Why non-fiction is an important part of literacy - and how to use it in your classroom

When we think about literacy we often think about literature and poetry – but what about non-fiction? The National Council of Teachers of English put out a powerful statement (with recommendations) about the importance of non-fiction literacy and the value it has in the classroom. Non-fiction children’s author Lindsey Carmichael joins us to talk about how non-fiction can engage students who may not engage with other literature, some of her favourite moments with non-fiction in classrooms, some tips for integrating non-fiction into the classroom, and talks about her new book.

Resources: 

• NCTE Position Statement on the Role of Nonfiction Literature (K-12) 
• List of Resources for Teaching with Non-Fiction created by LE Carmichael
• The study that gave a model of how to integrate non-fiction organically into learning: Maloch and Horsey (2013) Living Inquiry: Learning From and About Informational Texts in a Second-Grade Classroom. The Reading Teacher 66(6): 475-485
• The study that discusses kids reading above their level when they’re interested in the topic: Caswell and Duke (1998) Non-Narrative as a Catalyst for Literacy Development. Language Arts 75 (2): 108-117
• A study that emphasizes the validity of NF as “real” reading, focused on upper grades: Hynes (2000) “I Read for Facts”: Reading Nonfiction in a Fictional World. Language Arts 77 (6): 485-495
• Lindsey Carmichael's website lecarmichael.ca
• Lindsey's webpage on the KidsCanPress website