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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

My #nf10for10 : In my House and In my Classroom (Or Accessible and Engaging!)

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As I was considering nonfiction that I love, I had to take a step back.  I read a lot of nonfiction, and put a lot of it out, but what nonfiction do I consider awesome?  So I did some looking at what we have at home for the 2 boys, and what I keep in my classroom for my 26 students.  (All these kids I love and adore!  I want the best for them!)  These are the books that you will find in both my home and my classroom:


The text features in this book are accessible and engaging.  

I felt like I was cheating adding a board book.  It has always been one of my favorites because from the beginning Smithsonian is using authentic vocabulary and amazing photographs for even the tiniest of readers.  

This is from a guided reading series by Scholastic called Guided Science Readers. For my earliest readers, having nonfiction that they are interested in and can read is motivating and a great way to build conversation.  

This Pebble series of books on ocean life are just one example of a topic covered by this series. 

Seymour Simon.  That is all.  

Again, this series by Scholastic is pretty amazing.  The authentic vocabulary helps both emerging readers and readers who are also developing English as a language.  

More National Geographic is coming in this post.  The "Little Kids" series is engaging enough that even my 9 year old will still pick them up and read them.  
When my 9 year old found out what I was doing, he ran to his room and got this book.  "My favorite part is when they award the medal to the angriest bird."  

I adore this series as well.  The topics are amazing and high-interest.  Li'l T isn't a reluctant reader, but definitely won't read something he's not interested in.  This mindset is in my classroom as well, and this series allows me to put high interest books in the hands of readers with discerning taste.
A brilliant book that gets picked up over and over again!


As I look  back on this post, I clearly love engaging and accessible nonfiction. :)   At first I was going to rewrite, but left it, because it's true.  I love it when a first grader (or one of my own children) reads the text and unlocks the meaning and more questions on a topic.  That is just magical, and some of my favorite conversations to have.  

Thanks so much to Julie BalenCathy Mere, and Mandy Roebuck for hosting this event.  I'm looking forward to looking at everyone's lists!  

Joy!
Kendra 

1 comment:

  1. Kendra,
    Engaging and accessible is so important for young readers. You have mentioned many series we have in our classroom as well. I have been impressed by most everything National Geographic has put out for kids. My students love the books, and I'm continually pleasantly surprised at their readability. The digital resources available from NG make it that much better!
    Cathy

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