
Integrate information
Trace, delineate,
evaluate reasoning
Compare/contrast
and analyze texts
Comprehend