Nonfiction...Really!!

Summer...a time for getting that long, long list of "I'll do it this summer" started  completed! Summer is starting a bit later for me. I decided to teach summer school, adding to my shopping and retirement fund. The retirement fund is probably more important, but shopping IS my favorite pastime.

I was assigned third grade language arts, which is a new grade level for me. Since I was venturing into the unknown, I took a along little expert help...Finding the Heart of Nonfiction, by Georgia Heard

www.heinemann.com.  This provided the added bonus of trying out teaching with mentor texts in an actual classroom setting.

We all know, kids LOVE non-fiction. They love learning about animals, insects, interesting people. Win....win!

The running theme was reading and learning from non-fiction, and writing and teaching with non-fiction. The children also learned what a mentor text is...

 and experienced many wonderful texts.

The exciting thing about mentor texts is that you get to use a fabulous book over and over again! The days of having a different book to teach the same skill every day for a week, then start again...OvEr!

Finding truly wonderful books is overwhelming (thousands of books out there), but Georgia Heard has listed many easy to find books. For summer school I used Frogs, by Nic Bishop, Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea; The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of The Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry, and Whose Egg? by Lynette Evans.

Writing:

Each of the 7 essential craft tools was discussed by reading a page or two from one of the above books, discussing the author's craft used, and then giving the students a chance to try it on their own. Because of time limitations, and the fact that these students were struggling in some aspect of their reading and writing, we used a page from a very, very basic non-fiction book. Students took that page, and practiced one of the craft tools taught through the mentor text. The gradual release method (modeled, completed together whole group (shared), completed in a small group of  2-3, and finally attempted independently) was used throughout the process. Copies of a page from the mentor text and their revisions were glued into their very own non-fiction anthology. (Fancy for spiral notebook...)

Reading:

Reading strategies for non-fiction (non-fiction features, author's craft discussed through the mentor text, stop and jot) were practiced independently by the kiddos in non-fiction books of their choice. Because of the diversity of reading levels (16 students ranging from Guided Reading Level C to P), students were able to practice the same skill in their own comfortable reading zone.

All guided reading was also in appropriately leveled non-fiction books, with the teaching point emphasized with each guided reading group. During share time, each student was able to confidently contribute!

Whose Egg?  was especially fun...filled with chances for inferring. Then students wrote their own "flap" about something they read in a non-fiction book during independent reading. On the outside flaps, they gave clues about their subject, on the inside, they wrote and illustrated the "answer".

Although our time together was short (just 3 weeks) it was FILLED with learning...from books AND from each other!