Believe It or Not – Teens Like Non-Fiction!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

“There’s nothing to read!” I have heard that said by many students when I ask them to read a book. What I’ve learned is that the statement is a shield from the truth. Give a child a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not book and they no longer struggle to read. They can’t put the text down.

Step inside my classroom.

You will see hard-working, diligent students trying to overcome the struggles of living in Southwest Chicago. Most of my 35 students are Latino, and many of their parents immigrated to the United States to provide their children with better education. Most of my students learned English as a second language, and their parents speak only Spanish. In addition, nearly 1/3 of my classroom has been diagnosed with a learning disability. It’s difficult to find texts that lower level readers have access to, but high-interest, non-fiction texts may be the solution. The use of pictures and graphics in non-fiction allows both my ESL and LRE to access the text. They discover much without having to struggle with language they don’t understand. More importantly they LOVE reading interesting non-fiction. My students are not able to go to the library, let alone a book store. With budget cuts and economic struggles, their access to quality books becomes more limited.

My Project

Don’t believe the hype! Students like to read when they find the right text. Last year, I purchased some non-fiction texts like 100 Most Disgusting Things. When I received the box during class, the kids wouldn’t rest until I opened it. I heard comments like, “Look at the cover – what is he doing?” After adding the books to the library, I watched the students devour them. One student in particular had a learning disability and struggled during independent reading. As I watched him show a classmate pictures and explain things, I realized the power of non-fiction. That book enabled him to be like everyone else in class. It didn’t matter that he was reading at a 2nd grade level; he was able to understand the text. It is that leveling power of non-fiction that I want to be able to bring to my students. Because these books are often full of pictures, I cannot afford to purchase many of them. This grant would enable me to bring 30 different non-fiction texts to my students.

How does a teacher transform “there’s nothing to read” into “is it time for reading”?

Non-fiction is the answer. Non-fiction texts use pictures, captions, graphs, charts and bullets to make the text accessible for all students. In my classroom, non-fiction is a necessity. With 8 students with learning disabilities and 10 ESL students, my students need to find texts that they CAN read. This grant will enable me to put a book in each child’s hand, a book that the child wants to and can read.