Few studies examine young children's multimodal responses to nonfiction picture books, and even fewer examine teaching practices that encourage these responses. This case study of a kindergarten class illustrates how one teacher regularly conducted interactive whole-group read-alouds using nonfiction picture books. After examining the multimodal…

Background: Provided that coaches play a key role in shaping the sport experiences of athletes with a disability, they represent an important point of intervention for enhancing the quality of athletes' participation in disability sport. Despite the importance of their role, few evidence-informed learning resources are available to support the…

Educators who take an inclusive, anti-ableist stance value human variation. Teaching in pursuit of anti-ableism requires open dialogue about aspects of human diversity, complex social identities, and the contributions of people with disabilities. In this column, we build from the rich work exploring ableism via children's literature in order to…

Nonfiction has long been left out of the discourse on literacy and little is known about the affective experiences that children seek when they choose to engage with facts via reading and otherwise. We have conducted an interview study in which children of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in Czechia (N = 20, age 9-11) reflected on the world of…

In informational texts, when the identities of the narrators are inconsistent with the identities of the writers, can such text be classified as nonfiction? In this article, we examine the relationship between the writer and the narrator of informational nonfiction books in alignment with the ELA Common Core State Standards for reading in grades…

Children's books of Nazi propaganda prove that a society can venerate science to the point of making biology the organizing principle of its educational system yet nevertheless produce children's literature shot through with fabrication and falsehood. Three children's books of Nazi propaganda that are frequently mentioned in accounts of…

Given increased attention toward nonfiction and informational texts due to recent educational reforms in the nation, it is critical to examine how various cultural identities are depicted in nonfiction children's picture books. Focusing on the Orbis Pictus honor and awarded texts (n = 60) from 1990 to 2019, this article reports the findings of a…

In a time when some nonfiction historical books for children and young adults have drawn concern and critique for sharing difficult histories, teachers may be looking for ways to contextualize those narratives and provide more support for students as they engage in these histories. Going beyond the book with primary sources can help provide that…

Facts about climate change are often ineffective in impacting people's climate change beliefs or environmentally related behaviors. Multiple theories of environmental behavior use norms to foster behavior change. Science fiction writers may also attempt to sway individuals' perceptions of climate change through imaginings of a future affected by…

This research conducted with third graders examined a teacher and her students as they transformed their traditional writing workshop to a designing workshop. Using the New London Group's (1996) pedagogy of multiliteracies and Katie Wood Ray's (2006) units of study as frameworks, students participated in a unit of study on informational texts.…

Teaching and learning are grounded on age-appropriate, credible curricular resources, which can be formal (i.e. textbooks) and informal (i.e. trade-books). As Charles Darwin's ideas galvanized biology and racism, this study examined his historical representation within trade-books (e.g. biography, narrative non-fiction, expository, etc.),…

This article engages speculatively with Rachel Tonkin's award-winning work of children's literary non-fiction "Leaf litter: Exploring the mysteries of a hidden world" as a potential text for study in the primary or secondary literacy/English classroom. It considers the affordances and issues that may accompany teaching this text, and the…

The book "Superhero Scientists" is a non-fiction text for children to read about people involved in the fascinating world of science. The 21 chapters are full of facts, life stories and scientific discoveries. From astrophysicists to pilots, epidemiologists to vets, marine biologists to scene of crime officers--the book details why they…

Nationally and internationally, we face a crisis of misinformation and disinformation (De Jesus & Hubbard, "Social Studies," 112(3), 136-145, 2021; Lee & Hosam, "Sociological Forum," 35, 996-1008, 2020). Now more than ever, children need to know how authors obtain the information included in nonfiction books. Backmatter…

This study explores the factors contributing to the imbalance between fiction and nonfiction materials in primary school classrooms, with a specific emphasis on the perspectives of prospective teachers. Employing a qualitative research approach, the investigation involved 30 student teachers who had completed the Children's Literature course at a…