Non-Fiction books in our classrooms

Children of all ages frefer reading stories that are nonfiction when given the opportunity to chose the book of thier chose. Yet for some reason teachers seem to limite the amount of non-fiction books that our students read. I think that teachers need to recognize the positive effects of non-fiction books have on our students. The book (The Joy of Children's Literature) gave six different resons why non-fiction books are benefitioal.
1. it offers a key to succes in later schooling
2. it is ubiquitious in the larger society.
3. it is the preferred reading material for some children.
4. it addresses chilfren's interests and questions.
5. it builds knowledge of the natural and social world.\
6. it includes many important text features.
I think that nonfiction books engage and moticates children's reading and interest in certain subjects in ways that textbooks can't. I myself like reading nonfiction books where the author is able to create and picece of literature of art work. Yet some people think that nonfiction is only a dry recitation of facts, that are badly reproduced photographs. The ways that us as teachers can use nonfiction books is by creating goals for our students. The book (The Joy of Children's Literature) stated goals for multicultural understanding with nonfiction books.
1. Contrubute to students' self-esteem and self-awareness.
2. Help children of diverse cultures appreciate the contribution of thier ancestors.
3. Contribute to the development of respect across cultures.
4. Enhance students' identifcation with members of diverse cultures.
5. Illustrate the history of various diverse cultures in this country and abroad.
6. Provide up-to-the-minute portrayals of everyday lives of youngsters from diverse cultures living today.
Not all non-fiction books are great for lessons and read aloud. You must select only quality nonfiction, select information from a varity of media, choose books that reflect children's interest, consider reading only a protion of the book so that they will want to read them by themselves, read aloud nonfiction with expression just as you would fiction, discuss unfamiliar words, stop to discuss the organization and features that the book provides, reread favorite nonfiction titles to make the books able to read independently.



 www.rif.org/educators/books/100_nonfiction.mspx

www. socialstudies.org/resources/notable

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/fiction-non-fiction-book-pairs-classroom-library

Conroversial Topic

Please let me know your thought on this controversial and sensitive topic. Should our kids learn about death at a young age and know what it means to die?

Taboo

While reading chapter seven, I noticed a topic which is great to discuss. "Controversial and Sensitive Issues" talking about taboo topics could be hard for children to understand. For example, Death, Divorce, Moral Choices, Mental, Physical and Behavioral Challenges, Abuse, Homelessness and Poverty. An author my the name of Nordstrom's were among the first to address these types of topics such as racial tension. I understand that it's hard to address these types of topics yet children understand more then we think they do. When a family member dies or a divorce occurs some children don't know how to deal with these situations because they have never been prepared for these types of situations. Death happens all the time yet why don't we educate ourselves and our students about these topics. They may be hard to talk about but when something does happen they will be a little more prepared and knowledgeable regarding what happened and why. The book "The Joy of Children's Literature" stated that some adults argue that children should no be exposed to what they consider the inappropriate issues or offensive language that appears in some works of realistic fiction for children." As a mother I think that its hard to discuss these issues and we want to shield our children from these bad things, yet I think we should prepare our children of reality and that its better as a parent or teacher to address these important issues rather then never talking about it and something bad happens and our children wonder how their perfect live could change so bad. The best why to teach or children of these taboo topics is through literature. Simple stories such as  I Remember Miss Perry by Pat Brisson or Charlotte's Web ,or Where the Wild Things Are. These are all great stories to help students understand these issues at their level.





 While researching this topic I found a great site that felt as I did, so I decided to share with you. http://english.illinoisstate.edu/rlbroad/teaching/studentpubs/OneWishEnglish/levernier.pdf
http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200809/Crawford.pdf

About Me

Hello everyone:
My name is Dulce Martinez-Sanchez

I am in the education program at Florida Gulf Coast University. I have my A.A in education. I will graduate in May and will be obtaining my B.S in Child and Youth studies. I also hope to get my Masters Degree in Behavior Analyst to help children learn to control feeling in which most cant control. I am a parent of a wonderful four year old girl, who is my inspiration to be successful and the reason I returned to school. I have a wonderful husband who has been by my side now for five years and the one who motivated me and said that I would be able to do it and I am. I am a daughter of wonderful parents who taught me how to respect and appreciate life and most of all the love of God. My passion is education, I love teaching and learning. I love kids and know that we as teachers can make a change in any situation that our students might be going through.       

 

The New Literacies, The World of online children's literature

The book " The Joy of Children's Literature" by Denise Johnson Stated that " the internet has narrowed the gap between people all over the world. Unlike the olden days, when a letter could take several days of even weeks to arrive at its destination, internet communication is almost instantaneous. Electronic mail (e-mail), listservs, instant messaging, chat rooms, discussion boards, wikis, and weblogs allow people to share ideas, opinions, and information."

This is true in regards to so many things. When I was in school the computer had just came out. My father bought me one yet we were unaware on how to use it we knew how to turn it on, play games, and turn it off. Now my 4 year old knows how to turn on the computer look for her sites and play. She has an iPod, iPad, and of course Mom and Dad phone. Its amazing how much information is created now, on the computer. Endless books can be stored in a small tablet that fits in your purse. So many interactive sites for young readers to explore. We are also able to meet the creators of all these wonderful books and interact with them, get a feel of their life and what made them become writers. " The internet allows teachers and librarians to literally bring a whole world of books or e-literature into the classroom." (children's literature) Students are now able to write a whole essay about someone just by researching the web. So much great information can be gathered or stored on the web. For example, I created a web-quest lesson for students, below is the link please fell free to take the lesson. Have fun


http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=203022

Diversity for children

Diversity expressed through books.

Teaching diversity in your classroom is very important. For one, you recieve the respect of those children whose race is not the same as yours. Second, by educating yourself in regards to race by reading different books on diversity will assist in lesson planning and how to handle issues that come your way. Third, your students parents will be more confident in talking to you and addressing thier concerns.

“Teacher candidates’ lack of understanding of diversity issues can negatively affect

the educational success of their students.”
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/books-teaching-about-cultural-diversity

http://www.cbcdiversity.com/p/resources-for-teachers-librarians.html