FeedManiac Monday: Teaching With Kids’ Nonfiction Books
November 16, 2009 in Books With Social Studies Content, Books with Science Content, Elementary Educators, High School Teachers, Maniac Mondays, Picture Book Tags: nonfiction books, science, social studies
Kids nonfiction books are changing, and they are changing for the better. They are more interesting, kid-friendly, and factual. They range from serious subjects such as the Hitler Youth to subjects more suitable for the bathroom! (Kids love bathroom humor.) Because of this, we should use children’s nonfiction books on a regular basis to supplement our science and social studies curriculum. And we should do this at all levels. Many of these new nonfiction books are considered nonfiction picture books–for elementary students. But we can use them with middle school and high school students, too. Any book that teaches kids and teens and supplements your curriculum can be useful for you in the classroom.
This past weekend, I went to the SCBWI-IL Prairie Writers’ Day conference in Chicago. One of the speakers, Stacy Cantor, an editor from Walker Books for Young Readers, shared an extensive list of great nonfiction books for kids. She picked these books because of the unique subject matter or slant and because of the author’s voice, in spite of the fact the author was writing nonfiction. I am going to share with you a few of the titles:
*See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House by Susan E. Goodman, illustrations by Elwood H. Smith
*Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrations by Kadir Nelson
*The Period Book: Updated Edition (for girls about the menstrual cycle) by Karen and Jennifer Gravelle, illustrated by Debbie Palen
*Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
*Let It Begin Here! Lexington and Concord: First Battles of the American Revolution by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Larry Day
*Poop Happened! A History of the World From the Bottom Up (coming Spring 2010) by Sarah Albee, illustrated by Robert Layton
Share your favorite nonfiction book to use with your students or your children.
If you are interested in writing for children, I am teaching an on-line course with WOW! Women On Writing about writing short stories, articles, poems, and fillers starting January 13, 2010. For more information, see the WOW! classroom page.
Happy reading, happy writing, happy teaching, and happy parenting!
