Fiction vs Nonfiction; Which Do Students Enjoy More?!

If I asked you now as an adult which type of book do you enjoy reading more? Fiction? Or Nonfiction? I would say I'm torn between both and it is dependent on the subject area, but some people have a distinct favourite that most likely stemmed from enjoyment in school. As educators let's look at how we can use fiction and nonfiction texts to increase students' enjoyment for reading!

What is Fiction? What is Nonfiction?

For students to explore what they may enjoy reading most, they need to understand the different types of books they may encounter. Understanding the difference between fiction and nonfiction is essential to this. Some students love the opportunity to put themselves into the situation happening in a book and use their imaginations to decide what might happen next or how it will all end. Others may enjoy learning facts, real-life events, and about theories they can teach or debate with their friends about. Students need to understand the purposes and points of view these types of texts may be written in which directly relate to curriculum expectations R1.2 and R1.9. This slideshow gives some good questions and general ideas about authors' purposes and the difference between fiction and nonfiction. Students may be intimidated by the idea of nonfiction but providing them with tools to understand the structures of nonfiction will help with their comprehension (R1.3) Giving students the option of exploring both types of texts allows them to possess more freedom and room to discover what they enjoy and what they will get excited to read about. I came across an article where a teacher discussed strategies she used to increase her students' love for writing, but it could be easily related to reading. They were as simple as allowing them to choose what to write (or choose what to read), giving them more freedom on assignment directions, and allowing students to share ideas and feedback (R4.2). One of the things I like most about nonfiction is that a lot of the ideas and vocabulary can be more challenging. By exposing students to these types of texts it can improve their fluency with tougher texts (R3.3) and expose them to tougher words (R3.2). 

Graphic Novels; A Still Movie

When I first thought of graphic novels I thought "oh, they are just stupid comic books. How nerdy". After looking at how much variety is present in graphic novels in class and how beneficial they can be to students I have a whole new appreciation for them. Reading graphic novels provides students with a whole new point of view (R1.9), writing style (R2.4), and a more exciting way to make predictions(R1.5) and connections to the text(R1.6 and 1.8). The graphic novel article we looked at in class gave some insight directly from teachers regarding using graphic novels in class. The teacher roundtable discusses how graphic novels are beneficial to students, the misconceptions people have about using graphic novels in the classroom, their personal favourite graphic novels, and the dos and don'ts of being successful in using graphic novels in their classroom. I also enjoyed exploring how you could use graphic novels to teach more than just reading. I viewed a few books that showed how you could teach kids about science subjects (a nonfiction text) such as different types of terrain such as deserts or rainforests. This article highlights some of the most popular graphic novels to use for various lessons in the STEM field. I would love to explore using graphic novels to create some sort of cross-curricular lesson that may incorporate students favourite subjects into reading their choice of graphic novel. I also came across a TED talk that discusses why comics (or graphic novels) should be in the classroom. A lot of people including students, parents, and even educators are skeptical of using something that may be viewed as "not for education, only for fun", and this talk clears some of that up. I believe using graphic novels can excite students about reading and learning about new topics; it's like reading a still movie.

Are Nonfiction Texts Really Boring?

A lot of times when teachers bring out textbooks or research articles students can be immediately turned off. What if we could not only make nonfiction more exciting but increase students' enjoyment for this style of book before it becomes such a large part of their academics? I started enjoying nonfiction more when I was choosing what to read and explore. This can be hard to do with textbooks, but providing additional materials such as videos, graphic novels that relate to the concept, or even picture books can increase student interest in that subject area. This article highlights some ways to make nonfiction more exciting that I believe tailors more to elementary students. A big focus is playing to each student's interests, making real-life connections (R1.5, 1.6, 1.8), and encouraging questioning. Giving students opportunities to make inferences (R1.5), look at different forms and styles (R2.1-2.4), and giving them new challenges (R3.2) exposes them to the vast realm of nonfiction. Nonfiction comes in so many forms (R2.1-2.4) such as newspaper articles, novels, picture books, research papers, textbooks, and more, so having students explore all of these and provide comparisons teaches them more than just what nonfiction is. Another article I came across highlights some ways to improve comprehension from nonfiction by using graphic organizers to highlight ideas or important facts(R1.3 and 1.7), determining the importance of the reading(R1.2), and writing summaries to ensure students get the gist of the article or reading (R1.4). I have embedded a video below that shows a teacher working through fiction and nonfiction books with her class and highlighting how both can be good reads. Looking back now, my teachers gave me a lot of freedom when it came to research and finding articles to use for projects. I believe this is one of the reasons I enjoy viewing research articles now for mostly just sole enjoyment. Not only are nonfiction texts important during kids' studies in elementary and high school, but if they want to succeed, they need to be prepared to use them and essentially enjoy them all through post-secondary education as well.

Media Literacy + Science = Exciting Learning

“Okay, class, time for Science and Literacy.”

*significant sigh roars through the class*

A lot of students do not enjoy science. For whatever reason, it doesn’t appeal to them or it seems hard so they don’t enjoy learning about it. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case for me, but I’m a nerd so that’s beside the point. I am very passionate about teaching science, and I want to ensure students are excited when I tell them it’s time for a science lesson. Thinking and reflecting on our discussions in class revolving around technology, I believe it’s essential to implement a ‘fun’ component into a subject students sometimes don’t fully enjoy. A lot of students respond well to videos, games, and websites and that is what I have chosen to explore how to engage students using media resources to learn science and literacy all in one. This blog post will explore how you can implement teaching media literacy as well as science in an appealing, technology-rich way to students. Teaching or attempting to teach two subjects in one can be tough, but with time and effort, it can be successful. Imagine how much content we could get through in a year if we implement more subjects into one.

