Some more thoughts on the reading for Week 1:

I believe that the NF book medium has evolved essentially by including
aspects that will appeal to our digital native students!  Our middle
school NF collections needs to be flashy enough to catch the attention
of a 4th grader and also encompass opposing viewpoints to inspire 7th
graders to think critically.  The NF which seems to do this well
includes characteristics of authority, accuracy,  visual design and
illustrations along with charts, graphs, and interactive inquiry.  It
is also a bonus if these books recommend books and sites for further
reading and research.

Although most students tend to gravitate toward technology; many do
not have the skills to determine accuracy and authority.  Typically, a
student will then come to the library looking for a NF book.  As Susan
Faust states in the article In Quest of Excellence, "Children are
intelligent and curious.  Powerfully presented information holds
them."  Nonfiction must be continually updated to capture the child's
attention.  Working in education, I have noticed that many teachers in
the past have pushed students away from non-fiction as choice reading
toward fiction as a way to encourage literacy.  They only seem to
suggest nonfiction if their is a project or research to be done.  I
have also noticed that many boys prefer to read non-fiction - these
same boys are claiming to "not like to read".   I am always interested
to see which of the non fiction books are the one's chosen for choice
reading.

Betty Carter's "Grownup Reading", raises some great questions.
"...indicate that writers for adults believe that children should only
be shown politically correct histories, or be shielded from "adult
language"? Does the violence that takes center stage in Close to Shore
indicate that adapters believe children can only be enticed to read
through sensationalism and violence? I think that to draw these
conclusions would be simplistic. As shown in the above examples,
language and details are both eliminated for reasons other than
shielding children. And the violence that emerges in Close to Shore is
not gratuitous; it is only noticeable when compared to the adult
work."    Nonfiction choices for students should include all the
elements that attract children in the first place.  Putting ourselves
in their place and thinking as students do is an important element of
choosing nonfiction collections that will continue to be an important
aspect of learning.

Great point Anita! Today's students are highly visual - have you seen
the Sirsi Dynix report on how kids today read screens and process
information?

http://schoolrooms.net/

A very thoughtful response to the Carter article.  I agree, about
pulling appeal into the evaluation equation - it's less qualitative,
and more instinctual , I think, and thus, more difficult.

Beth

On 5/20/07, acellu...@mu-regional.k12.ma.us

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Beth Gallaway, Library Trainer / Consultant
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