Nonfiction Lessons That Motivate

A few years ago, the data from my school district's state assessments revealed that our students excelled at comprehending, summarizing, analyzing, and writing fiction. The data also revealed that those same students showed difficulty in performing the same tasks when analyzing nonfiction. The obvious solution was to have students spend more time learning about nonfiction. As I took an inventory of my class reading materials, I soon realized that both the reading materials, and the bulk of my literature instruction revolved around fictional novels, poems, and short stories. The type of nonfiction stories my students were coming into contact with was in textbooks. I immediately began a search for interesting nonfiction novels, short stories, and poems from which students could establish a personal connection, and gain positive experiences. I not only found what I was looking for, I also began to view nonfiction writing as a type of communication my students use daily. I only needed to point out the connection for my students. There are numerous ways in which to teach about nonfiction, and the difference between literature genres. Here are some suggestions.

When I teach about these literature genres, I not only want my students to understand the difference between nonfiction and fiction, I also want them to realize that nonfiction is an interesting and useful type of writing that can be used for many purposes. While many students may view nonfiction as coming from a textbook, they can open themselves up to a wealth of literature by learning about the many types of nonfiction writing, which includes personal essays, journals, poems, and letters. When I ask students to define nonfiction, the class responses include "a piece of writing that is true." The question I then might ask the class is: "How many times a week do you read or write nonfiction outside of school?" The responses students may give may include completing homework, and reading gaming directions. I then ask students about personal journals or diaries, notes to parents or friends, to-do lists, poems about nature, personal experiences, or school assignments that require writing about vacations or holidays. As hands go up I can then ask, "How many of these are pieces of writing that are true?" Students then can pair off and make a list of all the nonfiction reading and writing experiences inside and outside of school that they can think of. The lists can be amazing. Class discussions can then center around the fact that nonfiction is used in a variety of situations, and is not only used to deliver facts. With the help of a bank of new nonfiction literature, students can analyze the format of different types of nonfiction, and complete the assessment tasks required the following spring.

As previously stated, there are many interesting and engaging lesson ideas and resources that involve nonfiction. You could begin with an Internet lesson and literature search, and discuss ideas with other teachers in your grade level team at school. By integrating language arts with what is being covered in social studies or science, students are given the opportunity to expand what they have learned, and move beyond the facts. The following lessons provide a variety of ways in which to incorporate nonfiction into language arts instruction, and in some cases, use different mediums and technology in order to analyze and synthesize the knowledge and experiences acquired.

Nonfiction Lesson Plans:

Rural Voices through Photography: This lesson has students read nonfiction poems, historical fiction, personal essays, analyzing historical photographs, as well as read an online family history about the Dust Bowl period. After students have been provided with numerous literature experiences, and instruction in different resources, they create a scrapbook that includes digital photography and writing. The variety of instructional materials and activities will engage students and provide them with a unique experience.

Author Contract: The project completed in this lesson can be used for any genre or literature study where students are researching a specific author. If used as a nonfiction lesson plan, students may need a list of nonfiction authors. In this lesson students choose an author, and sign an agreement where they commit to reading a specific author's books, conduct a study of the author's life, and then create a webpage that displays the elements and themes of the chosen author along with information about his or her books. This lesson allows students to use both research and evaluation skills.

Fiction and Nonfiction: In this lesson students read a fiction and nonfiction poem, and then complete element checklists, as well as graphic organizers. This lesson provides students with opportunities to compare and contrast fiction and nonfiction. An addition that could be made to this lesson is repeating the activities with different types of nonfiction so that students learn about the differences in organization, scope, and treatment of nonfictional formats.

Short Stories and the Elements of Fiction: Although this lesson series covers fictional elements, the basic structure of this lesson can be used with nonfiction stories and elements. Students read short stories and identify the elements of fiction. After students are able to identify the elements they create, their own short stories. This lesson could be used as a comparison between fiction and nonfiction, if you involve nonfiction stories.