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Pair Fiction Reading with Nonfiction Resources

Create a list of the fiction resources you use in your classroom. Examine the topics covered. Think about your student's prior knowledge and information needs. Build a pathfinder containing nonfiction resources that can be used during class discussions and reading activities. These don't need to be major connections. Seek connections to characters and settings.

Explore Mercy Watson to the Rescue from Literature Ladders.

Questions for Paired Reading

After students have answered these questions, come together and discuss them as a group. Then have students write original short stories about the topics they explored.

Primary Activity. Compare the covers of fiction and nonfiction book on the same topic. Can you tell whether a book is fiction or nonfiction by the title and cover? Why or why not? What clues do the title and cover provide? How will you decide if a book is fiction or fact?

All Grades Activity. How is the content of a fiction and nonfiction book alike and different? Compare two books, then make generalizations. For instance, read Little Bear and compare it to nonfiction books on real bears.

Intermediate Activity. How are fiction and nonfiction books organized differently? Read aloud a fiction and nonfiction book on the same topic. As a class, create a story plot graph or character graph for the fiction book and a topical organizer for a book. Then, ask students to create one for their two books.

Intermediate Activity. Ask students to examine how whether the images match the text of the book. What additional images would they include? Why? Refer to specific page numbers and passages.

Middle School Activity. How is the author's process and writing technique different from fiction and nonfiction?

Consider building a pathfinder for your resources and activities:

Pair Adventure Fiction with Nonfiction

Disasters (Grade 4)

Everest (Grade 5)

Pair Historical Fiction and Nonfiction

Award Winning Historical Fiction. Go to the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction website. Read an historical fiction book. Brainstorm questions about the time period and use works of nonfiction to find the answers.

Plagues and Disease.

Japanese Internment Camps.

Pair Animal Fiction with Nonfiction

Download Zany Zookeeper (PPT). This activity combines fiction and nonfiction activities.

Pig. Babe: The Gallant Pig and All Pigs are Beautiful

Bats. Bats: Stellaluna by Janell Cannon and Bats by Celia Bland and Going Batty

Snails. Snails- Fact and Fiction

Plants (pair with Johnny Appleseed). From Tree to You (Primary w/ audio), Grow, Apple, Grow! (Primary w/ audio)

Shadow. My Shadow (poem) from Starfall, Casting Shadows Across Literacy and Science, Shadows

Snakes. Snakes are Cool

Snow. Let's Build a Snowman

Pair Science Fiction with Nonfiction Resources

Fiction with Nonfiction Pairings

The following book list was adapted from Deanne Camp and others:

Twins Texts Ideas from Deanne Camp

Reference Resources

Teaching Ideas

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