Choosing Nonfiction Texts

Classroom read-alouds are a tradition, but they’re changing with the times.

Educators, including the team that drew up the Common Core Standards, are realizing that a focus solely on fiction doesn’t serve children well. Stories are wonderful, of course, and serve an important purpose. But most upper-level reading material is expository, and students often struggle when they haven’t had much experience with informational text.

There is evidence that hearing non-fiction texts in the early grades helps prepare children for the time when they will switch from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Expository texts also build kids’ background knowledge, helping them to make more sense of both texts they read themselves and the world around them. In short, kids need more exposure to non-fiction texts, and many teachers are beginning to add them to the read-aloud repertoire.

Knowing what one should do and knowing how to do it are not the same thing, however. Where do teachers, whose expertise often lies in fictional storybooks, begin when looking for non-fiction texts to read to classes? And how can parents find engaging, factual texts to read at home? Here are some ideas for teachers; parents should look for *s that indicate which ideas will work at home, too:

*Ask the librarian where to begin. They’re experts on texts of all kinds and will be overflowing with ideas.

*Look for a hook. Non-fiction texts are often fascinating and enjoyable, but there are some dry ones out there. Look for texts that begin with an exciting proposition or describe a situation to which your students can relate (or one that is exciting to imagine).

*Go beyond books. Magazines and websites are great sources for articles about all sorts of topics and the only good sources for current events. We like Time for Kids (3rd grade+), National Geographic for Kids (2nd+), Muse (4th+), and Ranger Rick (2nd+). (Note: grade levels correspond to the age at which kids can comprehend orally presented text, not the age at which they can read from these sources independently.) Additionally, educators can choose a level of complexity for news articles from Newsela so that content is available at just the right reading level for nearly any age.

Read non-fiction during your usual literature block. Ask students to treat these texts the way they would novels or stories: They should make predictions, visualize what they are hearing, and pay attention to the way the author uses language.

Keep a log of what you read aloud. List the name of the book or article, the source, and your students’ response. This will be a great personal resource to turn to year after year, and may help other teachers come up with ideas for their own classrooms, too.

Make listening less passive by getting kids thinking before you begin reading. Quiz students about their prior knowledge first or list facts they “know” about the topic. After reading, ask the class whether the text confirmed those facts.

Non-fiction texts are wonderful models for writing because students are assigned more and more expository pieces as they move through the grades. Exposure to explanatory language, which students use to display their understanding of what they learn, will make it easier for them to generate similar sentences themselves. Teachers might try using promotional texts, like destination campaign pieces from a travel agency, as models for writing persuasive essays.

*Remember that it is fine to read only parts of nonfiction texts. Since there’s no need to see a story to its conclusion, teachers should feel free to pick and choose sections of longer texts that seem most appropriate. You may want to have a few extra copies of a text on hand, though; curious students may want to learn more on their own!


This post contains our own ideas, with inspiration from veteran teacher Tony Snead.

Encouraging Young Children’s Speech

Speech delays can be scary for the parents of young children, but a toddler whose language lags behind his or her peers is not necessarily a cause for panic. Although guidelines for young children’s speech development exist, the range that is considered normal is wide. Furthermore, some very young children who exhibit speech delays catch up with their peers and have no difficulty learning when they begin school. (Since speech delays can be an indicator of some serious problems, however, concerned parents should still speak to their pediatrician about how to obtain a formal evaluation if a child over 24 months old seems to be having an unusually difficult time understanding language or using and pronouncing words.)

No matter the cause of a speech delay, everyday interactions with toddlers are critical opportunities for learning. Even children who receive formal intervention will learn best if they have frequent, high quality linguistic interactions with people they love inserted into their daily routines.

We’ve compiled some tips from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Reading Rockets, and our own experience and knowledge for parents of young children who seem to exhibit speech delays.

What you’ll see below are suggestions for ways to encourage very young children to understand and use language and to model language in helpful ways. What you won’t see are suggestions about correcting children. The reason? Children struggling to use language can become frustrated when they are unable to make themselves understood, especially when it seems so easy for everyone else. Correcting a young child can cause negative associations with speech and language use. Modeling, on the other hand, provides a positive example instead of a rebuke.

Tips for Encouraging Early Speech

Even if you don’t understand what your child is saying, acknowledge the attempt to communicate. Smile and make eye contact with your child. This will encourage him to keep trying. If you need clarification, commend the child for trying and then ask for a gesture by saying, “I’m so glad you’re using your words! Can you help more? Show me what you want.”

If you can understand, repeat what your child says so that she’ll know you understood her. Even better, show your child how she can add more words to her sentence by expanding it for her. If your child points and says, “juice,” say, “Would you like some juice? I hear Lucy saying, ‘I want some juice, please!’”

All people learn new words best when they’re presented repeatedly in context. To help your child learn a word, use it frequently in sentences. For example, if it is clear that your child doesn’t know the word toast at breakfast, say, “Here is a piece of toast for you. I’ll have some toast, too! I put some butter on your toast. I’ll have some butter on my toast, too. My toast is still warm. Is your toast warm? Toast is great with eggs!”

