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. 
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