Nonfiction Matters: Reading, Writing, and Research in Grades 3-8,   ISBN:9781571100726

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I am using this product for a grad class. It has been easy to read and understand. All my class members seem to enjoy it also. Thanks, Dan

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While this text is geared for grades 3 - 8, I found the information applicable to high school as well--not so much the projects and practical strategies, but the overall philosophy which is that kids need to read more nonfiction and they need better choices in order to write good nonfiction. Most of the reading students will encounter after high school is nonfiction (newspapers, manuals, trade magazines, memos, etc.) and most of what they read grades K-12 is fiction. We are not adequately preparing them for a nonfiction world. As far as writing, it's no secret that student's tend to write more powerful fiction or personal narrative than they do essay or research. According to Harvey, that's because we continue to assign them topics they simply do not care about. Or we allow them to choose, but we don't adequately help them to seek out those topics they will become invested in, and as a result, they choose quickly just to get going on a project so they can soon finish it. If we want them to write powerful essays and research papers, we need to spend a lot more time helping them find the things they care about and helping them to research what they care about before they start writing. This book makes a strong argument for more time spent with idea generating exercises and lots more student choice. We simply have to start adopting these two ideas in our schools.

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Nonfiction Matters by Stephanie Harvey is a great resource for any teacher with a low self efficacy about teaching writing. The book is a very easy read and organized so that it can be easily referenced when teaching any part of the writing process. Her enthusiasm for teaching nonfiction writing and her excellent lesson ideas make teaching students how to write good nonfiction seem possible. The lessons and instructional strategies are diverse and can be used to meet the needs of all students. With Stephanie Harvey's help you won't have to read another piece of boring nonfiction produced by your students again. This book helps you learn how to teach your students to explore their passions in creative and authentic ways.

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This book transformed the way we teach reasearch at our school. Our students can't wait to dig deeply into subjects and share what they've learned with others. We've truly become a community of learners and the tools and encouragement in this book helped to make that happen. I re-read it every year.

Customer Rating: 

I just had this book assigned to me for my upcoming course in Materials for Teaching Reading. The semester hasn't even started yet, and I have devoured this book. Stephanie Harvey has done an incredible job of breaking down the process of reading, writing, and researching nonfiction in such a way that I really feel prepared to go out and start teaching it. Not only am I prepared, I am EXCITED! I can't wait to implement what I have learned in my future classes, as well as in my own life journey of continued learning and research. Not only is there great information, the book is written in a very readable, interesting manner, a good example of good nonfiction writing.