Nonfiction Books for Reading and Writing Workshop

My Students

A typical day in my classroom begins with reading workshop where kids read at their just-right reading level from their book boxes. They choose books from our classroom library to put in their book boxes. The new common core standards state that half of their reading should be nonfiction.

My students are lucky to live in a quaint suburban town.

Our school is over 100 years old and has a wonderful parent and staff community. We understand that children learn in many different ways. We also know that they not only learn from formal classroom instruction but from the routines and rituals that are consistently present in their school day. The way in which the adults live out their daily lives of school speaks volumes to children who are just beginning to navigate the social mores of life. Do the adults in the school model peaceful problem solving? Do children hear praise and words of encouragement between adults? Do they care for the environment and community? These are just a few examples of how powerful a role model we are as adults and how important it is for a school to be conscious and proactive about the ways in which we conduct ourselves on a daily basis.

My Project

With a well stocked classroom library, my students will be able to choose books that are interesting and at their just-right reading level. This will encourage a lifelong love of reading. Good literature is also very important to our writing workshop. Students are taught to read through the lens of readers and authors. We use mentor texts to guide our writing and investigate author's craft.

Increasing the amount and variety of books in our classroom library will make reading and writing workshop easier to implement efficiently.

I won't have to borrow books from district, school and public libraries as often. Having a wide variety of books enables more students to find titles of interest to them, which will hopefully make them more likely to become book lovers for life!