This post will explore in-depth the connection between literacy and the Ontario Language Curriculum document. We will look at how the different science resources I have chosen can satisfy specific expectations in the media literacy section of the curriculum document. Media Literacy has four main sections: understanding media texts, understanding media forms, conventions, and techniques, creating media texts, and reflecting on media literacy skills and strategies. Each section outlines specific expectations teachers are to satisfy using various lessons and assignments. Next, you will see how we can use science resources to both teach science concepts but also satisfy expectations from the media literacy curriculum as well.

Pop, Pop, Pop... BrainPop!
My first resource is BrainPop! I have personal experience with this website and remember being shown videos in elementary and high school. This website has an endless amount of content for both students and teachers. Students can explore videos, games, vocabulary, mind maps, coding, readings, worksheets and so much more. Educators can use any aspect of this to teach their students. You could use a video or game from BrainPop as a Minds On activity, have students review vocabulary and readings to create a mind map or movie for the active learning, and then have students share their findings with the class as consolidation. An activity such as this could satisfy the following curriculum expectations from the Ontario Language Curriculum document: M1.1-1.3, and M3.2-3.4. These expectations require students to explore the purpose and audience of media texts, task them with making inferences and interpreting messages, and respond and evaluate media texts (M1.1-1.3). They also ask students to identify appropriate form, identify appropriate techniques and conventions they should use during their activity, and actually producing their choice of media text (M3.2-3.4). BrainPop has resources available for more than just science; math, social studies, English, art and music, health, and engineering and tech are also available. This resource could be provided to students as something embedded into a lesson or something given as an extra for those who may want more clarification. I appreciate how this website gives you so many different options to use and not just videos or games. BrainPop also provides sample lesson plans to teachers. Unfortunately, since most of BrainPop requires a subscription or payment, I could not fully explore the educator side. Below is a sample video provided by BrainPop about Media Literacy. A lot of BrainPop videos can be accessed through YouTube.

What's Climate? Find Out at Climate Kids

Next, is Climate Kids. This website is similar to BrainPop, but I found it seemed to be geared more towards grades 6-10. It has some more advanced topics and vocabulary present. It focuses solely on science and various aspects surrounding the climate. Climate Kids has videos, activities, games, and articles to explore. This website provides experiments, "how to's", and tasks teachers can try or students could complete themselves. This website allows for a lot of open-ended questions which could lead to a fun research project for students. If we look at the Grade 9 Academic English expectations students could evaluate Climate Kids and decide if they find the website effective, and if the media presented satisfies the purpose for them (M1.3). This expectation specifically asks students to evaluate how effective the information and ideas are communicated for their intended purpose. Students can be evaluating Climate Kids specifically, relating to if they believe they can thoroughly learn about the climate through this website. This assignment could be something used before students complete a unit on climate, to understand if this resource would be valuable during the unit. I believe it is a valuable skill for students to learn not only how to use websites to learn but also to be able to review if the websites are valuable. Students could then use this resource during their unit on climate to provide additional information throughout the unit. I have embedded a sample video from Climate Kids to view and understand.

Want to explore the world? Check Out National Geographic

My third resource is using National Geographic. National Geographic has a variety of options available such as magazines, books, websites, movies, and sites for kids. National Geographic allows for an endless amount of resources for students to explore in both a literacy sense and scientific sense. National Geographic provides a lot of different multimodal options that can cater to students' preferred ways of receiving and learning new information. You can tailor to those who prefer reading, those who prefer videos, or those who enjoy exploring websites. Educators could use this resource to satisfy more than just Media Literacy expectations, but also expectations from Reading, Writing, and Oral Communication. Educators could create an assignment where students examine 3-4 different resources from National Geographic and identify different characteristics, techniques, and conventions present in the various resources (M2.1-2.2). These expectations ask students to examine how elements of these different resources combine to create and reinforce meaning, as well as to identify conventions and how they help to relay the message to the intended audience (M2.1-2.2). You could then continue this project to relate it to science and have students explore their favorite resources and complete a respective assignment. Most of National Geographic’s resources can be accessed through their website and sometimes through elementary and secondary schools will have actual magazines or movies. This resource can be used in almost any grade level and could be tied in with other literacy strands such as reading, writing, and oral communication. National Geographic is also a good choice for a reputable, well-known resource to use in class that students may come across in other aspects of their life.

 

There are endless amounts of websites and apps that students and teachers can use to incorporate science into media literacy such as Crash Course or Khan Academy to name a couple. I personally used Crash Course a lot in university to reinforce topics and give me an alternate way of understanding the information besides my textbook or lecture. Incorporating these non-traditional methods into instruction can provide further engagement for students and more interest in particular subject areas. Following any of the assignments, teachers can give students an opportunity to reflect which further satisfies expectations M4.1-4.2 by allowing students to express what worked for them what didn't, and how did their other skills help them. Any of the brief assignments I discussed could inspire new passions for science or the various aspects of media. Using this approach; tying two subjects into one; can allow for greater student interest in both areas. I remember in elementary school highly disliking language/literacy. If there were sections presented to me in a similar way to what I have discussed, I know I would have enjoyed the subject much more. This dual subject method could be implemented in math, health, social studies, geography, history and more. Think of this as a way to use one subject to make another subject more engaging. Below I have embedded a video that shows how you can use gym class to practice math skills. This is what I am trying to get at. Using a more appealing task to conquer a less appealing task!