Repeating a child’s utterance will help her to feel validated, and it may even help prevent tantrums! Some children melt down when they’re told “no” because they’re frustrated that their desire hasn’t been understood. If your child wriggles and exclaims “Up!” on an airplane, say, “I know. You want to get up. I understand. I’m sorry, but we can’t get up. We have to sit. The rules are we have to sit for now. It will keep us safe. We can get up soon. For now, let’s look at this book.”

Avoid speaking in the third person (e.g. saying “Mommy is here!” if you are Mommy). Pronouns like I and me are difficult for young children to grasp, and they need to hear as many examples of correct use as possible. Speak to your child as you would to an adult, albeit with clearer, short sentences.

To help children understand pronouns, incorporate them into play. Using two dolls or figurines, act out interactions. This is especially helpful when talking about possessions; very young children have a tough time with mine versus yours. For example, you might show one dinosaur “saying,” while nudging a crayon to a Lego man, “This blue crayon is yours.” The Lego man can then ask, “Really? It is mine? It is for me? It’s mine?” The dinosaur can reply, “Yes, it is yours,” and the Lego man can reply, “Hooray, it’s mine! Thank you!” Invite children to participate in the dialogue if they are able.

Demonstrate the right word if your child uses the wrong one. If your child points to a piece of ribbon and says, “Rope,” say, “Look at the ribbon! It looks like the ribbon your sister wears in her hair. That ribbon is red, just like your sister’s ribbon. Sometimes people use ribbons on birthday presents.”

As much as possible, avoid questions that can be answered with yes and no to give your child the opportunity to practice using other words. Provide multiple choices so that your child has language to imitate; this gives him the chance to use words without having to generate them himself. Ask, “Do you want to wear the red shirt, or the blue shirt?” or “What do you see the other kids doing? Are they swinging or running or sliding?”

Pairing words with actions will help children to remember them. This works best with verbs; demonstrate the actions when you say, “clap your hands,” “jump,” or “nod your head.” Encourage kids to do the same.

Songs’ rhythms, rhymes, and melodies make them excellent for cementing language in memory. Children’s songs, like the ones sung by the legendary Raffi, are great for building language. Worried you’ll lose your mind? Play albums by The Beatles, Cat Stevens or any other band that writes catchy, short songs sung with clear diction.

Reading is a wonderful way to introduce language to kids. (Talking to your child is no substitute for reading, by the way; studies show that books expose children to a wider variety of words than those used in everyday speech, and the pictures help them make meaning from the new vocabulary.) After you’ve read a book a few times to your child, ask them to tell you what is happening on a particular page, using the picture as a scaffold. Follow the tips above to show your child that you understand them and model some expanded sentences. As your child’s language develops, ask her to retell story as you turn the pages, using the pictures to help her structure her narrative.

The Case for Reading Aloud to Kids – Of All Ages

Most of us know by now that reading aloud to young children is critical. Listening to stories helps children build familiarity with the way books work, increases receptive language and critical thinking skills, and establishes positive feelings about reading. But Rebecca Bellingham, an instructor in the Literacy Specialist Program at Columbia University’s Teachers College, believes that reading aloud shouldn’t stop once children are able to read for themselves.

In a recent TED Talk, Bellingham explains that adults are simply more proficient at reading than children. This means that grown-ups can demonstrate the kind of prosody that good readers use: emphasizing certain words, slowing down during important parts and speeding up during suspenseful parts, and pausing to wonder in appropriate places. A truly skilled reader will ask questions of the text, too, which is something easily demonstrated by an adult reader. Modeling all of these good practices gives the young people listening implicit instruction about what they should be doing in their own minds as they work through a text. 

Bellingham advocates reading aloud at home for other reasons, too. Both kids and adults may spend time within the same four walls, but she worries that, more and more, individuals are interacting with their own screens and not each other. Parents who read to children can use the book as conduit for connecting with their kids. Simply sharing the journey of a good story can be a bonding experience, and books can spark important and interesting family conversations.

Here are some recommendations for reading to young people, especially at home:

• Allow your audience to have a say in the books you choose. Remember that chapter books are excellent read-aloud candidates; even though reading aloud is appropriate for all ages, it will be difficult to get a twelve-year-old excited about listening to The Cat in the Hat. 

• If possible, preview the text ahead of time. A quick skim will help you plan how you might want to use your voice to make the story come alive.

• Ask what happened during last night’s reading before you begin a new section. Reviewing text that’s already been read is a great habit for any reader of any kind of text.

• Model the way the story affects you. Pause after the author says something profound to show that it was worth thinking about. Allow joy or sadness to creep into your voice in appropriate places. Make comments and ask unobtrusive questions aloud (e.g. “I wonder why she did that;” “Who is this guy?”) but then keep right on reading. We don’t’ recommend asking your kids to answer comprehension questions about reading at home; the primary goal of leisure reading is to be pleasurable, and you don’t want anyone to be put on the spot and start to shut down. They’ll get plenty of comprehension questions in school. 

• Many children won’t want to sit still while listening, and that’s OK. Drawing or coloring or building with Legos can be a great way to keep kids' hands occupied while their minds are focused on the story. We know one family in which the children used evening storytime to pair clean socks that had just come from the dryer while their mother read to them!