Teaching Non-Fiction Reading

Excerpts from the Paper

Teaching Non-Fiction Reading
Students who are able to access to books easily in their classrooms have better attitudes about reading, reading achievement, and comprehension than other students (Doiron; Stead). In addition, there is a propensity for students to read more often and in a broader way when they are in classrooms with adequate classroom libraries (Doiron; Stead). Nonetheless, the research shows that educators often rely more readily on fiction reading than non-fiction reading, when both are equally necessary for both literacy and knowledge, even at the primary elementary school level (Doiron; Harwayne).
In order to explore how to set up a non-fiction classroom and classroom library with my students, I examined the research...

..... in that the practice of teaching non-fiction can lead to lifelong engagement in balanced reading, but it is also clear that this practice must include critical thinking curriculum as well. Students who are able to not only access non-fiction books, but also use them towards understanding the world around them, are those that will be well prepared for the challenges they face.
References
Doiron, R. "Motivating the Lifelong Reading Habit Through a
Balanced Use of Children's Information Books." School Libraries Worldwide 9.1 (2003): 39-49.
Harwayne, S. Going public: Priorities and practice at the
Manhattan New School. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1999.
Stead, T. Is that a fact? Teaching nonfiction writing in K-
3. Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 2002.