Teacher Tip Thursday: Non-Fiction Text that Excites Readers!

For many years I struggled with non-fiction text on a personal level, and motivating my students to love it was a challenge. Why? Students were given a multitude of books to select from my fiction stack of recommendations, but when it came to non-fiction texts, my selection was abysmal and it was my fault. I never really broadened my own reading horizons and read non-fiction, so I don't know why I was surprised when my own students never grabbed a non-fiction copy off the shelf. In recent years, that has changed, and I read more non-fiction and I have tried to pass that love along to the classrooms I teach in. I wanted to share some great non-fiction titles so that you can read them yourself, and then pass that love on to your students! Go forth and read non-fiction, my fellow bibliophiles!

For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Great Depression comes the astonishing tale of nine working-class boys from the American West who at the 1936 Olympics showed the world what true grit really meant. With rowers who were the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew was never expected to defeat the elite East Coast teams, yet they did, going on to shock the world by challenging the German boat rowing for Adolf Hitler. 
 
At the center of the tale is Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, whose personal quest captures the spirit of his generation—the generation that would prove in the coming years that the Nazis could not prevail over American determination and optimism.
 
This deeply emotional yet easily accessible young readers adaptation of the award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller features never-before-seen photographs, highly visual back matter, and an exclusive new introduction.

From Steve Sheinkin, the award-winning author of The Port Chicago 50 and Newbery Honor BookBomb comes a tense, narrative nonfiction account of what the Times deemed "the greatest story of the century": how whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg transformed from obscure government analyst into "the most dangerous man in America," and risked everything to expose a government conspiracy.

On June 13, 1971, the front page of the New York Times announced the existence of a 7,000-page collection of documents containing a secret history of the Vietnam War. Known as The Pentagon Papers, these files had been commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Chronicling every action the government had taken in the Vietnam War, including an attempt by Nixon to foil peace talks, these papers revealed a pattern of deception spanning over twenty years and four presidencies, and forever changed the relationship between American citizens and the politicians claiming to represent their interests. The investigation--and attempted government coverups--that followed will sound familiar to those who followed the scandal surrounding Edward Snowden.

A provocative and political book that interrogates the meanings of patriotism, freedom, and integrity,Most Dangerous further establishes Steve Sheinkin as a leader in children's nonfiction.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality.

Don Brown’s kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters in American history. A portion of the proceeds from this book has been donated to Habitat for Humanity New Orleans.